About Healing Equity & Resilience (H.E.R) Global Brain Health

For all women and girls everywhere.

Why H.E.R Brain Health Exists

Women experience distinct brain health trajectories across the lifespan, shaped by biological, social, and environmental factors.

H.E.R Brain Health exists to address the deep and persistent inequities shaping women’s neurological and mental well-being.

  • Brain health is the integrated functioning of neurological, cognitive, and emotional systems across the lifespan, shaped by biology, lived experiences, and social environments.

  • Brain health is not experienced equally. For many women and girls—particularly those from marginalized and historically excluded communities—neurological and psychological conditions are shaped by chronic stress, trauma, gender-based violence, systemic racism, and limited access to culturally responsive care. Too often, their symptoms are dismissed, fragmented, or treated without attention to the broader social and historical forces at play. H.E.R Brain Health was created to change that.

  • We work across education, research, advocacy, and community-centered initiatives to advance equitable brain health and long-term healing. Our approach recognizes that effective care must address both biology and context—and that justice is essential to healing.

Key Life Stages

  • Puberty

  • Pregnancy & Postpartum

  • Perimenopause & Menopause

  • Caregiving-related chronic stress

  • Higher exposure to interpersonal violence

Impact on Brain Health

  • Neuroplasticity

  • Stress hormone regulation

  • Mood, cognition, and sleep

  • Stroke and dementia risk

  • Chronic pain disorders

Women’s Lived Experiences & Risk Contexts

  • Caregiving-related chronic stress and cognitive load

  • Higher exposure to interpersonal and gender-based violence

  • Cumulative stress from social, economic, and structural inequities

What Is Brain Health?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), brain health is a state of functioning across cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, behavioral, and motor domains, allowing individuals to realize their full potential across the life course.

Comprehensive Functioning

Encompasses mental, neurological, and physical health across multiple domains of functioning.

Life Course Approach

Brain health is shaped from pre-conception through childhood, adulthood, and aging.

Key Determinants

Influenced by physical health, environment, safety and security, social connections, and access to quality services.

Global Priority

The WHO recognizes brain health as a global priority due to the growing burden of neurological and mental health conditions.

Why It Matters

Brain health inequities are both a public health crisis and a justice issue. By centering women and girls most impacted by trauma and structural inequity, H.E.R. Global Brain Health Alliance is building a future where brain health is accessible, inclusive, and transformative.

Who We Serve

H.E.R Brain Health centers women and girls whose brain health has been shaped by inequity, trauma, and systemic neglect.

  • We serve all women and girls globally

  • Immigrant, refugee, and diasporic communities

  • Survivors of trauma, violence, and chronic stress

  • Communities impacted by limited access to culturally responsive neurological and mental health care

Our Core Pillers

Healing

Trauma-informed neuroscience and survivor-centered approaches that honor lived experience and promote long-term brain health.

Equity

Closing gender and racial gaps in brain health access by addressing structural, cultural, and systemic barriers to care.

Resliance

Strengthening women and communities through evidence, advocacy, and collective capacity-b

How We Advance Our Mission

Brain Health Education

Evidence-based education across the lifespan, grounded in culture, context, and lived experience.

Evidence in Action

Translating research on trauma, stress, and brain health into accessible tools, policy insights, and practice guidance.

dvocacy & Systems Change

Advancing policies and practices that protect women’s brain health and address structural determinants of harm.

Community-Centered Programs

Co-creating trauma-informed, culturally responsive initiatives with communities and partners.

Our Impact

H.E.R. Global Brain Health Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advancing equitable brain health for women and girls from marginalized communities across the globe.

Our impact centers on addressing neurological, mental health, and trauma-related conditions shaped by structural inequities—through education, research, advocacy, and innovation.

Our Impact in Action

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Integrating Science & Lived Experience

We bridge neuroscience, mental health, trauma, and public health to create evidence-informed, community-centered solutions.

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Strengthening Research Representation

We bridge neuroscience, mental health, trauma, and public health to create evidence-informed, community-centered solutions.

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Driving Systems-Level Change

We advocate for policies and practices that improve neurological and mental well-being across the life course-locally and globally.

Team of female doctor check on scan results paper and looking at monitors in laboratory, share medical knowledge and experience benefits her coworkers and patients before surgery and treatment

Advancing Brain Health Equity

We expand access to culturally responsive brain health education and resources for women and girls historically excluded from care and research.

Impact at a Glance

Focus Areas

Neurology, Mental Health, Trauma, Resilience

Global Reach

United States & Africa (Expanding)

Approach

Evidence-based Trauma-informed Equity-driven

Methods

Education · Research · Advocacy · Innovation

Join Our Mission

There are many ways to support the work of H.E.R Brain Health. Explore how you can get involved.

Get Involved