Tandra Rutledge MA

Tandra Rutledge is a mental health and suicide prevention educator, advocate, and consultant. She currently serves as the Director of Healthcare Systems Initiatives for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Project 2025, a national initiative to reduce the annual suicide rate in the US by 20 percent by 2025. In her role, Tandra influences healthcare systems nationwide to initiate and sustain suicide prevention best practices (in primary care, mental health care, and emergency medicine) that serve the strategic goals and priorities of the project. A graduate of Spelman College, Tandra has a master’s degree in clinical community psychology from DePaul University. With over 25 years of clinical, leadership, and business development experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, Tandra has used her platform to advocate for culturally appropriate, evidence-informed mental health practices and suicide prevention programs for Black Americans. With special emphasis on the intersection of faith and mental health, Tandra seeks to dismantle stigma in the Black community and cultivate resilience through a social justice and equity framework.