Hufsa Ahmad

Hufsa (pronounced Huff-suh) is a Pakistani-American public speaker, social worker, standup comedian, and Muslim woman. Her life is dedicated to helping individuals with mental health diagnoses find the treatment and support they need in order to thrive. She has delivered over 100 presentations and speeches on mental health, including 2 TEDx talks: “Relapse is Part of Recovery” and “How to Share You Have Mental Illness (and How to Listen).”

Having transformed from a victim of her illness to a champion of recovery, she dedicates her life to helping other individuals with mental health diagnoses find treatment, recovery, and peace, as well as change the world’s view of mental health. She also believes that humor is a powerful tool for social change, thus she incorporates it in her life and public speaking. Her goal to is to end the stigma of mental health and her signature phrase is, “STIGMA SMASH!”

For her efforts, she won the Mental Health Association Hope & Courage Award, the National Alliance on Mental Illness Next Step Award, and many other accolades. She has served in the mental health field for 7 years as a public speaker, advocate, educator, direct service provider, supervisor, Mental Health Services Act Steering Committee member, and Dayle McIntosh Center for the Disabled board member. She is currently a graduate student at California State University, Long Beach, in the Master’s of Social Work program, and received a B.S. in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College.

In addition, Hufsa is a rising standup comedian who has performed all over the country, including at Ice House and Flappers Clubs in LA, Laughlin Laughfest, and San Diego Comedy Festival. She was featured on Signature Bits on Spotify and Amazon. Lastly, Hufsa is working on a book about the humorous experiences of “checking off so many diversity boxes” by being a millenial Muslim woman of color living with mental illness.