Atlanta born Author, Astrid Serika Ross, affectionately known as Sister Sayeedah, is a 54-year-old wife (33 years), mother of 5 adult children and 2 grandchildren. A Suicide Loss Survivor, Astrid is the Executive Director of her family’s nonprofit, Mental Health Support Network. Astrid is an Educational Leader and has been the Elementary/Middle School Principal and Preschool Director of the City of Knowledge Islamic School, a state licensed and accredited Montessori through 8 th grade private school, for the past 20 years. Astrid is a Mental Health Educator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) certified to teach Ending the Silence (a program geared toward mental health education for youth), In our own voices (a program aimed at changing attitudes about people with a MH condition), Sharing your story with law enforcement (a training for law enforcement to help remove stigma and preconceived notions about those with MH conditions), BASICS programs (a 6-week program for families of children with mental health or substance abuse challenges).

Astrid is a member of the Georgia Mental Health Policy Partnership (GMHPP), member of the Georgia Peer Policy Collective (GAPPC), Georgia Behavioral Health Services Coalition (GBHSC), is a Georgia state Certified Peer Specialist for Parents (CPS-P), and just recently became certified as a Crisis Intervention Team Trainer for Youth (CIT- Y).

Astrid recently published a series of Mental Health themed books that help break the stigma of mental illness and help children embrace their range of emotions and learn how to master them. Astrid also recently published her memoir Titled: Escape Velocity – The angry black girl and the trauma that suicide left behind.