Amanda Lipp

Amanda Lipp is a documentary filmmaker, social entrepreneur, and keynote speaker specializing in mental health, storytelling, and technology. Lipp has developed a career rooted in personal experience and a commitment to systemic change. She taught herself filmmaking while earning a Bachelor of Science in human development at University of California, Davis, and later studied documentary film at Trinity University in Dublin, Ireland. Lipp is a recipient of the National Youth Leader Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Lipp's entry into filmmaking began during college, when she spent three months in a psychiatric hospital following a mental health crisis. There, she started storyboarding patients' stories and observed the impact of vulnerability and storytelling. A nurse gave Lipp a box of crayons, a gesture that became a metaphor in her talks, encouraging audiences to "Think Outside the [Crayon] Box" about mental health and identity. After her discharge, Lipp focused her career on amplifying the voices of those navigating the mental health system.

As a filmmaker, editor, and cinematographer, Lipp has produced more than 100 short films for clients across the United States, including university clinics, healthcare nonprofits, and social entrepreneurs. Her work addresses topics such as youth schizophrenia, mass trauma, and recreation therapy. Lipp's films have been utilized in research studies on psychosis stigma reduction and in digital advertising campaigns in New York City to promote mental health awareness. Her clients include Columbia Psychiatry, Sutter Health, University of Wisconsin, and Princeton University.

In addition to her filmmaking, Lipp has contributed to mental health policy and leadership. At 19, she was appointed to the board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, becoming the first and youngest board member in the organization's history. Lipp is the co-founder of The Giving Gallery and neuroHealth, both social enterprise companies focused on mental health philanthropy and access to services. She serves on the Mental Health Advisory Panel at Google and is an appointed member of the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Committee, which advises on federal mental health policy. Lipp is also a fellow of CORO Northern California and the Nehemiah Emerging Leaders Program.

Since age 18, Lipp has delivered more than 150 talks and workshops nationwide, sharing mental health resources, films, and her personal story. As a filmmaker and multimedia artist, she integrates short films depicting others' journeys to highlight the diversity of adversity and resilience, encouraging audiences to view mental health and illness as issues relevant to all industries. Lipp's combination of lived experience, filmmaking expertise, and policy knowledge positions her as a credible voice in the mental health field.