Cathy Costello

Following a family tragedy in which her schizophrenic son experienced a psychotic break and killed her husband, Cathy Costello has worked on educating and advocating for mental health awareness and reform in order to prevent families from suffering as hers did.

After testifying twice before a senate hearing committee, Costello was instrumental in the unanimous passing of the Labor Commissioner Mark Costello Act, which provides Assisted Outpatient Treatment to Oklahomans in an on-going mental health crisis. She traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for mental health reform, encouraging federal legislators to vote for the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” which passed in the House and Senate in 2016.

Costello is an advisory board member for the Mental Health Association of Oklahoma; member of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness); State Planning and Advisory Council Member to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse; National Council for Behavioral Health, Oklahoma Behavioral Health Association board member and a committee member for National Catholic Charities Partnership on Disabilities. Costello has received the Dr. Krishna “Lifting the Stigma” award as well as the “A.C.C.E.S.S. Award” presented by the Oklahoma Council for Exceptional Children and OK-AHEAD.