Kenyatta Stephens Honored as Mental Health Hero for Transforming Lives and Leadership in Detroit

Kenyatta Stephens, CEO of Black Family Development, Inc. (BFDI), has been honored with the Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award by the Flinn Foundation, celebrating her visionary leadership and dedication to creating a culture of hope and healing in Detroit. 

We caught up with Stephens to learn more about her plans for the month-long break that comes with the Mental Health Hero Award — and why caring for mental health is important.

Q: Share some information about BFDI and your role.
Stephens: I have the honor of working at a comprehensive family counseling organization that absolutely loves children, youth and families, headquartered in the city of Detroit, and believes that the work that we do as an organization and in our partnerships should create an atmosphere of hope and healing. 

I have the opportunity as CEO to shepherd and steward over the lives of incredible men and women who get up every day to create an atmosphere of hope and healing for people in this community who are often underserved, under heard, underrepresented — but yet are resilient, powerful and ingenious in their own right.

Q: What personal goal do you have for BFDI?
Stephens: There are two. Most of our services are provided for families who come in need of some support in treatment arenas or family reunification arenas. We do have prevention for mental health and substance abuse — good programs that do great work. 

I want to maintain that, but then expand our array so that young people, particularly 18-24, who are struggling to find their way, begin to understand the kind of career and post-secondary education pathways available to them, which right now seem pretty elusive for a lot of our folks — not because they’re in a crisis, but because they’re not sure of which way to go next. I would like to see opportunities to partner with organizations like Black United Fund who are doing work in medical school preparation and aviation for young people. 

My second goal is to make sure that we have some really robust succession planning in place so that at some point when it’s time for me to transition — although I love this place and I’m not making plans to do that anytime soon. I think it requires spending ample time to really equip a cadre of leaders to take the organization to the next level and understanding how to do that in a way that makes the leadership nimble. This award, generously bestowed upon us by Andrea Cole and the Board of Directors of the Flinn Foundation, is helping me to achieve that second goal. 

During my sabbatical we will be upwardly promoting existing members of our staff to take on new positions so they can get accustomed with dipping their toes in the water to what that responsibility looks like. I’m going to use the remainder of the money for the organization to avail executive coaching to those leaders so that there is a cohort mentality for those leaders. Not just the ones that I’m touching, but also another segment of the organization to go through leadership training so that in operations, executive leadership and in the fiscal components, we have succession planning and we have coaching and professional development that sets the agency’s leadership on a pathway prepared for any transitions that will occur in the future.

Q: What was your first thought when you learned that you were a recipient of the Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award?
Stephens: Gratitude and a shock. If I’m being honest and transparent, in my prayer time, I said, Lord, I really love this work, but I really need a little break. I don’t even know if I’ve told Andrea Cole this story, but it was a week later that she told me about her nomination.

I had no idea that the Foundation was going to be so gracious to not award one, but four awards. I was already floored in gratitude. And then now fast forward to the fact that there were four recipients. It really did leave me speechless.

Q: You talked about how the award break will impact your organization. But what about you? 

Stephens: There were three three things that were paramount when I was thinking through this question during the application. The first is spending time with my mom. My mom is very important to me, but I also don’t take any day for granted, every single day as a gift. This is going to allow me to do that. 

The second thing is that my husband and I will be celebrating 25 years of marriage. In our 18 years of being parents, we’ve only taken two trips alone. This allows us to have the third. 

Thirdly is self care and reflection. In my times of quiet prayer and meditation, things are so clear about next steps and next directions. I’ll be doing things as simple as getting massages or spa treatments for my mom and I, or being able to travel. It’s a sense of clearing the mind to what this next phase of my life is for.

I’m looking forward to succession planning in the transformation of this amazing organization as we head toward 50 years — I really believe that great things are ahead. I want to be clear in my vision, clear in my focus, clear in my leadership to help transition us to this next iteration of this organization here in Detroit.

Q: You like to read, bike and camp with your family. Do you have favorite spots for each of those things?
Stephens: My favorite place to read, I have two. I live in Farmington Hills and my first place, I would say is at one of the libraries near the fireplace. My second is at home in front of my own fireplace, on a couch with my family and maybe a candle nearby. My favorite places to bike are a bike path and a walking trail in the West Bloomfield area near Pine Lake and Orchard Lake that is just absolutely beautiful, just gorgeous. I love water — I love all things water. And camping, I love Tawas because again, it’s near water and that’s the most beautiful space for me.

Q: What other ways do you care for your own mental health?
Stephens: Every day that I can, I stop for a few minutes and sit at a lake, whether it’s the one right on 11 Mile between Beck and Wixom roads or one lakeshore in Novi. I just turn off my car and music and just sit and just quietly meditate, pray and just clear my mind for a little bit before I start my day. The other thing is that I love working out, but I am terribly undisciplined. I have been blessed with this amazing personal trainer, and she has been in my life now since September, So a very brief period of time, but she’s everything that I could have asked for and needed. 

About Black Family Development, Inc:  BFDI is a private, nonprofit family counseling agency dedicated to strengthening and enhancing the lives of children, youth and families in Detroit and surrounding communities. BFDI offers a comprehensive range of culturally sensitive services, including juvenile justice interventions, mental health support, substance abuse treatment, family preservation programs and positive youth development initiatives. The organization emphasizes community engagement and restorative practices, partnering with local entities to foster safe, nurturing and vibrant environments.

Learn more about the Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award and each of the inaugural honorees at flinnfoundation.org.