Vonnie Woodrick

Vonnie Woodrick is the Founder and Executive Director of i understand love heals, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing mental/brain health through compassion, connection, and community-based support. A national mental/brain health advocate and lived experience leader, she is recognized for translating personal experience into meaningful systems-level change. 

Bringing lived experience with suicide loss, anxiety, and grief into her leadership and advocacy, Vonnie is passionate about normalizing mental/brain health conversations in everyday spaces and changing the way society talks about suicide. She believes language has the power to reduce stigma, deepen understanding, and save lives. 

Under her leadership, i understand love heals has built partnerships across healthcare, education, law enforcement, corporate, and community sectors. Vonnie is the author of i understand: Pain, Love, and Healing After Suicide and the Editor, Concept Creator, and Contributing Author of the national award-winning anthology The Power of Sharing. Her work has been featured in many Michigan publications including West Michigan Woman, and Woman’s Lifestyle Magazine, which she was also a contributor to, and personally featured in the national publication, Woman’s World.  

Recognized with numerous honors for leadership and social impact, Vonnie continues to engage in national mental/brain health collaboration through One Mind–aligned initiatives, including OMCAN. Her work reflects a steadfast commitment to ensuring that lived experience is not only heard, but meaningfully integrated into how communities, systems, and society support mental/brain health. 

At the heart of Vonnie’s leadership is a simple, powerful truth: when we lead with understanding and love, healing becomes possible.