The mission of Safe Space Radio is to inspire courageous conversations, break down the barriers that divide us, and create compassionate communities.
Founded in 2008, Safe Space Radio has broadcast more than 300 episodes and received numerous awards. The first season of our four-part miniseries, Can We Talk?, broadcast in May 2019 for Mental Health Awareness Month. Two long-form specials, Out-Takes, on suicide prevention among LGBTQ teens, and Still Here, on caregiving and dementia, both broadcast nationally in 2016. Our podcast is used in training programs for healthcare professionals, therapists, and teachers as they learn to address the needs of underserved populations.
Who We Are
Dr. Anne Hallward is the host and founder of Safe Space Radio and a board certified psychiatrist in Portland, Maine. Anne’s interest in difficult subjects began in her teens, when she noticed how few adults around her seemed to be talking about intimate or taboo subjects. Formerly on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Hospital, she designed and taught courses on death and dying, cultural competence, sexuality, and psychiatric interviewing, and published on death and dying, cultural bias in medicine, sexuality, and causes of hunger in the Philippines and Bangladesh. Anne is the recipient of the Ulrich B. Jacobsohn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians, the Jeanne Spurlock Social Justice Award from the Association of Women Psychiatrists, and an Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She has also been recognized for her work in radio with a Gracie Award for Best Host of a Local Radio Show. Anne speaks internationally on emotional courage, stigma and shame, traumatic silence, and voluntary vulnerability as a form of leadership. Her CV is here.
Anne’s Safe Space Radio Manifesto
What makes you feel most alive? For me it is when we finally can talk about the thing we haven’t been talking about. That is such a thrill: it makes you feel that, yes! it’s going to happen, and things are going to change. Things will feel real. Read and listen to the complete manifesto here.
Anne’s Ted Talk at TedxDirigo
Mary Quintas is Safe Space Radio’s Senior Producer. Her previous work includes hosting and producing (Press)ed – a podcast about democracy and the media for The Public’s Radio, and creating and producing The Junction, a Murrow-Award-winning radio series about the revitalization efforts of an Alabama community.
Sara Powers is Safe Space Radio’s Education Coordinator. Sara is a resident physician in psychiatry at Maine Medical Center. She is a native Mainer and returned to Portland for residency training after attending Harvard Medical School. She began her work at Safe Space Radio while still in medical school, researching stigma about mental illness. She is interested in promoting education and discussion about difficult subjects
Sophie McNulty is Safe Space Radio’s Assistant Producer. She is a recent graduate of Stanford University, where she studied English literature and digital humanities. There, she fell in love with audio storytelling, winning a Braden Storytelling Grant to produce a podcast on the relationship between religion and mental health. In the fall, Sophie will attend the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, specializing in radio and podcasting.
Our Board
Anne Hallward, MD, Executive Director
Sara Lennon, President, is a communications professional. Sara believes that honest story telling can change the world.
Kevin Carley, Treasurer, is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Executive Coach. He was formerly a partner at RM Davis Inc., the Executive Director of Maine Audubon, and a Peace Corps Country Director in the Western Pacific and the Caribbean. He is passionate about the growing diversity in Southern Maine, his wife, 4 daughters, 3 grandchildren, and spending quality time with his bicycle.
David Moltz, MD, Secretary, is a psychiatrist who has worked for over 40 years with individuals with mental health challenges and substance use problems. He has seen first-hand the power of owning and expressing one’s truth.
Thierry Ndabahagamye is an actor, and film-maker from Burundi who makes films to reduce the stigma of mental illness, and to address public health concerns. Joelle Rutembesa is a public health student with a special interest in mental health. She is originally from Rwanda, where she worked for CDC programs and with children with mental disabilities.
Phil Walsh is executive director of Maine Initiatives.
Our Creative Advisors
Libby Gordon, Samar Post Jamali, Sara Lennon, Sandy Lovell, David Moltz, Maggie Murphy, Thierry Ndabahagamye, Prisca Niyonzima, Alice Spencer, Phil Walsh.
