Shonta Connolly transforms teen mental health support in Chicago

Shonta Connolly did not set out to become an advocate for teen mental health.

Her career began in sales and event production, where she found a way to merge the two into something more meaningful. That path eventually led her to Mielle, the haircare brand founded by Melvin and Monique Rodriguez, where she helped grow the company through experiential marketing long before she ever imagined running a nonprofit.

When the Rodriguezes partnered with Procter & Gamble and decided to reinvest in the community that supported their rise, they turned to Connolly to lead that mission.

Today, as executive director and CEO of Mielle Cares, she is channeling that same energy into a cause close to the founders’ hearts, mental health for preteens and teens. Her latest initiative, Match My Mindset, brings that mission to the pickleball court with a Chicago charity tournament designed to raise both funds and awareness for the next generation.

Tell us about your career journey and the experiences that prepared you to become CEO of Mielle Cares.

My career path started actually in sales and event production, where I decided long ago to merge the two. I said, why can’t I do sales and event production and make it an experience.

About 11 years ago, I connected with Melvin and Monique Rodriguez, my agency through one of their partners, and we created their first launch event. It was so fun, so exciting to work with a haircare brand that we continued that in the haircare space outside of the entertainment space.

We helped them grow their brand through experiential marketing, and we were so excited to be a part of their team to help that growth. When they decided to partner with Procter & Gamble, they wanted to give back to the community.

They wanted to put the money back to where it all came from, and they said, Shonta, we need someone to run Mielle Cares. It boiled down to me having the heart posture of our founders, me knowing the brand, me seeing them grow in the community and how they really invest in the community and understand that without the community, they wouldn’t have had the success.

She came to me and said, we want to focus on mental health for preteens and teens. She saw the need and the desire to help our youth because she saw the exposure to social media and the vast numbers of anxiety and all the things.

She decided that she wanted her legacy work to be focused on advocating and working to help our preteens and teens in the mental health space. That leads me here, two and a half years later.

We started from ground zero, and we’re really excited about the work that we’re doing within the organization.

Tell us about the My Mental Mindset program and how it supports the mental health and emotional wellbeing of teens and preteens.

Mielle Cares is a not for profit, and we’re dedicated to improving mental health and overall wellbeing for our young people. Melvin and Monique started in the hallways of Thornton High School, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in an environment where they were not destined to be successful.

It was their positive mindset and resiliency that really propelled them to where they are today.

We realized that it was the preventative work, that positive mindset and resilience that had them in the mindset to really propel and do well in life, that we wanted to instill in our young people. So we created a curriculum that teaches them how to identify trauma, heal from trauma, and rebuild from there.

We teach them the coping mechanisms of how to deal with crises before it actually becomes a crisis. This work helps build confidence and positive mindsets and emotional resilience.

All of that collectively really helps them thrive as our next generation of adults, because they will one day be adults, and we want them to be at the best mindset that they could possibly be in to be successful. That’s the work that we do.

What are you hearing from the young people about the mental and emotional challenges they’re currently facing?

They’re so bright. I don’t think that I was tapped into my emotions at this age.

My daughter told me the other day, she’s a preteen, and she says, mom, I just need a mental wellness day. I had no clue that our teens were tapped into their emotions like this.

When we were younger, I was running the streets, playing double dutch, doing all the things. I couldn’t tell you how I emotionally felt.

Our teens are brilliant in that, and they’re exposed to many other things than we were exposed to as young people. They get all the social media, the TikToks and all of that, so they hear more than what we heard back then.

It’s great to be able to help them because they have an increase in anxiety, an increase in stress, increased crash outs, as the kids would say. Really being able to tap into that for them, and to help them have a safe space mentally and physically, is where we want to be.

It’s really encouraging to hear the stories though. The things that they’re going through, they are paying their parents rent.

They are babysitting their kids because their parents work four or five jobs. They are sharing deodorant.

So many things that they’re exposed to that they shouldn’t have to be, so we want to create that safe space for them.

What inspired Mielle Cares to use pickleball to raise awareness and support for teen mental health?

Our founders are fun people, so we’re putting fun into fundraising. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America, as we know.

Everybody is taking on to it. I thought to create fun, energy, excitement, and a little competitive edge, because they love to compete as well, so why not bring those two things together.

The fastest growing sport in America, facing the biggest issues in the teen and preteen mental health space, and bring them together. Pickleball, honestly, is just for everyone.

Athletes, professionals, young people, older people, families, coworkers. It was the best way that we can merge all groups, because it’s really going to take all of us coming together for this initiative, to come together for this fundraiser and raise money in a fun way.

What can guests, corporate teams and community organizations expect when they arrive at the Sport House on July 30?

It’s going to be a good time. It’s going to be high energy, music, networking, great food, raffle prizes, and then, obviously, competition.

We have our guest celebrity host that’s just been announced, Mojo Brooks, who was born and raised in Chicago, so we expect it to be funny and entertaining, because he’s going to bring that piece and that element to our dynamic.

If they want to play, I think we have enough room for one or two more teams, but those who just want to come and have a good time should expect good vibes and networking.

How will the proceeds from Match My Mindset directly support the My Mental Mindset program and the young people it serves?

Every single dollar that we raise will go towards our youth mental health initiatives, including programming that helps them develop resilience and emotional wellness, coping mechanisms, our after school program, and the many grants that we’re using to partner with other organizations throughout our country.

We understand that it’s not only going to take Mielle, it’s going to take all of us coming together.

When the tournament is over, what do you hope participants take back to their homes, workplaces and communities?

We really want people to understand that we and our teens can truly be whatever they want to be. I heard that over and over as a young child, but we can only be what we want to be if we have the community support.

It’s going to take all of us. It’s a village, and we are opening the door to start this communication and connection so that our village comes together for our next generation.

Rapid fire, the Match My Mindset edition. Competitive match or friendly match?

I’m going to say friendly match with a little competition.

Singles or doubles?

Doubles.

Music, exercise, meditation, or quiet time?

I’m going to say music.

One word that describes Chicago.

Best.

Complete this sentence, mental health matters because…

Mental health matters because if we change our life, if we change our mind, we change our lives.

Match My Mindset takes place Thursday, July 30 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Sport House, 1301 East 47th Street in Chicago.

Proceeds from the charity pickleball tournament will support the My Mental Mindset program and its work serving teens and preteens.