Northwest MHTTC faculty, staff and more than thirty Advisory Board members gathered on Dec. 6 in Seattle to reflect upon our first year. We are so fortunate to have an engaged Advisory Board from all four states and regional organizations. Our members represent a wide range of perspectives, and their work affects the lives of people living with mental health issues.  
 
We celebrated a variety of accomplishments and reviewed the evaluation data from Year 1, results from our needs assessment and described our Year 2 work plan, which is already underway. This set the stage for breakout groups to delve into specific topics, ranging from cultural considerations, integrated care, peer and family supports to school mental health and evidence-based practices. We also discussed communication strategies, training needs and priorities. The lively discussions reinforced the value of meeting face-to-face to build connections and share ideas across state and disciplinary boundaries.  
 
Takeaways included the importance of reaching members of the workforce in non-traditional and diverse roles; revisions to and expansion of the needs assessment survey; and reaching leaders able to make an impact throughout their organizations, as well as approaches to disseminating our resources. The advisory board will next convene virtually in March of 2020.