Meg is an outspoken advocate for childhood illness, trauma and mental health and is unapologetically authentic when she talks about her own mental health struggles. She allows herself to be vulnerable and real for audiences.
Meg McElwain is a mental health advocate and founder of the Mitchell Bays Turner Pediatric Fund. In 2012, three-month old Mitchell was diagnosed with childhood cancer and, after a life-long battle, died in 2014 just after his second birthday.
Mitchell’s Fund seeks to improve the mental well-being of children and families who have experienced trauma. This includes funding counseling for sick children and their families in the St. Jude Affiliate Clinic in Charlotte, NC, and supporting programs that raise awareness and reduce the stigma of mental health illness.
Meg is a graduate of The University of Mississippi. She has been recognized twice as one of the 50 Most Influential Woman in Charlotte (2011 and 2017) and is a past recipient of the Women In Business Award from the Charlotte Business Journal. In 2014, she accepted the Charlottean of the Year award from Charlotte magazine for the philanthropy of Mitchell’s Fund. She is a graduate of Leadership Charlotte and past president of the Charlotte Ole Miss Club. In 2016, The Charlotte Observer recognized her in their annual list of eight people who made Charlotte better.
Meg McElwain delivers impactful keynote speeches and offers workshops that help build practical strategies in mental, emotional and physical health.
Meg was at the top of her professional game as the sole owner of a successful marketing and public relations when her 3-month-old son, Mitchell, was diagnosed with a rare, infant leukemia. After Mitchie’s death at two years old, Meg chose to close the agency and focus on a new career path – supporting and uplifting others as a public speaker and philanthropist.
Meg’s experience shaped her expertise in two life topics we need to talk through more often – loss and resilience. She knows personally and deeply that hard times happen – and that life must go on. She shares the pain of watching her infant son suffer and then losing him to cancer, and how slowly, she got back up and made choices to move her life forward in a positive direction for herself and her older son, Frank, and continue working.