Congressional Briefing
Congressional Briefing
Men & Boys Mental
Health Research
May 12, 2026 • 9:30 - 10:30 AM EST

die by suicide every day in the United States and male suicide rates remain nearly 4x higher than those of women.
During Mental Health Awareness Month, we are partnering with the bipartisan Congressional Mental Health Caucus, including Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), to share our latest research insights on why boys and men are reaching out for mental health support. We will additionally provide insights into what helps boys and men cope with mental health challenges.
Join the conversation
Congressional Briefing: Men & Boys Mental Health Research
Date: May 12, 2026
Time: 9:30 – 10:30 AM ET
Location: Russell Senate Office Building, Room 301
2 Constitution Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
Coffee and light breakfast served
Special Remarks
Co-chairs, Senate Bipartisan Mental Health Caucus

Senator
Alex Padilla (D-CA)

Senator
Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Speakers

Dr. Tracy Costigan
Vice President, Impact Evaluation and Storytelling, Crisis Text Line
Dr. Tracy Costigan is a clinical psychologist, methodologist, and nonprofit leader, with extensive experience leading organizations in strategy, research, evaluation, and learning to improve effectiveness and advance strategic objectives. As Vice President Impact Evaluation and Storytelling at Crisis Text Line, Tracy leads the team in designing and delivering on the organization’s quality and impact frameworks and measurement; knowledge and insights products; volunteer impact skills assessment; and evolving the data storytelling strategy, all to optimize collaborations and resources aimed at influencing global mental health systems change. Prior to joining Crisis Text Line, Tracy spent 10 years at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the largest US philanthropy devoted to achieving health and wellbeing for all. Tracy has also contributed as a research, evaluation, and learning leader at the American Institutes for Research, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and SPSS/IBM, advancing knowledge and practice in mental health across the lifespan, training and skills assessment, and predictive modeling.

Jon Coyles
SVP, Drug, Health & Safety Programs, Major League Baseball
Jon Coyles serves as Senior Vice President of Drug, Health and Safety Programs at Major League Baseball. In this role, Coyles is responsible for overseeing all aspects of MLB’s drug prevention and treatment programs and league-wide health, safety and wellness initiatives. Coyles also plays a key role in collective bargaining negotiations with the Major League Baseball Players Association. Coyles regularly provides guidance to MLB Club officials on a variety of legal, anti-doping, player development, health and safety, and wellness-related matters. Coyles also works closely with other MLB attorneys on player and staff conduct investigations. Coyles is highly involved in MLB’s league-wide health and safety policies, substance use treatment programs, concussion protocols, smokeless tobacco policies, game-day medical coverage and emergency action planning, nutritional standards, player education programs, and mental health initiatives.
Coyles also serves as MLB’s primary liaison to other international and domestic antidoping organizations, including the World Anti-Doping Agency and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, and works closely with legal counsel at the other U.S. professional sports leagues. In addition to his work at MLB, Coyles currently serves on the Board of Governors (Board Chair) for the Partnership for Clean Competition, the Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee for the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit, the Advisory Board for the fentanyl awareness group Song for Charlie, and the Board of Managers of InnoVero LLC. He has published papers on various topics including dietary supplement regulation and concussion prevention, is a frequent lecturer on effective anti-doping policies and deterrence efforts, and serves as an adjunct professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law.

Carson Domey
Executive Director, Coalition for Student Well-Being
Carson Domey is a youth mental health advocate and the Executive Director of the Coalition for Student Wellbeing, an organization dedicated to bridging the gap between students and decision-makers through advocacy, collaboration, and education. The coalition aims to cultivate a grassroots network of student leaders to advance policies that promote student wellbeing across college campuses nationwide. He began his advocacy journey at age 12, sharing his experience with a lifelong illness to expand access to telehealth services in Massachusetts. After losing a friend to suicide in 2018, Carson shifted his focus to mental health awareness, working to remove barriers to care and enhance resources within educational systems.
He has advocated for legislation at the state and federal levels, primarily in the Massachusetts State Legislature, Texas State Legislature, and the United States Congress. In Massachusetts, he has championed initiatives to expand the definition of physical education to include mental health. At the federal level, he is working to pass legislation that would add the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to student identification cards nationwide. In Texas, he has contributed to the successful passage of legislation investing more than $25 million into strengthening the state’s mental health workforce. Currently, Carson is an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, studying Government.

Brian Heilman
Movember
Brian Heilman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Movember Institute of Men’s Health and a global expert on masculinity, men’s health, fatherhood, and violence prevention. With more than 15 years of experience, his research examines how social norms shape men’s health, caregiving, and relationships, and how healthier, more connected models of manhood can benefit families and communities. He has led and contributed to influential work including The Man Box, State of American Men, and State of the World’s Fathers, and is co-author of Movember’s The Real Face of Men’s Health in the US (2025). His current research explores what it looks like for men to thrive, and how misperceptions about what other men think and expect can hold them back. He collaborates with academic, nonprofit, and government partners across the globe and regularly represents Movember’s research in national media and policy settings.
Contact us to learn more:
Courtney Hunter
Vice President of Public Policy
chunter@crisistextline.org
Jana French
Director of Community Partnerships
jfrench@crisistextline.org
