About Us






Joe Padilla, Executive Director & Founder

After graduating from Baylor University, Joe and his wife, Jessica, spent 13 years working with Antioch Ministries International (AMI). The first 10 years were spent in Asia and Africa before coming back to serve in Stateside AMI leadership.

While overseas, Joe was the director of a non-profit organization and later a small business both focusing on social development projects. The projects were implemented in conjunction with government (Ministry of Health) support and partnership with various international embassies and non-profit organizations. After returning to the States, from 2007 to 2009 Joe served as one of the directors of AMI training program, which he helped revamp and implement a new curriculum. His other roles included ongoing training seminars and being both a Strategic and Personnel oversight for AMI workers and teams.

In 2009, after years of Jessica’s ever-increasing mental health challenges, Joe stepped aside from his role at AMI to care for his wife and family. Through the support of AMI and many others, Joe researched and implemented a holistic recovery process for his wife. Jessica made remarkable improvement and now has a full and thriving life. Through this experience and success Joe discovered a unique opportunity to assist others in need. Joe and Matt Stanford started Mental Health Grace Alliance (MHGA) to provide quality assistance, advocacy and support for those affected by mental disorders.

Currently, Joe is the executive director MHGA. Everyday Joe oversees the development of MHGA and works with numerous families and individuals with mental disorders … to find hope and direction.


Matt Stanford, Director & Founder

His writings in psychology and neuroscience are inspired by the many questions he has received from people of faith and the real life struggles he has observed as friends and acquaintances have attempted to work through the difficult problems associated with mental illness. Professionally he has worked with a variety of mentally ill and brain-injured individuals, including those with aggression, personality disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, stroke, substance dependence, schizophrenia and traumatic brain injury.

He is the author of the Focus on the Family recommended resource, “Grace for the Afflicted: A Clinical and Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness” (Paternoster, 2008). A Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) his research on the interplay between psychology and issues of faith has been featured in such national publications as USA Today and The New York Times, as well as many news websites including Fox, MSNBC, Yahoo and US News & World Report.

Presently he is professor of psychology, neuroscience and biomedical studies at Baylor University.