Nellie Bly Leadership Society

The Nellie Bly Leadership Society (NBLS) is the premier group of its kind in the State of Nevada. We are dedicated to increasing awareness of mental health issues by educating the public about the current state of those issues and encouraging advocacy to make the necessary changes that will ensure that all people in Nevada have access to quality, compassionate, and affordable care. Members of the Nellie Bly Leadership Society benefit by increasing their personal and professional visibility through community involvement. Membership also includes the following benefits:  Quarterly gatherings consisting of panel discussions, presentations, and/or workshops focussed on specific issues related to mental illness and treatment, discounted ticket to NBLS mental health conference, NBLS membership lapel pin, a copy of Nellie Bly’s landmark book Ten Days in a Madhouse, Community Counseling Center Donor Wall recognition (Visionary Level and higher).

Nellie Bly, born Elizabeth Cochrane in 1864, was a renowned journalist, adventurer, and human rights advocate. In 1887, on a special assignment from newspaper mogul Joseph Pulitzer, Bly went undercover at the infamous Blackwell's Island Lunatic Asylum in New York. Her ten days in the asylum brought to light the harsh and cruel treatment of patients, and Bly's subsequent expose on the conditions of the asylum brought about the first reforms in mental health care, gave Nellie Bly national recognition, and led to the publishing of her book, "Ten Days in a Madhouse."