About Joshua
A speaker and storyteller built from lived experience
Joshua Rivedal is the creator and founder of Changing Minds: A Mental Health Based Curriculum and The i’Mpossible Project. He is trained in community counseling from the Southern California Counseling Center; human capital management with an emphasis in coaching from NYU; and is also trained in QPR, ASIST, and the teacher’s edition of emotional intelligence at Yale University’s Center for Emotional Intelligence. He has spoken about suicide prevention and mental health across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia.
His original coursework on suicide prevention is taught in Washington State to various professions such as dentists, pharmacists, and occupational therapists. He wrote and developed the one-man play, Kicking My Blue Genes in the Butt, which has toured extensively throughout the world paired with suicide prevention education.
His memoir, The Gospel According to Josh: A 28-Year Gentile Bar Mitzvah, is on The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s recommended reading list. His second book, The i’Mpossible Project: Volume 1—Reengaging with Life, Creating a New You,
debuted #1 in its category on Amazon in January 2016.
There are currently five books in the i’Mpossible Project series. His most recent book, The Essential Guide to Personal Finance for Teens and College Students, offers tips and tools on mental health and financial health. He is a co-author of three journal papers: one on the trajectory of the survivor of suicide loss, another on the art of living with chronic illness, and the third on surviving trauma. As an actor, Joshua’s voice has been heard on U.S. national commercials like Dell, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Johnnie Walker; on one of the Freckleface Strawberry Books, Cinderella Penguin, and as part of the award-winning voiceover cast of The Art of Secrets by James Klise. He has a certificate in food, nutrition, and health from the Community College of Philadelphia. Joshua practices Taekwondo and achieved the rank of 1st degree black belt. He is a stand-up comic and cook, and lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Stories That Save
Personal mission
Through storytelling, education, and humor, my mission is to help people and organizations have important conversations on wellness and leadership, build lives and communities rooted in resilience and purpose, and show that what feels impossible today may become possible tomorrow.
My Connection to Mental Health
In 2011, after losing my father to suicide and facing my own mental health crisis, I found myself asking a question that millions of people ask every day: How do I keep moving forward when life feels impossible?
Getting help changed my life. It also changed the direction of my work.
Since then, I’ve dedicated my career to helping people and organizations have honest conversations about mental health, resilience, wellbeing, and human connection. Through keynotes, workshops, books, comedy, consulting, and educational programs,
I’ve had the privilege of reaching audiences across North America and beyond.
What began during one of the most difficult chapters of my life became The i’Mpossible Project, a mission-driven organization focused on providing hope, practical tools, and meaningful conversations that help people move from surviving to living.
Because no one should have to struggle alone.
Joshua’s Training and Education.
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, focus Industrial/Organizational
Psychology, Summa Cum Laude, Southern New Hampshire University
Yale University’s Social and Emotional Intelligence Training
- Yale University, Center for Emotional Intelligence
Community Counseling (peer-to-peer counseling pedagogy)
- Southern California Counseling Center
QPR Training
- Certified Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper
- Certified Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper trainer
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills and Training
- Sponsored by the New York Office of Mental Health
- Intervention skills training to help prevent the immediate risk of suicide
