Find A Youth Mentor

Hello! My name is Mikayla Mango, and I am 21 years old. I was diagnosed with alopecia when I was 13 and in seventh grade. I lost all of my hair and wore a wig for three years. I kept my alopecia very private until March 2022, when I began sharing my story and becoming more involved in advocacy. I am currently a nursing student and hope to use both my personal experiences and future career to advocate for and support others. I want young people with alopecia to know that their voices matter and that they are never alone. My goal as a Youth Mentor is to be a source of encouragement and help provide light during moments that may feel dark. I am grateful to be part of NAAF and look forward to continuing to support young people and families throughout their journeys.

Hello, my name is Luke Krupski and I am from Canton, Michigan. I am currently a junior attending Grand Valley State University pursuing a degree in biomedical science. I aspire to become a physician assistant in the future and love science. I enjoy hiking, watching movies, and golfing. My alopecia journey started when I was in 5th grade when I noticed that I had two bald spots on my head. During this time, I was self-conscious about being different and sought treatment. I grew my hair out a little longer to cover up the spots and I received injections in my head for multiple months. Eventually, my hair grew back and it stayed that way for two years. Once again, in 7th I found multiple bald spots on my head and I went back to the dermatologist to receive treatment. Soon enough, my hair grew back again and everything went back to normal. In 9th grade my hair started to fall out again and this time it fell out faster and in a much larger area. I went back to recieve treatment but nothing seemed to work. Eventually, my hair completely fell out and after many treatment attempts I decided that I was comfortable without hair. I stopped treatment and have had alopecia universalis ever since. Today, I couldn’t imagine myself with hair. I truly think that I became a much more confident person through the process. Overall, alopecia was scary at first but it brought out the best in me.

Hello everyone! My name is Dionne Glover and I am from Columbus, OH. I am a senior at The Ohio State University majoring in theoretical mathematics. I discovered that I had alopecia when I was 15 years old. My hair loss was a very rapid progression. I first started out with a few bald patches, but within a few months, all of the hair was completely gone on my head. This became very hard for me to deal with because I also had to deal with the challenges that came with high school. I chose to wear a wig during this time and it eventually served as my security blanket. A year later, I was fortunate enough to have all of my hair grow back. To this day, I still struggle with patches, along with the fear of the unknown. I have never been open about my alopecia, which is why I want to become a mentor. I want to have the opportunity to help my mentee(s) through these times that could prove to be difficult. I had a great support system during high school which helped me process the situation, so I want to be able to lend that hand to someone else. Currently, my interests include both makeup and fashion. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends and binge-watching shows on Netflix. I am eager to offer any advice to my mentee(s) and to help them out in any way!

Hi! My name is Elisabeth, and I'm a college freshman. I'm currently at College of Marin but will be attending the University of San Francisco in the fall of 2023. I've grown up in Marin County all my life and have fallen in love with San Francisco and all it has to offer. That said, I'm the BIGGEST Giants and Golden State Warriors fan. I play volleyball, love music of all kinds, and am the biggest Studio Ghibli & Disney/Pixar enthusiast. I started to lose my hair when I was 13 (May 2017). I began to see doctors in my area, and about a month later, I was diagnosed with alopecia areata. It started out as small patches, and by the end of the month, my hair was all gone. It was really hard, especially as a middle schooler, having to go around with hats or wraps covering my head and being unable to explain what was happening to my peers. Being scared of wigs did not help my situation at all. My hair slowly grew back, and to this day, I've had random, patchy flare-ups every month or so from 8th grade to my senior year in high school. It started to fall out again in April of my senior year, which took a massive toll on my mental health, more so than it did in middle school and all of my hair fell out again.  Luckily, I had (and continue to have) such a fantastic support group in my family and friends. I want to give those in this mentor program the comfort and reassurance I needed when I first discovered I had alopecia. It's hard, and at first, you'll feel alone in this new world, but I want to be able to give the kids, and their parents, the support that I really needed at the beginning of all the craziness and to know that you're never alone!

Hi! My name is Michael, and I am from Southern New Jersey. I now live in New York City where I work as a Costume Designer at The Juilliard School. I was diagnosed with Alopecia when I was two but first started losing hair when I was nine years old. I wore wigs during this time – however, I stopped wearing wigs when my hair came back. I grew back my eyebrows, eyelashes, and a thick head of hair. Then when I was 15 all my hair fell out again. I am now 22 and have a thin amount of hair on my head and receive eyebrow injections several times a year. Despite that, I have been heavily involved in the theatre community since I was 10 years old, performing and eventually designing for the stage. Growing up performing in front of others young and bald can be difficult and scary. I hope to share my experience, whilst also listening, learning, and growing with my mentee(s). In my free time I love drawing, going to museums, and watching movies. I am greatly looking forward to developing meaningful relationships! 

Hey there! My name is Danielle, I'm 19 years old and I've had alopecia areata since I was 2 1/2 years old. When I was younger, I struggled with bullying and fitting in. I felt like no one understood me because no one else around me had alopecia. Despite being so young, I was in a very dark and unhappy place. It took years for me to accept my alopecia and learn to love myself. Attending the NAAF conferences as a camper/camp counselor and being involved with the alopecia community truly helped me accept my alopecia. I'm happy with myself now and don't let alopecia bring me down. If anything, I let it empower me. I’m currently a sophomore in college. My major is Music Education and I'm studying to be a music teacher. Besides music being one of my passions, I really love to travel/explore. I love going on hikes, going to different restaurants, and seeing new sights. I'm also a fan of arts and crafts. I love self-expression and creating new things! Looking forward to meeting you soon and helping in any way I can!

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and I have been attending the NAAF conferences since I was 4. I just concluded my sophomore year at New York University as an Education Studies major and am fortunate enough to be spending a semester studying in Washington D.C. for the fall semester. I was diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis at 8 months old and have never let it keep me from pursuing my dreams. Nothing can prepare you for losing all of your hair, especially when society and the media make it seem like a necessary part of being beautiful. It’s easy to compare ourselves against the models in magazines and to see being bald as imperfect. However, with the right support system and great resources it’s also totally possible to push the negative thoughts aside and to instead focus on the power and beauty we each have thanks to Alopecia. In my opinion, being born with a unique condition made me more understanding of other forms of differences. It taught me to be kind, open, and most importantly to practice empathy. Being different is definitely not an easy challenge, especially when your difference is most likely the first thing people see—but there is an amazing world out there ready to embrace you for who you are. I’ve made it my goal to show people how proud they should be about who they are, in whatever shape or form they come. It might be an uphill battle filled with several obstacles, but discovering your strength and confidence through your unique beauty is possible.

Hey! I’m Carolyn Kinney and I live in Belgrade, Maine! I’m 18 and a senior in high school. I'm an upbeat and energetic person who loves sports, public speaking, Disney, board games, musical theater, Wonder Woman, and politics! I’ve had Alopecia since I was six years old. It originally began as Alopecia Areata – my parents thought my older sister shaved my head as the original patch identically matched the size of her leg razor – and is now Totalis!  Growing up as a gymnast with Alopecia was sometimes difficult. My team would have hair parties before big meets, and, because of my patchy hair, I was unable to participate. However, my coaches soon realized and brought in a henna specialist so I could be included in my own way. I still love walking into special events with brilliant henna designs on my head! There’s always positivity and light in a situation if you are willing to look deep enough to find it. Alopecia can most definitely bring hard times and sadness; I remember the failed treatments, stares/comments of people in public, and my wig falling off in front of my sixth-grade class. But, I also remember the strength that developed each time something happened, driving me to look in the mirror and say, “This is me; this is who I am. Nobody’s opinion matters but mine.” Had my wig stayed on, I wouldn’t have had the push to take back control and embrace my individuality. During my freshman year, I shaved my remaining patches, and felt absolutely liberated! I took my hair before Alopecia could. I’m very grateful for my supportive family who continually encouraged me to always move forward. It’s the outlook on adversity that determines its impact. From my experiences, I’ve gained confidence, inner strength, and learned the value of laughing. I cannot wait to walk alongside others as they discover themselves as an Alopecian!

Howdy from Texas! My name is Alexia Flores, but I go by Lexie. I am currently 16 years old. I was born in Pasadena, Tx but raised in Rosharon Tx right outside of Houston. I am a high school student I will be a junior in the upcoming school year. I am very involved, in school as well as the community. I am a three time varsity cheerleader, in addition 2 time student council officer in which I currently hold the Parliamentarian position.I first lost quarter size patches of hair when I was two but eventually fell out when I was four. Since then I have been bald and beautiful! I enjoy the outdoors, I like fishing, hunting, riding ATV and lets not forget water therapy (boating/tubing). I can’t say it’s been easy to grow up with Alopecia, but I have been blessed to be surrounded by great family and friends that have supported any challenges I have encountered. Due to my hair loss at a very young age I never wore a wig; I however did wear headbands with bows on them. I had bows galore! As I got older I ditched the headbands and said hello make up!! I am very social and not timid to educate anyone on Alopecia. I currently volunteer at a children’s hospital and have enjoyed talking to other with different walks of life. I enjoy sharing my story as well as learning others life experiences. I look forward to hearing from ya’ll (Texas slang lol)!

Hi, my name is Jordyn! I lived in a suburb of Chicago for most of my life. I was diagnosed with alopecia areata when I was two and have experienced spotty hair loss ever since. My hair loss usually works in 2 year cycles where I lose large spots of hair along my hairline for a year and a half, then it grows back for six months. I’ve recently experienced a larger bout of hair loss in the last year, so my collection of cool headbands and hats has expanded. I would’ve loved having someone around who I could talk to when I was younger, so I’m really excited to be that listening ear for someone with my similar experience. I love sports (especially track and soccer) and I’m involved in student council at my high school. In the Fall, I’ll be attending Washington University in St. Louis to study business and Spanish and run track. You can usually find me (poorly) singing in my car or hanging out with friends. I love making friends and talking to people, so please don’t hesitate to reach out. I can’t wait to meet you!