About Us
The One Life Project works to build and create a kinder world where we educate, advocate for, and support teens, college students, and young adults who are struggling with mental health in the hopes of preventing suicide in young people and ending the stigma that surrounds mental health. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and currently have several offices across the northeast and midwest in the United States. The One Life Project was founded and is currently directed by Alexander Kovarovic and is home to over 1,500 volunteers and employees worldwide. We are a 92% volunteer run organization, meaning volunteers make up the majority of the One Life Project.
How We Started
In 2016, high school senior Alexander Kovarovic started a nonprofit then called the One Life Organization which focused on raising money for families in need of help due to house fires, car accidents, and homelessness. The organization was run that way until 2021 when it took the new name, the One Life Project and created an entirely new mission of helping teens and young people with mental health. Our 'be true, be you, be kind' motto took form in 2022 and serves as a reminder to always be yourself while also being kind to others as kindness makes all the difference in our communities.
Why Our Mission Is So Important
Mental health isn't talked about nearly as much as it should be as many people are uninformed, some are uncomfortable talking about it, and others simply don't think it's important enough to be educated on. Mental health includes our social well-being as well as our psychological and emotional health. Our mental health affects how we think, how we act, how we view ourselves and others, and it impacts our self esteem, and whether we make good choices or not. Whether we are five years old, graduating high school, going through college, starting our first job, or retiring, mental health is important and ignoring it can be detrimental to our overall well-being. Our social life is also heavily affected by our mental health. Our mission allows us to support those who feel unsupported, help those who are struggling through life, and advocate for those whose voices aren't yet strong enough to stand alone.
National Executive Management Team
Alexander J. Kovarovic
Chief Executive Director/Founder
Alex is the founder and executive director for the One Life Project and oversees all branches, offices, staff, volunteers, and day to day operations.
Hailey M. Jones
1st Assistant Lead Executive Director
Hailey assists with all aspects of the nonprofit and helps with general management of all staff and volunteers.
OPEN POSITION
2nd Assistant Lead Executive Director
This open role assists with all aspects of the nonprofit and helps with general management off all staff and volunteers.
Mackenzie Taylor
Director of Partnerships
Kenzie oversees all business and nonprofit partnerships and business relations.
Christopher Collar
Regional Director: East Coast
Chris oversees all aspects of the nonprofit on the East Coast of the United States which includes all east coast office's.
Gracelyn V. Anderson
Regional Director: West Coast
Grace oversees all aspects of the nonprofit on the West Coast of the United States which includes all west coast office's.
Amir Abouarra
Regional Director: MidWest
Amir oversees all aspects of the nonprofit in the MidWest Region of the United States which includes all midwest office's.
OPEN POSITION
Director of Community Relations and Development
This oversees all aspects of the nonprofit in the MidWest Region of the United States which includes all midwest office's.
Joseph Kovarovic
Director of Philanthropy and Finance
Joe oversees the finance and philanthropy division of the One Life Project and manages all division team members and volunteers.
OPEN
Director of Human Resources and Volunteer Retainment
This open position oversees all management of employees, volunteers, independent contractors, and other individuals as well as all hiring efforts.
Alicia Clizbe
Division Director of Education, Advocacy, and Research
Alicia oversees all education, research, and communications for the organization and directs the National Helpline and Support Groups.
Aimee Eddy Gross
Division Director of Education, Advocacy, and Research
Aimee oversees all education, research, and advocacy for the organization and assists with other tasks as needed.
Savannah Gibvons
Division Director of LGBTQ+ Education, Human Rights, and Activism
Savannah oversees Our Colors United, all LGBTQ+ advocacy and education, and all human rights related tasks.
Isabella Maria Castillo
Division Co-Director of LGBTQ+ Education, Human Rights, and Activism
Izzy oversees and helps Savannah run Our Colors United, all LGBTQ+ advocacy and education, and all human rights related tasks.
OPEN POSITION
Director of Education and Research
This open role is one of the most important roles we have. It oversees all education and research efforts which allows us to update our website and create educational material for schools.
OPEN POSITION
Director of Advocacy and Awareness
This open position leads advocacy efforts and assures that those who need a voice have one. The role assists in event planning as well.
Frankie Aquino
Director of Communications
Frankie oversees the communications team and all of its team members and volunteers as well as all social media accounts.
OPEN
Director of Marketing and Advertising
This open position oversees nonprofit marketing efforts and advertising opportunities online and offline.
Chrissy King
Director of Citizens of Change Helpline
Chrissy oversees the national Citizens of Change Helpline and assists divisional leadership in running the Citizens of Change platform.
Samuel R. Williams
Director of Safety Services
Sam oversees all security, social media security, safety, and emergency preparedness for all events, office locations, and meetings.
Executive director
alexander
kovarovic
Who is the director?
At 24 years old, Alexander Kovarovic is the national One Life Project Executive Director and Founder and leads the volunteer and employee teams. After his own battle with mental health, self esteem, a suicide attempt, and a self harming addiction, Alex moved on to get help and started the nonprofit when he was seventeen to assist others who were going through similar things he was going through. In 2018, a social media post Alex posted went viral and was shared 38.5 million times which drove a large amount of traffic to the nonprofit and was really the start of our continued success. Alex is the author of two books and is a traveling motivational speaker at schools, colleges, and other events. Alex is also the founder of Our Colors United, an online social movement that works to advocate for LGBTQ+ youth and adults. He currently attends Arizona State University online as he pursues a Bachelors degree in Human Rights and Social Justice. With his quick success, Alex has won numerous awards including Investigation Discovery’s Inspire a Difference Award and the National Awesome Award. He’s been featured on MTV News, ABC News and Investigation Discovery.