The 320 Festival began when Talinda Bennington, co-founder of 320 Changes Direction partnered with Kevin Lyman, founder of the Vans Warped Tour and USC Professor, to create an event that could be fun, educational and impactful for it's attendees. Originally planned as a free-to-the-public one day event at LA Live in Downtown Los Angeles, Lyman doubled down his efforts, committing his professional team to the project and creating course curriculum for one of the classes he'd lead throughout the 2019 / 2020 school year at USC's Thornton School of Music. 

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When COVID19 changed our collective realities, we made the decision to move 320 Festival completely online! “In some ways it might have been a blessing to be forced to take the 320 Festival online,” shares Festival co-founder Lyman. “We saw posts from across the country and around the world on how helpful these discussions were for them at this time.”

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"We need to change the culture of mental health so that those in need - and their family members - are able to speak openly about their struggles so that they can seek the care they deserve,” shares Bennington who created 320 Changes Direction in honor of her late husband, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park.