2010 Conference Keynote Speakers

KEYNOTES

We're thrilled to have the following keynote presenters at this year's conference. Jessie Close, Graeme Cowan, Marya Hornbacher, Paula Kamen, Ron Manderscheid, PhD, Calen Pick and Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD. Learn more about our keynote speakers and their presentations below.

Close Author Advocate Consumer		Cowan Author Consultant Consumer		Hornbacher Author Advocate Consumer
Kamen Author Playwright Humorist		Manderscheid Reformer Exec. Director Researcher		Pick Artist Advocate Consumer		Redfield Jamison Author Researcher Consumer

Jessie Close & Calen Pick

Jessie Close Author Advocate Consumer

Calen Pick Artist Advocate Consumer

"All in the Family”
Jessie Close—an author and the sister of Oscar-nominated actress Glenn Close—and her son, Calen Pick, a successful artist, share how their lives have been shaped by their family’s history of mental illness. They also reflect on their experience with genetic research at Harvard’s prestigious McLean Hospital. Jessie, who struggles with bipolar disorder, grew up in the shadows of a great uncle’s severe mania and a grandmother’s deep depression, both of which resulted in hospitalizations. These family “traits” prompted Jessie and Calen, who lives with schizoaffective disorder, to participate with other members of their extended family in DNA mutation research with esteemed psychologist Deborah Levy, PhD. They discuss how the experience changed the way they viewed their illnesses and shed new light on ethical issues related to such research. Woven into this open, honest keynote presentation are excerpts from Jessie’s upcoming book, Silence You, and a display and discussion of Calen’s artwork, both a means and an end in terms of his recovery.

Sponsored by Rebecca's Dream

Biographies

Jessie Close is a consumer bravely sharing her story nationally to fight stigma through Bring Change 2 Mind (BC2M), a new campaign established in part by her sister, Glenn Close. DBSA is proud to be a partner in this important campaign, the first effort of this magnitude in U.S. history. Oscar-winning director Ron Howard generously donated his time in directing BC2M’s first PSA that features Jessie with her sister, Glenn. Jessie has spoken about BC2M, as well as her own story, on The View and Good Morning America. She is the author of The Warping of Al and is coming out soon with her second book, Silence You.

Calen Pick is a successful artist who stays busy with commissioned projects, and he also is an active advocate in the Bring Change 2 Mind (BC2M) campaign with his mom, Jessie, and aunt, Glenn Close. Calen lives with schizoaffective disorder and talks about his experience in one of the PSAs featured on BC2M’s website. His art has been integral to his recovery and can be viewed at www.CalenPick.com.

Graeme Cowan

Graeme Cowan Author Consultant Consumer

"How to Bounce Back & Thrive in Challenging Times”
The last 12 months have been incredibly stressful for most Americans. And for those vulnerable to depression and bipolar disorder, this stress is often magnified. Based on his interviews with over 3,000 people who have struggled with adversity, Graeme describes the steps to go through to move from a “victim” to “victor” mindset. His advice has helped tens of thousands move forward again by rediscovering what is really important.

Biography
Graeme Cowan, an award-winning Australian author, passionately believes that we can bounce back and thrive from adversity and depression. He has delivered seminars throughout Australia and Asia, written two best-sellers, and is frequently interviewed by the media on this topic. He is also a consultant to organizations on creating strong employee mental health programs. 

After working in marketing management for Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, Graeme moved into human resources. In 2000, he became joint managing director of the Australian Executive Search division with global consulting group AT Kearney. Soon after, he entered a five-year episode of depression, which his psychiatrist described as the most serious he had ever treated.

After recovering, Graeme wrote two best-sellers: Back from the Brink and Back from the Brink, Too, awarded SANE Australia’s 2009 Book of the Year. Every Australian Lifeline Counsellor and most Australian doctors have a copy of these books as a resource. Currently, Graeme is partnering with DBSA on an American version of Back from the Brink.

Marya Hornbacher

Marya Hornbacher Author Advocate Consumer

”Finding Solid Ground: A Journey Toward Health”
The journey we take as people with mental illness is both rocky and rewarding. In this presentation, best-selling author Marya Hornbacher tells of her own path through hell and high water, a story that is a testament to both the challenges and revelations that bipolar disorder and depression can bring. Her story of hope, endurance, and recovery is one that sheds light on the experience of mental illness for consumers, families, and supporters, and her message of faith in mental wellness is one every person living with or loving someone with mental illness should hear.

Hornbacher's faith in the power of personal stories to heal us and to break down stigma is at the heart of her presentation. By sharing her own journey, she believes that attendees will find support for telling their own stories and finding their own voice.

Biography
Marya Hornbacher is an award-winning journalist and the author of three books, including The New York Times best seller Madness: A Bipolar Life. Hornbacher was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her best seller, Wasted, and lectures frequently on the subject of mental health, including recent appearances at Harvard, Yale, and Columbia universities.

Hornbacher is no stranger to the twists and turns of mental illness. Long before there was research into the field of childhood bipolar disorder, Hornbacher was struggling with the highs and lows of the illness, showing the first signs at the age of four but going undiagnosed for another 20 years. Her disease took her--as it does any person who shares it--to extremes of experience and behavior, leading her through eating disorders, alcoholism, skyrocketing mania, and crippling depression.

But like so many people with mental illness, Hornbacher is a survivor. Her writing in the fields of mental health and the arts has brought her widespread critical acclaim; more importantly, her readers and listeners have sent thousands of letters sharing their stories with her. A frequent consultant and interview subject, Hornbacher finds inspiration in the message of strength they've sent and in the people who are living with mental illness day by day.

Paula Kamen

Paula Kamen Author Playwright Humorist

"Finding Iris Chang: Two Friends' Secrets of Bipolar Disorder and Chronic Pain" 
In her keynote presentation, journalist Paula Kamen reflects on her long-time friendship with Iris Chang, the brilliant Chinese-American author whose 1997 book, The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, inspired so many to take action against injustice. Published when Iris was only 29, the book was a huge success and quickly became an international best seller. The recipient of many awards including two honorary doctorates, Iris always had been successful, so much so that, to many of her friends like Paula, she seemed "perfect." As a result, Paula had hesitated to talk with Iris about the depth of her personal experience of depression, a result of struggles with constant and debilitating head pain, which had begun in her early twenties. In 2004, as Paula was finally learning how to manage her pain, Iris shockingly—and seemingly without any warning—committed suicide. It was only then that Paula realized they both had been keeping secrets from each other.

For years, Iris likely had been grappling with, and actively hiding, untreated bipolar disorder. To understand what had happened to her dear friend, Paula spent months putting together the pieces of her life, based on interviews, correspondence, and Iris's own research materials. The final result was her book, Finding Iris Chang: Ambition, Friendship, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind, both a biography and a tribute. Through her research and writing, Paula gained a more complex, nuanced, and even more inspiring perspective of Iris's glorious achievements and tremendous burdens. She also learned more about what they secretly had in common. Both faced limits imposed either by chronic pain or depression, which—for many people—are co-occurring illnesses that have many parallels in both treatment and biology. In her talk, Paula also shares what she eventually learned about accepting and living with chronic pain and the inevitable depression that accompanies it.

Biography
A Chicagoland native, Paula is the author of Finding Iris Chang: Ambition, Friendship and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind. A biography and a tribute, the book was Paula’s quest to understand the suicide of her longtime friend, Iris. Released in paperback in 2008 and published in China in 2009, the book was described by Kirkus Reviews as "a rewardingly complex portrait of a driven and troubled woman." The Chicago Tribune called it "engrossing" and "fascinating" and named it as one of its "favorite books of 2007."

Paula’s commentaries and book reviews have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times print edition, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and over a dozen anthologies. In spring 2008, she was a guest blogger for The New York Times online in a special feature on migraine. She has enjoyed having three plays produced throughout the U.S. (and once in Canada) and is the author of three other books as well: All in My Head: An Epic Quest to Cure an Unrelenting, Totally Unreasonable, and Only Slightly Enlightening Headache; Her Way: Young Women Remake the Sexual Revolution; and Feminist Fatale: Voices from the “Twentysomething Generation Explore the Future of the Women's Movement.”

Ron Manderscheid, PhD

Ron Manderscheid, PhD Health Care Reform Leader Executive Director Researcher

"Demystifying Health Care Reform"
Dr. Manderscheid will shine some light on a topic which is very complex and, for many Americans, very confusing--health care reform. He will discuss the results of a recent national meeting on health care reform as well as the recommendations for how any reform must include mental health. He will also address parity, access to care, quality of care, and outcomes--all crucial issues in the health care dialogue.

Biography
Dr. Manderscheid has dedicated the last 30 years to advocating for better health care. In October 2009, he was named executive director of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Directors (NACBHDD). Previously, he was the director of Mental Health & Substance Use Programs at Global Sector for SRA International, Inc. There, he developed demonstration and research projects addressing mental health and substance use services, programs, and systems, using a public health framework.

Throughout his career, Dr. Manderscheid has also held several other prestigious roles. At the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), he served as chief of the Survey and Analysis Branch. During the Clinton National Health Care Reform debate, he was the senior policy advisor on national health care reform in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He has also served as principal editor for SAMHSA’s Mental Health, United States.

Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD

Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD Author Researcher Consumer

"Finding Grace in Grief"
In her presentation, Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD, reflects on her journey through the loss of her beloved husband, Richard, to cancer, an experience she also describes in her latest book, Nothing Was the Same: A Memoir. She shares strength and strategies for consumers who are faced with grief & searching for grace. With her characteristic honesty, candor, wit, and simplicity, she recounts Richard’s death, her own long, difficult struggle with grief, and her efforts to distinguish grief from depression. But she also recalls the great joy that Richard brought her during their marriage, the ways that he encouraged her to write openly about her mental illness, and how she learned, through him, to live fully and find sustaining strength.

Biography
Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD, is professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and codirector of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center. She is also honorary professor of English at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and author of the national best sellers An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness and Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide, as well as Exuberance and Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. Her latest book, Nothing Was the Same: A Memoir, was released in 2009. 

Additionally, she coauthored the standard medical text on manic-depressive illness and is author or coauthor of over 100 scientific papers about mood disorders, creativity, and psychopharmacology. Dr. Jamison is the recipient of numerous national and international scientific awards, including a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship.