ANN ARBOR, MI - Twenty prominent individuals with an interest in depression and bipolar disorder, and a dedication to addressing the societal consequences of these conditions, will serve on the newly formed national advisory board of the University of Michigan Depression Center.

The new board will advise the nation's first comprehensive center devoted to depressive illness research, treatment, education and public policy. The board consists of nationally recognized leaders with demonstrated expertise in public education, public policy, health care delivery, public advocacy and business.

From noted newsman Mike Wallace to National Book Award winner Andrew Solomon, and Rhode Island congressman Patrick Kennedy to former Surgeon General Antonia Novello, the board's members bring a wealth of insight into how depressive illnesses affect those who have them, their loved ones, and society. The board draws from throughout Michigan and the entire nation, including major corporations like Ford, GM and Blue Cross Blue Shield and three national mental health advocacy groups.

The board will be chaired by John F. Greden, M.D., the U-M Depression Center's executive director, who is also chair and Rachel Upjohn Professor in the U-M Medical School's Department of Psychiatry.

"We're grateful to have the participation of so many remarkable people, from such diverse backgrounds, who have come together to address such an important cause," says Greden. "With their help, we will advance our center's goals of serving as a prototype for future centers around the nation, and of reducing the stigma these conditions now carry. We're especially glad to have representation from both a national and a regional level."

The board will meet for the first time on March 6 and 7, in conjunction with the first-ever Depression on College Campuses conference being held at the U-M. Several members of the board will participate in a book-signing on March 6 at 6:15 p.m., at the Michigan League on the U-M campus.

The national advisory board is complemented by the U-M Depression Center's Scientific Advisory Board, which includes noted researchers in psychiatry and neuroscience from around the United States, and a University Advisory Committee, composed of leaders from throughout the U-M representing the units involved in the center. Board membership lists are at www.depressioncenter.org.

The U-M Depression Center's National Advisory Board's members are:

Richard C. Birkel, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

Birkel heads the nation's largest grassroots advocacy organization solely dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses including bipolar disorder and major depression.

Kathy Cronkite, Mental Health Advocate, Journalist, Author

Cronkite is a popular writer, journalist, and public speaker, who will give a keynote address at the Depression on College Campuses conference. Her 1994 book "On the Edge of Darkness: Conversations About Conquering Depression", featured interviews with celebrities who have depression, and described her own struggle with depression.

Deborah I. Dingell, President, General Motors Foundation

Dingell serves as the president of the General Motors Foundation, as well as Executive Director of National Corporate Activity for General Motors. She is an active civic and community leader in both Washington, D.C., and Michigan, particularly focused on ethical issues and social responsibility as it relates to government and business. She is also the wife of Congressman John Dingell (D-MI).

Jay H. Gardner, Director, Ford Land Europe

As Director of Ford Land Europe (headquartered in Germany), Gardner is responsible for managing Ford's European real estate portfolio, strategic and business development, transactions, construction, and facility management including energy planning.

Roderick D. Gillum, Vice President, Corporate Relations and Diversity, General Motors

In his position at GM and his chairmanship of the General Motors Foundation, Gillum is responsible for the company's global social responsibility programs, including community relations, philanthropy and diversity management.

Martha Hellander, J.D., Executive Director, Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation

Hellander heads a group that seeks to connect families of children with bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression) nationwide, through innovative use of technology. She is also the mother of a child with bipolar disorder.

Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., Author, Professor of Psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins University

As the author of scientific texts on mental health topics such as depression, and of the best-selling book "An Unquiet Mind" that recounts her own experience with bipolar disorder, Jamison is a well-known authority on depressive illnesses, especially bipolar disorder.

Phil Jenkins, Founder and CEO, Sweepster, Inc.

A lifelong resident of Ann Arbor, Jenkins oversees a company with $50 million in annual sales of attachment, walk-behind and self-propelled sweepers for equipment used in airports, municipalities, agriculture and construction around the world. In 1999, Jenkins lost his wife of 47 years, who suffered from depression.

Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy, U.S. House of Representatives (D-Rhode Island)

Recently elected to his fifth term representing the First District of Rhode Island, Kennedy continues his family's tradition of public service. In 2000, he publicly disclosed he has battled depression since adolescence. He has been publicly recognized for battling the stigma associated with depression.

Honorable Joseph Knollenberg, U.S. House of Representatives, (R-Michigan)

Now in his sixth term in Congress, Knollenberg represents Michigan's newly created Ninth District, in Oakland County north of Detroit. He serves on the congressional subcommittee that oversees veterans affairs, and has an interest in health care policy. He played a key role in establishing Michigan's Mental Illness Research Association.

Lydia Lewis, President, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)

Lewis oversees the nation's largest patient-directed, illness-specific organization, which was formerly known as the National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association. DBSA has worked extensively with leading scientists to evaluate pressing research questions in mental health.

Karen M. Marshall, President and CEO, the LifeHouse Foundation

After a journalistic career that included a Pulitzer prize nomination, and the loss of her father and uncle to suicide, Marshall dedicated herself to suicide prevention. She helped found the Kristin Brooks Hope Center, which runs the 1-800-SUICIDE National Hopeline Network, and has more recently founded the LifeHouse Foundation, a national nonprofit organization based in Michigan.

Antonia Novello, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., Commissioner, New York State Department of Health, Former Surgeon General of the United States

Novello has been a leading public health official since the 1980s, including three years as Surgeon General under President George Bush and the last four years as New York State's top health officer. She was a medical resident and fellow at the U-M Medical School in the early 1970s.

Janet Olszewski, M.S.W., Director, Michigan Department of Community Health

As the state's top health official, Olszewski is responsible for public health, mental health and services to the aging, among other areas, and an agency with 4,900 employees and a $9.2 million annual budget. She oversees Medicaid coverage for 1.1 million Michiganders, as well as the 18 Community Mental Health Services Programs, 45 local public health departments, and other agencies and services. She recently returned to state government after three years with M-CARE.

Waltraud E. Prechter, B.A. Ed., Chairman, Heinz C. Prechter Fund for Manic Depression

After the tragic loss of her husband to suicide in 2001, Prechter founded the Heinz C. Prechter Fund for Manic Depression in his memory. She played a pivotal role in founding the U-M Depression Center, and is currently a member of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.

Honorable Lynn N. Rivers, J.D., Mental Health Advocate, Former U.S. Representative (D-MI)

During her eight years in Congress, Rivers was known as a champion of mental health insurance parity. She continues to lecture nationally on the topic, providing perspective about her own experience with depression.

Honorable John J.H. Schwarz, M.D. Former Michigan state senator, Otolaryngologist

Schwarz completed his fourth term in office in early 2003, representing the state's 24th senatorial district. He served as the Senate's President Pro Tempore, and chaired the Subcommittee on General Government. A former mayor of Battle Creek, MI, Schwarz practices medicine and surgery in that city, and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Andrew Solomon, Author and Mental Health Advocate

Solomon has become widely known and praised for tackling the diagnostic, treatment, social and ethical issues surrounding depression, and for publicly discussing his own experience with the condition. He has won 11 awards, including the National Book Award for his 2001 book "The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression".

Marianne Udow, MHSA, Senior Vice President of Health Care Products and Provider Services, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Udow oversees some of Michigan's largest private insurance programs, including the Blues' traditional and preferred-provider plans. A champion of health care quality, cost-effectiveness and access, she is chair-elect of the Greater Detroit Area Health Council. She has recognized the important cost implications of dealing with depressive illnesses more effectively in primary care.

Michael Wallace, Senior Correspondent and Co-Editor, "60 Minutes," CBS News

In his 35 years on the CBS News show 60 Minutes, U-M alumnus Wallace has become one of the nation's best-known journalists - and one of the most prominent Americans to discuss their experience with depression publicly. His hour-long HBO documentary on the topic helped draw attention to the pervasiveness of depression in America, and to treatment options. He and his wife were recently named the first winners of the Luminary Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.

Written by: Kara Gavin

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