(From left): Dr. Kelsey C. Martin, dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Gerald S. Levey, M.D., Endowed Chair; Charlie Gray; Laurie Gordon; Steven Gordon; Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health, CEO of the UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences; and Dr. John C. Mazziotta (RES ’81, FEL ’83), vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and CEO of UCLA Health. Photo: Don Liebig
For the second year, the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA Board of Advisors hosted its annual Community Conversations as a TEDxUCLA salon. The event was held January 8, 2019, at the Dr. S. Jerome and Judith D. Tamkin Auditorium in Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Community Conversations, founded by the board, is an educational series that provides a forum for experts to share information on important mental health topics. The well-known nonprofit TED is devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks with a goal of reaching and enlightening the global community. The TEDxUCLA Salon: Tackling Depression brought together nearly 200 attendees for presentations on depression, ranging from finding answers through genetics, treating depression in underrepresented communities, making a difference in the face of tragedy and defining resilience, all with the goal of ending the stigma surrounding depression, which is the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
UCLA faculty presenters from the Depression Grand Challenge included Drs. Nelson Freimer, Maggie G. Gilbert Endowed Chair in Bipolar Disorders; Jonathan Flint, Billy and Audrey Wilder Endowed Chair in Psychiatry and Neuroscience; Michelle Craske; and Jeanne Miranda. Laurie Gordon, Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital Advisory Board chair and member of the Depression Grand Challenge Leadership Council, shared her personal story about turning pain into purpose. Clara Nguyen, a UCLA student and a certified Screening and Treatment for Anxiety and Depression (STAND) Peer with the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge’s Resilience Peer Network (RPN), also spoke. The RPN increases accessibility to mental health resources on campus and connects students with the necessary help.
For more information, contact Jillian Flannery at: 310-267-5573
