Eleventh Annual Welcome Back Awards Program Honors Individuals who Positively Impact the Depression Community

-- Five Honorees will be recognized at Ceremony in San Francisco -- 


INDIANAPOLIS, May 15  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- After battling postpartum depression 13 years ago, Diana Lynn Barnes is an expert on the assessment and treatment of the disorder that threatened her life.  Instead of pretending it never happened, Diana funneled the power of her survival into giving voice to other women experiencing the devastation of postpartum depression.

Diana is one of this year's five Welcome Back Award honorees who have overcome innumerable obstacles to make a profound difference in the lives of others.  "Whether through producing a documentary about internal struggles, responding to a natural disaster that occurred half-way around the world, or implementing a screening program to identify women at risk for mood disorders during pregnancy, this year's honorees all make an outstanding effort at creating positive change for those with depression," said Dr. Carmen Vazquez Ph.D., clinical professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine and the City University of New York, and Welcome Back Award committee member. "I am honored to be involved in giving these great individuals the recognition they deserve."

Eli Lilly and Company will be honoring these inspiring winners at the Eleventh Annual Welcome Back Awards ceremony in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, May 16.  Lilly established the Welcome Back Awards in 1998 to fight the stigma associated with depression and to promote the understanding that depression is treatable.  Each year, an independent panel of national mental health leaders recognizes five individuals for their outstanding achievements, and Lilly awards donations ranging between $10,000 and $15,000 to the not-for-profit organization of each winner's choice.

  The 2009 Welcome Back Awards honorees are:

  Lifetime Achievement:  Diana Lynn Barnes, Psy.D., Tarzana, Calif.


Diana Lynn Barnes, Psy.D., is an internationally recognized expert on the assessment and treatment of perinatal mood disorders who has used her own three-year struggle with postpartum depression to help educate others through media interviews, speaking engagements and as an author. In addition to her private practice, she is a nationally known forensic expert in women's reproductive mental health and works with defense counsels in cases of infanticide, pregnancy denial and neonaticide. She is a past president of Postpartum Support International and continues to work with the group to raise awareness of postpartum depression.  In 2007, she wrote her first book "The Journey to Parenthood: Myths, Reality and What Really Matters."  Additionally, Dr. Barnes has been involved with the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, Calif. for the past two years to implement a comprehensive pregnancy and postpartum screening program.

Psychiatry:  Roy W. Menninger, M.D., Topeka, Kan.

As a psychiatrist in private practice, past president of the nationally-recognized Menninger Foundation, and through his advocacy work with the Kansas Mental Health Coalition, Dr. Roy Menninger has remained an inspirational presence in the psychiatry community for almost 60 years.  While president of The Menninger Foundation, a nationally recognized center for treatment, prevention, research and professional education in psychiatry, Dr. Menninger raised $80 million, increased the foundation's budget eight-fold and tripled the number of staff members.  Most importantly, as a co-worker notes, "Dr. Menninger served as an inspirational CEO and leader, creating a treatment structure at the clinic that brought out the best in patients and staff and led to improvement in the quality-of-life of all patients." His current advocacy efforts include work with the Kansas Mental Health Coalition to examine the continuum of services needed for those living with major depression.  In addition, Dr. Menninger took time out of his busy schedule to work with traumatized victims after a devastating tornado hit the area in 2007, a purely voluntary effort in relation to a community five hours away from Dr. Menninger's home.

Primary Care:  Marian McCord, RN, St. Louis, Mo.

Marian McCord started CHADS (Communities Healing Adolescent Depression and Suicide) Coalition for Mental Health shortly after her son Chad committed suicide in 2004.  The goal of CHADS is to advance the prevention and knowledge of adolescent depression and suicide, through awareness, education and research.  In addition to serving as the executive director of CHADS, Marian educates people about adolescent depression through speaking engagements at schools--and is working to integrate the Signs of Suicide program into all schools in the St. Louis area.  After working as a pediatric nurse for 15 years, adolescent depression became a subject very close to her heart and she is determined to make the world a better place by taking the lessons from Chad's life and sharing them with others.  Marian has spoken to over 5,000 students, given more than 75 presentations and appeared on almost every major TV network to talk about the cause.

Community Service: Debra L. Wentz, Ph.D., Mercerville, N.J.

Debra Wentz, Ph.D., is the executive director of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies (NJAMHA) and the New Jersey Mental Health Institute.  Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Wentz is being honored for developing the Tsunami Mental Health Relief Project in Sri Lanka to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health training in Sri Lanka in response to the 2004 tsunami.  Dr. Wentz travelled to Sri Lanka to provide training that helped teach participants about the long-term effects of trauma, the symptoms of PTSD, and available interventions.  An estimated 200,000 children and adults in Sri Lanka have benefited from this program. In addition, Dr. Wentz has led the fight in New Jersey for Parity Coverage for mental illness and continues to fight for adequate funding for the constituent agencies of NJAMHA.  She is the recipient of more than 55 national, state and local awards.

Destigmatization: Bryce Mackie, Battle Creek, Mich.

Bryce Mackie is a college student who produced the short film, "Eternal High" when he was 17.  The video portrayal of a depressed teen -- abusing drugs and engaging in self destructive behavior -- reflected Bryce's own then-unexplored feelings of depression and thoughts of suicide.  In addition to having won 25 national awards, including the Moving Pictures Magazine Youth Award, presented at the Sundance Film Festival, "Eternal High" is currently being distributed in over 10 countries.  In his spare time, Bryce travels around the U.S. and Canada to teach other teens about depression so that they can recognize it, deal with it and not be afraid of depression.  He is currently working on another film about mental illness.

"All of this year's honorees have either made the tough decision to come forward with their struggles and turn them into something positive or overcome external challenges to make a difference," said John Hayes, M.D., vice president of Lilly Research Laboratories and global brand development team leader of neuroscience, Eli Lilly and Company.  "They are passionate about the work they do and serve as role models to others in the depression community."

Nominations for the 2010 Welcome Back Awards

Nominations for the 2010 Welcome Back Awards may be submitted by anyone wishing to be recognized for his or her outstanding achievements in the depression community or wishing to recognize someone else.  For more information visit http://www.lilly.com/responsibility/outcomes/.

About Lilly

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations.  Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers - through medicines and information - for some of the world's most urgent medical needs.  Additional information about Lilly is available at http://www.lilly.com/.

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