About Julie

Awarded the Mental Health America Ruth Altschuler Community Advocate Prism Award and selected as one of the 2010 Distinguished Women by Northwood University, Julie Hersh is an outspoken advocate for mental health.  "Despite medical advances," Julie says, "too many people don't understand how to protect their brains from mental illness. Sleep, exercise, nutrition, stress management and social support systems are as critical to brain health as not smoking is to lung health."  Julie's goal is to provide a living example that mental illness is a manageable disease.  She believes waiting for mental illness or suicide attempts as a catalyst for intervention will always leave us chasing disease. Eary intervention and good habits are critical for brain health. Her Struck by Living blog is featured on the Psychology Today website.  Julie is also a guest blogger on the Menninger Clinic "Say No to Stigma" website.

After earning her BBA at the University of Notre Dame, Hersh worked in high-tech product development and marketing/sales in Silicon Valley.  She "retired" from a lucrative sales management position after the birth of her first child.  A long-time member of the Cooper Center, Hersh ran her first marathon at age 48.  Julie is a board member of the UT Southwestern Medical Foundation, a member of the Undergraduate Advisory Experience Council at the University of Notre Dame, participant on the International Society of ECT and Nuerostimulation Patient Advisory Council, and on the advisory board for Mental Health America. She is also an active supporter of the Dallas based Suicide and Crisis Center, CONTACT and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. A long time supporter of the arts, Hersh is also a trustee for the Dallas Theater Center and Dallas Museum of Art. She lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas.