Horizons – Summer 2019

The Summer 2019 edition of Horizons highlights the importance of building relationships and making connections.

The first story is about a father who created a fund in his daughter’s name that is leveraging McLean’s neuroscience expertise together with data science capabilities of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. This unique partnership is bringing new research power to bear on trauma-related disorders.

You’ll also read how philanthropy is helping McLean connect people across the country and around the world through enhanced education. Thanks to donor support, McLean is expanding our portfolio of webinars, podcasts, educational videos, and our Deconstructing Stigma campaign to bring information and hope to many more people.

Another expansive, community-focused effort—McLean’s Division of Women’s Mental Health—is showcased through the eyes of its new executive director, Dr. Kimberlyn Leary.

The final story is about the connection one man made with a dear friend when they were children, and how that friendship has inspired his long-time philanthropy.

Julia’s Fund: Bringing Big Data to Psychiatry
Harry Kasparian has spent more than 35 years as a leader in the technology field. An engineer and businessman who founded a successful data analytics company, Kasparian understands the value of science, data, and research. Fueled by the grief of losing his beloved daughter, Julia, in 2016, Kasparian focused his intelligence and expertise into creating a unique research collaboration aimed at increasing our understanding of the neurobiology of trauma.

Board of Visitors Gathers to Reflect and Connect
“I have three generations of serious mental illness in my family, and not all of them have always had good outcomes … I will never forget that I am a family member first,” said Marylou Sudders, secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, in her keynote address at the 2019 McLean Board of Visitors annual meeting. The Secretary shared with the more than 80 attendees that her mother battled chronic depression and substance use and that, as a teen, she was her mother’s caretaker.

Q & A: Kimberlyn Leary, PhD, MPA, Executive Director, Division of Women’s Mental Health
Kimberlyn Leary, PhD, MPA, joined the McLean faculty as executive director of policy outreach in 2016, and in late 2018, she took on an additional role as executive director of the Division of Women’s Mental Health, working closely with division chief Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH. This critical externally facing role is charged with advancing strategic planning, leading policy outreach, and developing partnerships locally, nationally, and globally.

Philanthropy Expands Public Education Effort at McLean
Like other family members of McLean patients, Jim and Doreen Clappin attended a four-week educational program at the hospital while their loved one was in treatment. They learned about her illness, how best to provide support, and ways to employ some of the same coping skills she was learning. “After four weeks, the program is over, but your experience with your loved one isn’t,” explained Jim. He wondered if there was a way to extend that education beyond the four walls of the hospital and over time.