Beverly Cobain

Beverly Cobain is the survivor of three family suicides, including the 1994 death of her cousin Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the band Nirvana.  She is a registered nurse with certifications in psychiatric/mental health nursing.  Kurt’s death led her to write the acclaimed book When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens.  Cobain is also the author of Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families after a Suicide.

Major General Mark Graham
Division West
Commanding General, First Army and Fort Carson

On the underside of the two stars that rest on each shoulder of Fort Carson’s top general, the names "Kevin" and "Jeff" are engraved.  This is one way Maj. Gen. Mark Graham honors his sons, two young men who did not live long enough to see their father pin on those stars.
Second Lt. Jeff Graham, 23, died Feb. 19, 2004, when a roadside bomb exploded in Kalidiyah, Iraq, while the young leader protected his platoon. Kevin Graham, 21, a top ROTC cadet at the University of Kentucky, hanged himself June 21, 2003, from a ceiling fan in his apartment. No one saw the lethality of his depression.  "They both fought different enemies," Graham said during a recent interview.  Back in June 2003, as he and his wife, Carol, drove away from Kevin’s funeral, Graham told her: "We can either let this be the tragic, horrible book of our life, or we can make it one bad chapter in the book of our life."  When they lost Jeff, they added a second bad chapter.  Now they are trying to change the story.

Ann Pollinger Haas, Ph.D.

a medical sociologist, is the Research Director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Professor of Health Services at Lehman College of The City University of New York. At AFSP, Dr. Haas directs the extramural research grants program, as well as the development, implementation, and evaluation of the College Screening Project, which uses an innovative, Internet-based approach to identify and encourage into treatment college students who are at risk of suicide. Dr. Haas has also worked closely with the College Film Project as the principal author of the film's Facilitator's Guide, and is Co-Principal Investigator for AFSP's Suicide Data Bank, a project that studies cases of patients who have died by suicide while receiving psychotherapeutic treatment. She was the lead author on the Youth Suicide chapter in the forthcoming book, Treatments that Work for Adolescents, and has written widely on suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, women's health, and drug abuse.

John Kevin Hines

In high school John Kevin Hines loved performing in plays and playing sports. Being around people and being active were things that came easily to him. That changed when he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 17. He struggled to find a treatment. In 2000, during his freshman year of college, Kevin attempted to take his own life. He jumped off of the Golden Gate Bridge and luckily he is one of 29 people to have survived that jump. Kevin has since learned to deal with mental illness in a healthy way, and through speaking out, he is providing a positive example to hundreds of thousands of young people dealing with all types of mental health issues. His story is one of amazing strength and compassion, and his presentation discusses bipolar disorder, depression, suicide and survival. Kevin's devotion to living every single day grounded to the things he loves comes though loud and clear; he is truly an inspiration.