Normalize The Conversation by Inspiring My Generation

Looking back at her recovery journey in the hospital and psych ward, Candace Jones shares some of the biggest positives and negatives that came out of it. She also opens up about the 3 biggest opportunities for improvement that she personally would like to see as well as struggles she faced along the way.

Gigi Robinson is a digital artist, health & wellness advocate, current M.S. Candidate, and graduate of the University of Southern California with a Bachelors in Fine Arts, Design, and Photography.   Gigi has a strong presences across Tik Tok (100k views on average) and Instagram (15.5k+ followers), and, as of this year, she has been developing her YouTube and Podcast content.   She has always been a creative innovator and possessed a high-level work ethic, especially when it comes to making a difference with her projects. Originally, she wanted to be a photographer, but, since then, has transitioned her skills of image-making into those that create an impact through storytelling. Living with chronic illnesses, Gigi has been challenged in many ways with everyday tasks, such as showering, cooking, walking, and even sitting down.  Despite all of the physical and psychological challenges that threatened the path to becoming who she is today, Gigi has challenged adversity and dedicated a majority of her life to become a master content creator, always keeping her values of creating positive and impactful messages to her diverse audience as a priority.

Michelle Hammer is a Schizophrenia Activist and spends her time passionately fighting stigma. She is an NYC native featured in the WebMD documentary Voices, which was nominated for a Tribeca X Award at the Tribeca Film Festival 2018. Michelle was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 22 after a misdiagnosis of bipolar at age 18. At 27, Michelle decided to use her artistic talents and fearless personality to do something that could benefit the mental health community. In May 2015, she founded a mental health-focused clothing brand. Schizophrenic.NYC is a clothing brand with the mission of reducing stigma by starting conversations about mental health. Michelle has also been featured in many publications such as Mashable, The Daily Mail, Stylist, and Buzzfeed.

Christina Aldan is a brand strategy consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, and mentor. She offers businesses brand consulting and creative content for everyday media. With over 15 years of experience in the digital realm, Christina is highly regarded for her approach to business, partnering with clients to find unique strategies that ensure their goals are met. Christina builds connections through her keynote addresses, training workshops, and technological education. She uses these tools to help individuals and businesses cultivate value in everyday media. Christina has delivered talks on all 7 continents, presenting training workshops for the Microsoft MVP community, international corporations, and conferences worldwide. Christina uses her charisma and expertise to inspire others by mentoring women in business like herself. She also has sat on state and local boards supporting women in tech, entrepreneurship, mental health, and children with learning disabilities.

Emma Benoit became extremely passionate about suicide prevention after surviving a suicide attempt in 2017, the summer before her senior year in high school. At the time, she was a popular varsity cheerleader with a supportive family and lots of friends, but on the inside, she was filled with depression and anxiety, and had never told a soul about it.  Her attempt resulted in a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed but helped her find faith and purpose; and propelled her on a mission to use her painful experience and miraculous recovery to help others.

Herbert (they/them) is a pianist, photographer, and mental health advocate. They are a graduate of the music program at McGill University and plans to be a music educator and performer. Herbert is working on content to educate and promote social media safety as they believe that is an integral and important part of mental health advocacy. They are a speaker for jack.org and have attended a number of mental health events including the National Jack Summit. In their spare time, Herbert loves to travel, go on outdoor trips (such as hiking, kayaking) and do professional photography.

In this episode of Normalize The Conversation, Jill and Dave Henry guide us through the following questions:  Reframing the college experience and understanding the challenges of the transition: Why is the transition to college so challenging for students? What message should students receive as they prepare for the transition to college?  Dependable obstacles in the college setting & assessing how you’re doing: The college environment is “comically designed for students to fail.” How can students check in with themselves to see how they’re doing? Reframing “what I want to be” to “what I want to do” → in all aspects of life: What are some ways that students can “course correct” if they realize they’re off track?  Preparing for College: What are some things students can do this summer to prepare for the transition to college?

Laura Spaulding is the founder and franchisor of Spaulding Decon, a leading decontamination company in the United States. After 7 years in law enforcement, and serving in the military, Laura Spaulding started Spaulding Decon as a one woman show. In 2016 she franchised the company and has 53 locations across the country. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, Inc Magazine, and Entrepreneur magazine she has become a featured expert in growing a dirty business. In 2020, Laura took the company to a 608% growth to make the Inc 5000 list at #768. Laura earned her spot on the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list in less than 4 years of franchising. Laura created and produced the popular Youtube series Crime Scene Cleaning and has a podcast called Talking Decon. With over 50 million views Spaulding Decon has become a household name and the go-to for their services.   Laura has launched several charitable acts like the Holiday Hoarding Giveaway where her company provides a free cleanup for one lucky winner per year. Laura also gives one free franchise to a Veteran every year. Laura’s goal is to give back to those who deserve it and create goodwill in the community where they serve.

Sam Eaton is an author, speaker, and founder of Recklessly Alive, a suicide prevention organization sprinting towards a world with zero deaths by suicide. Sam has spoken at over one-hundred events throughout the U.S sharing his story of battling depression and suicidal thoughts. Sam’s first book, Recklessly Alive: What My Suicide Attempt Taught Me About God and Living Life to the Fullest, was released in January 2021 and reached the top 200 best-selling books on Amazon.

In this episode of Normalize The Conversation, Krista Montague discusses:  How dementia affects one's brain  Some "challenging behaviors" exhibited by individuals living with dementia  Common frustrations caregivers experience  3 things every caregiver should know