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Mariska Hargitay Honored
at 18th Annual HOPE Luncheon
Seminar
Luncheon Focused on
“Trauma and Recovery: How the Brain
Heals”
with keynote speaker Dr. Pamela Cantor
Hope for Depression
Research Foundation (HDRF), the leading
non-profit dedicated solely to advanced
depression research, held its 18th
annual HOPE luncheon seminar on Tuesday,
November 12 at
The Plaza Hotel. The event focused
on “Trauma and Recovery: How the Brain
Heals” with top medical experts and
beloved actor/producer
Mariska Hargitay, who was honored
for her work in the trauma field.
“All of us have
experienced degrees of trauma,” said
HDRF Founder & Chair Audrey Gruss at the
event, which drew 350 guests and raised
$650,000 for life-saving mental health
research. “Everyone of us has
experienced heartbreak, felt betrayed,
neglected, wounded or abused in some
way. That’s why today’s topic is
meaningful and poignant.”
At the event, Audrey
Gruss presented Mariska Hargitay with
the 2024 HOPE
Award for Depression Advocacy.
Gruss said: “On TV,
Mariska Hargitay plays a relentless,
hard-nosed, take-no-prisoners crusader
for justice: Detective Olivia Benson on
NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit. But Mariska Hargitay is also a
hero off the screen. She founded the
Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004, whose
mission is to transform society’s
response to sexual assault, domestic
violence and child abuse, support
survivors’ healing, and end this
violence forever.’
Mariska Hargitay
delivered an acceptance speech filled
with gratitude, humor and humility.
“The Joyful Heart
Foundation is my response to reading all
the letters that I received from
survivors.”
She continued: “On a
personal note, I've also gone through my
own journey of learning how to respond
to the various traumas that I
experienced in my life. I lost my mother
when I was three years old, and I grew
up in a house with people dealing with a
tragedy in their own way. And because
there was so much grief, there wasn't
room to prioritize anyone. We didn't
have the tools that we have now to
metabolize and understand trauma,
understand all the levels, understand
that it goes in on the cellular level.
So it wasn't until much later in my life
when I was able to do that for myself.’
‘I had a good fortune to
find extraordinary therapists who …
helped give me my life back and
reorganized my nervous system, and they
gave me back a whole lot of space, which
is, I've learned, synonymous
with healing.”
Mariska concluded her
remarks with, “There is hope. There is
hope. And with that message, I say,
thank you for having me today.”
Every year at the
Luncheon Seminar, HDRF brings a
psychiatrist and a neuroscientist to
speak on the given topic. This year was
no exception. The clink of forks during
the lunch fell silent when psychiatrist
Dr. Pamela Cantor gave her keynote
presentation. Cantor is the CEO of The
Human Potential L.A.B., which develops
programs for schools and other
institutions to teach them the science
of stress and its impact on the brain.
Cantor shared candidly
how she was abused sexually and then
silenced as a child, leading her
ultimately to become a psychiatrist. In
medical school she learned about the
interplay between nature and nurture and
how the brain is changed by experience.
Two key hormones in our bodies and
brains drive emotions, she said:
cortisol, the stress hormone, and
oxytocin, the love or trust hormone.
Oxytocin can protect our cells from the
effects of cortisol and help reverse the
emotional damage of a traumatic event.
Cantor asserted that
pro-resilient qualities such as
doggedness, tenacity, perseverance, and
recovery from failure can be developed,
just as a muscle is, through active and
consistent training.
“Healing is a dynamic
process and it needs to be intentional”
she stressed. “Often it needs to be
guided by someone else, a doctor, a
physical therapist, a coach.”
The next guest featured
in the program was Dr. René Hen Professor
of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at
Columbia University, the Director of the
Division of Integrative Neuroscience in
the Department of Psychiatry at the New
York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI),
and a member of HDRF’s Depression Task
Force.
Dr. Hen discussed the
areas of the brain that underlie
conditions like PTSD. He explained that
deeply distressing experiences can often
disrupt normal memory processing and
cause individuals to be haunted by past
distressing events. His lab is now
starting a pilot clinical trial to test
a new medication that can help the brain
heal the disrupted memory circuits.
HDRF Founder and
Chair Audrey Gruss added: “When I formed
HDRF, my vision was to create a think
tank to defeat depression, where some of
the greatest neuroscientists on the
planet could collaborate in a way that
breaks the traditional mold of academic
research. The field was stuck, so we
hoped that by working together, we would
provide real results faster.”
HDRF Executive Director
Louisa Benton then
took the podium to discuss HDRF’s
community outreach and education
efforts. She highlighted HDRF’s Race of
Hope 5K in Palm Beach and Southampton,
as well as the Teen Race of Hope in NYC
in May.
James Remez, Founder of
Livingston Builders, Inc. accepted
the 2024 Hope Corporate Visionary
Award. In his remarks he commended
Audrey Gruss for her leadership, and
HDRF for being such a prominent force in
mental health research. He said that
Livingston Builders is committed to
“raising funds to support the remarkable
work of HDRF distinguished team of
neuroscientists, doctors, and
professionals from the most prestigious
institutions.”
Hank Siegel, CEO of
Hamilton Jewelers accepted
the 2024 Hope Community Ambassador
Award. He received the Award for his
initiative to design and create “Charms
of Hope,” a line of fine jewelry, in
collaboration with the Hope for
Depression Research Foundation. All
sales of “Charms of Hope” benefit HDRF.
He said: “Like so many of
us, I've witnessed, throughout my
career, the debilitating effect of
depression and related mood disorders
and how it touches all of us with
personal struggles, with friends and
loved ones, but also as an employer.”
This year’s Event
Co-Chairs include Marchesa Barel di Sant’
Albano, Maru M. Hagerty, Kim M. Heirston,
Tania Higgins, Eleanora Kennedy, Kristen
Maltese Krusen, Margo Langenberg, Kitty
and Bill McKnight, Peter S. Paine III,
Barbara and Randall Smith and Scott
Snyder.
Each year, the luncheon
is attended by over 300 New York
philanthropists, asset managers,
business and media professionals,
socialites, and celebrities who gather
to raise awareness about depression and
its related mood disorders and to raise
funds for continued research.
Founder Sponsors: EGL
Charitable Foundation,
Paulson Family Foundation
Benefactor Sponsors: Abraham
Fuchsberg Family Foundation,
Mike Dudgeon, The Richard S. and Karen
T. LeFrak Foundation
Diamond Sponsors: Maru
M. Hagerty, Tania Higgins, Kristen
Maltese Krusen, Thomas C. Quick, Teresa
& James Remez, Barbara & Randall Smith,
Barbera Hale Thornhill, and Lynne M.
Wheat.
Patron Donors:
Marchesa Barel di Sant’ Albano, Nancy &
Edmund M. Dunst / HUB International
Northeast, Annie Falk, Kim S.
Fennebresque, Laura Lofaro Freeman, Kim
M. Heirston, Eleanora Kennedy, Judy &
Leonard Lauder, Kitty & Bill McKnight,
Stephanie Olmsted, Peter S. Paine III,
Scott Snyder and Sarah. J. Wetenhall
Friend Donors: Ana
Cristina Alvarado, Shelley Bergman,
Bloomberg Philanthropies, Eugenia
Bullock, Mary Ann Fribourg, Jamee &
Peter Gregory, Susan Gutfreund, The
Josephberg Family, Kontes Family, Margo
Langenberg, Maureen Kelly & Sam Lehrman,
Susan Lloyd, Susan R. McCaw, Mr. & Mrs.
Sam Michaels, Pamela & Edward Pantzer,
Stacey Pashcow, Katharine Rayner and
Lulu C. Wang
Gold Donors: Mrs.
Donna Acquavella, Carl B. Adams, Muffie
Potter Aston, Paola Bacchini, Barbara
Bancroft, CeCe Black, Geoffrey N.
Bradfield, Janna Bullock, Sharon Bush &
Robert Murray, Myron Cohen & Federman
Steifman, LLP, Mary Cunney, Ide & David
Dangoor, Gus N. Davis, Ada De Maurier,
Arthur Dunnam, Dr. Danielle Erpf,
Marjorie S. Federbush, Firmenich,
Frances & Jeff Fisher, Lionel Geneste,
Dr. Sharon Giese, Jillian Gilmour,
Joanna Goldenstein, Lisa Granozio, Karen
Klopp, Mrs. Karen LeFrak, Kamie
Lightburn, Geralyn Lucas, Christine
Mack, Marcia Mishaan, Diana Morrison,
Mrs. Margo M. Nederlander, Anne Nordeman,
Deborah Norville, Jane & Richard Novick,
Irene Ponce, Diana R. Quasha, Darcy
Rigas, Nicole Salmasi, Frances G. Scaife,
Nancy Schaffel, Jean Shafiroff, Ramona
Singer, Alison Maher Stern, Ginny &
David Sydorick, Amanda Taylor, Kari
Tiedemann, Lydia Touzet, Betsy & Wallace
Turner, Nicholas Varney, Lis Waterman,
Michelle Worth, Clelia Zacharias,
Richard Ziegelasch, Bettina Zilkha,
David Zislin and Silvia Zoullas
NYC Junior Committee
Chair: Elizabeth
Meigher
Vice-Chairs:
Callie Baker Holt, Katherine Boulud,
Melissa Breitbart, Eugenia Bullock,
Joanna Goldenstein, Clementine Goutal,
Gillian Hearst, Rick Kleeman and Debra
Peltz, Meghan and Adam Klopp, Harrison
LeFrak, Amanda and Ted Mariner, Nicole
Hanley Mellon, Stacey Pashcow, Stephanie
Sirota, Mary E. Snow and Sarah Wetenhall
Committee: Heidi
Brod, Krista Corl, Judith Grey, Isabella
Meyer, Brooke and Patrick Murray, Susan
Potok Harrison, Louisa Ryan, Whitney
Schott, Ivy Sophir and Jane Stevens
Gift Bag Sponsors: 4imprint,
Compendium, The Estee Lauder Companies
Inc., Fishers Finery, Hamilton Jewelers,
Hope Fragrances, Jao, KIP,
Rene Barnes and Therapy Notebooks
ABOUT HOPE FOR DEPRESSION
RESEARCH FOUNDATION (HDRF)
HDRF was founded in 2006
by philanthropist Audrey Gruss in memory
of her mother Hope, who struggled with
clinical depression. The mission of the
HDRF is to spur the most innovative
brain research into the origins, medical
diagnosis, new treatments, and
prevention of depression and its related
mood disorders – bipolar disorder,
postpartum depression, post-traumatic
stress disorder, anxiety disorder, and
suicide. The World Health Organization
has declared depression as the leading
cause of disability worldwide, and yet
conventional medications today are
outdated and do not fully work for 50%
of patients. HDRF is working tirelessly
to improve the mental health landscape
for every American. The Foundation has
provided more than $85 million through
over 200 grants for breakthrough
depression research that promises to
transform the way depression is viewed,
diagnosed, treated and prevented.
Currently, HDRF has a potential new
class of medication in pilot clinical
trials at Mount Sinai Medical Center,
and Stanford University. HDRF is also
funding clinical trials into other novel
therapeutics and diagnostic tests at
Johns Hopkins, University of San Diego,
and the Center for Healthy Minds at the
University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
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