Happy New Year – 2020!

It’s hard to believe that the calendar now reads 2020! Not just a new year, but a new decade! So far 2020 has paved the way to some exciting changes here at the foundation. We’ve welcomed two new full-time staff members. Tiffany Dahir has joined The Kim Foundation as our first ever Assistant Director and brings so much to the table that will help advance the foundation in this new decade. Jill Haupts has joined us in a new role as well, she is serving as the Outreach Coordinator, bringing a lot of energy and experience as she handles all events and outreach efforts for the foundation. Welcome to the team ladies; we are very excited to have you on board!

January has also brought the opportunity to roll out the Nebraska School Mental Health Conference registration. If you are interested in attending the conference this year on June 4th & 5th at Embassy Suites La Vista Conference Center, visit our site here. Dr. Isiah Pickens will serve as our dynamic opening keynote speaker bringing his expertise and passion to the conference. Dr. Pickens currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Service System Program at the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress Network. We also welcome Conner Oberhauser, a Nebraska youth who is extremely transparent with his story of mental illness, and his passion for breaking down the stigma so that others feel comfortable coming forward to seek help or tell their story as well. Our closing keynote will join us from our neighboring state, Iowa. Dr. Jennifer Ulie-Wells serves as the director of Please Pass the Love and will energize the audience with her personal and professional expertise to empower school communities to embrace and sustain mental health and wellness supports for students through education, leadership, and advocacy. In addition to these dynamic keynote speakers, there will be 35 breakout sessions, and an awards reception where attendees can network and connect with others throughout the state. We hope you’ll join us in June!

As if those things weren’t enough, we’ve also secured our 2020 keynote speaker for our fall event, A Time for Hope & Healing! Please watch for more details to be released soon, but make sure to save the date, October 20th over lunch to spend it with The Kim Foundation! And make sure to bring some tissues!

We hope 2020 has been as eventful and exciting for you as well! We look forward to a new year full of strengthened partnerships, achieved goals, and key advocacy for those impacted by mental illness and suicide.

Julia Hebenstreit, Executive Director of The Kim Foundation

Julia Hebenstreit is the Executive Director of The Kim Foundation. She received her J.D. from Creighton University in 2005, and her BS in Journalism from the University of Nebraska Omaha in 2002. She has been with The Kim Foundation since 2011, and prior to that worked for local non-profits doing development, strategic planning, communications and advancement. She has a passion for helping people and improving lives, and serves on the Executive Committee for Nebraska Association of Behavioral Health Organizations, as the 2015 Hill Day State Captain for the state of Nebraska, and as an active member of the Nebraska Suicide Prevention Coalition, the Early Childhood Mental Health Coalition, BHECN Advisory Committee, RESPECT Advisory Board, Connections Advisory Board and the Project Propel Planning Group.