Who We Are

The Kim Foundation’s mission is to serve as a supportive resource and compassionate voice for lives touched by mental illness and suicide. Our vision is a community free of suicide that embraces the importance of quality mental health services and prevention.

The Kim Foundation strives to increase awareness around mental health and suicide prevention. The belief that no one is immune from these issues sits at the core of what we do, as we offer awareness programming to every pocket of our community. Our message of recovery, awareness, acceptance, resiliency, and hope reaches youth, adults, professionals, educators, families, and anyone who is interested in learning more and helping others.

We serve as a communication and connection link between individuals, families, and organizations throughout Nebraska. The foundation works to ensure no one who is in need of services is denied them through providing funding for services to organizations, building awareness and acceptance of the true issues at hand, and advocating for a comprehensive, accessible behavioral health system for all Nebraskans.

The Kim Foundation is funded by the Larry and Kathy Courtnage family in honor of Larry’s daughter, Kim. The foundation was established to give back to the community and to facilitate change in the behavioral health field.

Learn more about our exciting and educational programs and other ways we are helping support the local mental health landscape by watching The Kim Foundation video.

Foundation History

The Kim Foundation was founded in 2001. Since its inception, priorities and initiatives have shifted and grown, but our commitment to supporting and promoting mental health and suicide prevention has always remained at the core of what we do. Our staff continues to grow based on the needs of the community, and we are committed to remaining relevant and accessible to meet the changing times in the future.

family photo

The Kim Foundation is a lasting memory of Larry Courtnage’s daughter, Kim, who lived with mental illness and ultimately took her life. He vowed to continue building awareness around a topic that we still see far too much stigma around and to help other families avoid experiences that his family encountered through Kim’s treatment and recovery process.

The Kim Foundation has played an active role in policy, outreach, education, and funding in all components of mental health care in Nebraska, and we will continue serving as a strong voice for all lives impacted by mental illness and suicide.

Our Team

Julia Hebenstreit, J.D.
Executive Director

Sadie Hinkel
Program Director

Kerri Armstrong
Office Manager

Molly Woodman
Outreach Coordinator

Sidney Howard
Outreach Coordinator

Ashlee Zaragoza
Outreach Coordinator