On March 6, Giorgio Armani sponsored the Second Annual Fountain House Associates Spring Breakfast, entitled "Enhancing Your Mood and Memory: Hormones are Just Part of the Story." The event, which was held at Armani Ristorante, featured C. Neill Epperson, MD, Director of the Penn Center for Women's Behavioral Wellness and Shari Lusskin, MD, Founding Director of Reproductive Psychiatry at NYU Medical Center and NYU School of Medicine. Each doctor spoke about issues pertaining to women's mental health. Among the topics discussed were how hormones impact depression in women and the dangers of chronic stress, which damages areas of the brain where memory, cognition, and concentration occur.
The event was hosted by members of the Fountain House Associates Committee. The Chairs were Kate Allen, Donya Bommer, Kathleen Kocatas, Jennifer Oken, Katie Tozer, and Katie Zorn; Vice-Chairs were Nicole Cunningham, Heather Georges, Sarah Goldstein, Stacey Graev, Kandis Koustenis, Laura McVey, and Elizabeth Pyne.
Fountain House is one of the world's leading mental health organizations, providing employment, educational, housing, health and wellness opportunities to people living with serious mental illness. It was founded in 1948 on the premise that people can be active partners in their recovery and to ensure that people with mental illness have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and fulfilling lives. The effectiveness of the Fountain House approach is widely acknowledged and has inspired similar programs in more than 400 locations in 30 countries and 32 states