American Program Bureau (APB) offers a wide collection of mental health and substance abuse speakers who address issues ranging from depression to addiction. Whether they are survivors sharing their past experiences or fighters discussing their ongoing battle, APB’s speakers on mental health and substance abuse inspire and educate audiences with their firsthand experiences encountering the obstacles life has thrown at them.
Judy Collins
Legendary folk singer, social activist, and best-selling author, Collins continues to chronicle life in her narration and song. But, she has also faced personal tragedy with the loss of her son to suicide. Articulating her story of survival with grace and dignity, she shares a deeply moving journey of renewal and ...
Joe Pantoliano
Emmy-winning actor Pantoliano from The Matrix, is best known as "Ralphie Cifaretto" on The Sopranos. What you don’t know is that he’s a mental health advocate who has dealt with clinical depression and his mother’s bipolar disorder. He stars in the film Canvas, a poignant story about a family's ...
Nic Sheff
In a voice that is raw and honest, he spares no detail in telling the compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery. He plunges into the mental and physical depths of drug addiction, painting a picture of a person at odds with his past, with his family, with his substances, and with ...
David Sheff
Renowned journalist David Sheff is the author of Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Addiction, a New York Times non-fiction bestseller. In it, he tells the story of his harrowing struggle to help his son Nic overcome his methamphetamine addiction from the father’s and family’s point of ...
Christopher Kennedy Lawford
Born into the Kennedy dynasty, Lawford was destined to do great things: he became a successful actor, lawyer, activist, writer, and speaker. But he also battled drug and alcohol addiction, and overcame a Hepatitis C diagnosis. In addition to sharing his extraordinary journey overcoming alcohol and drug abuse, he raises ...
Koren Zailckas
Author of The New York Times bestseller Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood, Zailckas chronicles her experiences with alcohol abuse as a teenager and high school student. Her story is one of the most riveting firsthand accounts of addiction. It combines insightful observations into the national culture of ...
Lou Gossett Jr.
As one of the most sought after veteran actors, Oscar winner Gossett has reached the heights of success. His unique talent for portraying powerful and charismatic characters has charmed audiences worldwide. As Founder of the Eracism Foundation, he is dedicated to fighting racism, ignorance, and social apathy.
Kathy Cronkite
Cronkite’s personal struggle with depression and her journey from darkness to light inspired her to become a tireless champion for mental health education, healing, and treatment. In her book, On the Edge of Darkness, she offers personal glimpses into mental illness by interviewing celebrities such as Mike ...
Natalie Cole
An eight-time Grammy winner, Cole has led a remarkable life, relying on the power of friends, family, and faith to become a true survivor. With honesty, grace, and humor, she shares her personal journey and the lessons she learned, advising us to make the right choices for a better life.
Jennifer Holliday
Arguably one of the greatest voices of the new millennium, Holliday gives concerts throughout the world and performs with many symphonies across the country. Having lived with depression for over ten years, she found the way to seek help and effectively cope with her disease. She offers the truth about her life, sharing ...
Jamie Lee Curtis
An award winning actress and best-selling author of seven children's books, Curtis is a woman with many talents. She has demonstrated her versatility as a film actress with starring roles in such acclaimed films as the blockbuster True Lies opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, for which she earned a Golden Globe Award.
Richard Dreyfuss
Oscar winner Dreyfuss has taught at Oxford, studied a wide range of subjects from history to politics, and is a driving force in the movement to bring civics back into the classrooms as well as creating a knowledgeable and engaged citizenry in America.
Michael Patrick MacDonald
Author of the incendiary New York Times bestselling memoir All Souls: A Family Story from Southie, and the companion bestseller Easter Rising: A Memoir of Roots and Rebellion, MacDonald shares his remarkable story of survival and redemption while examining the tangled relationship between poverty and ...
Alvin Poussaint
A veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Poussaint is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School who is renowned as an expert and educated crusader for the African American family within our multicultural society. He has worked closely with Bill Cosby, serving as an advisor on The Cosby Show, and has ...
Greg Louganis
Greg Louganis began competing in diving at age 10. By 16, he had won his first Olympic medal, a silver medal on the platform in 1976. At 24, he became the first man in 56 years to win two gold medals in diving by winning both the platform and springboard events. In 1988, competing against divers half his age, he became the ...
Lonise Bias
Mother of college basketball star Len Bias, who died of a cocaine overdose, and James Bias, who was murdered in a drive-by shooting, Dr. Bias aims to save a generation from self-destruction by fighting violence and drugs.
Malaak Compton-Rock
A graceful and inspirational force, Compton-Rock is devoted to volunteerism and focuses on such issues as youth, women’s empowerment, and education. Founder of The Angelrock Project, she works to promote social responsibility and encourages us all to live a life of service. A judge on Oprah’s Big Give, a ...
David Satcher
As the 16th Surgeon General, Dr. Satcher encouraged public debate about issues including mental health, bioterrorism, sex education, AIDS, tobacco, obesity, and balancing the community healthcare system. As the force behind creating Healthy People 2010, the nation's health agenda, he works to eliminate racial disparities ...
Richard Carmona
As the 17th Surgeon General, Dr. Carmona developed comprehensive knowledge of the environmental influences on healthy living today. He offers a close look at the epidemic of asthma in young children as well as other issues directly related to the state of our environment and how we can work towards not only a healthy body, ...
Lee Woodruff
After her husband, ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, sustained a critical brain injury in Iraq, they together penned In an Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing, The New York Times best-selling book about their family’s difficult journey through Bob’s recovery. Now, in her latest book, ...
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