Jessie Close

Jessie Close is an internationally recognized speaker, author, poet and advocate for mental health reform. She lives with bipolar disorder in the foothills of the Tobacco Root Mountains outside Bozeman, Montana with her Service Dog, Snitz, and three other dogs. She is the author of The Warping of Al, (Harper & Row 1990) and she writes a regular blog for Bring Change 2 Mind, an anti-stigma organization that her sister, Glenn, created at Jessie's request. Jessie has received awards from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the largest grassroots mental health organization in America with more than 600,000 members, and Mental Health America, the largest grassroots group of persons living with mental disorders. She also has received the Jed Foundation Award and The McLean Award. Along with her son, Calen, Jessie is a much sought-after inspirational speaker.