Katherine Stone
Public Relations / Outreach Chair
Role with PSI:
My role as a member of PSI’s board of directors is to serve as the Public Relations/Outreach Chairwoman. It’s my responsibility to promote the activities and positions of PSI through press releases, website postings, developing associations and links with other like-minded organizations, and seeking promotional opportunities through partnerships with appropriate businesses.
Bio:
Ms. Stone suffered postpartum OCD with the birth of her son in 2001. She started her own blog, Postpartum Progress in 2004, because she felt most of the available resources on the web were too medically-oriented and static. None offered a stigma-busting, revealing take on what it’s like to experience PPD. Her mission is to provide hope and comfort to sufferers, as well as to those who care for them. Postpartum Progress is the most widely-read blog in the United States on postpartum mood disorders.
Prior to becoming a full-time advocate and stay-at-home mom, Ms. Stone spent seven years in corporate marketing at The Coca-Cola Company. Her last position there was Director of Experiential Marketing. Before that, she was an account supervisor at the public relations firm Cohn & Wolfe, where she developed PR campaigns for the Coca-Cola USA account and also managed the account team handling media relations for the AT&T Global Olympic Village during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Her first blog, Decent Marketing, was named a “Best Business Blog: Women at Work” by Fast Company magazine. Ms. Stone has a B.A. in Journalism from Michigan State University. She lives in the Atlanta area with her husband, 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.
As a full-time advocate, Ms. Stone also serves as guest editor on the topic of postpartum depression at BlogHer, the world’s top community for and guide to blogs by women. In October 2007, she successfully led “Blog Day for the MOTHERS Act.” This event brought together female bloggers from across the U.S. to write about PPD and urge their readers to call the Senate and ask them to pass the MOTHERS Act for more education, research and screening for postpartum mood disorders. Soon she will be featured in the postpartum depression section of Time Inc.’s relaunch of Health.com (Spring 2008).
Ms. Stone’s articles on PPD have appeared in such places as Newsweek magazine (July 7, 2004). She has appeared live on nationally syndicated “The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet” on Fox, as well as online at numerous sites, including U.S. Department of Health & Human Services womenshealth.gov; Parent Guide News; and BBC News “World Have Your Say,” among others.