My name is Lisa Fabian and I am the Associate Director of Development for the Prechter Program. I simply love my job.
Being a part of the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor community is an honor. Ann Arbor has felt like home ever since I arrived as a freshman, which explains the “I’d rather be in Ann Arbor” bumper sticker that has been with me since I graduated from the College of LSA in 1984. I’ve lived in several other places, but nowhere else has the combination of intellectual stimulation, diversity, and lack of pretense that permeates Ann Arbor.
As much as I love Ann Arbor, the supporters of the Prechter Program are the main reason I love my job. Every day I talk with them – people who care about mental health and often have firsthand knowledge of the havoc that bipolar illness wreaks. In far too many cases, they have lost a loved one to “bipolar suicide.” Yet, day after day, they are shining examples of forward-looking qualities like resilience, compassion and generosity. Of course there is pain, but they choose to push on, to partner with the Prechter Program, and to improve outcomes for their loved ones and people they will never meet.
In 1988, my dad died by bipolar suicide. There is no place that offers the hope and promise of a better future for those with bipolar illness than the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program. So, each day, I pay tribute to my dad, guided by the lessons and love I learned from him, and the resilience of my amazing mother who held things together through it all.
I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to work with this team. Thank you to all our supporters for all you do to advance our work. If I haven’t met you yet, I look forward to it. Please feel free to call me anytime.
Lisa Fabian
734-763-4895
[email protected]