1. Media Contact: Jack Futty
Wexner Medical Center Media Relations
614-293-3737 March 30, 2016
Jack.Futty@osumc.edu
MEDIA ADVISORY
FACES OF RESILIENCE DINNER TO BENEFIT OSU WEXNER MEDICAL CENTER’S STAR PROGRAM
COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s Stress, Trauma and Resilience
(STAR) Program will hold its annual Faces of Resilience dinner at 5:30 p.m. on April 7 in the George Bellows
Ballroom at the Hilton Columbus Downtown, 401 N. High St.
Media representatives are asked to call the Media Relations office at 614-293-3737 to make
arrangements to cover this event or schedule interviews with the keynote speakers before the event.
The featured guest speaker is Karyn Freedman, associate professor in the department of philosophy at
the University of Guelph and author of One Hour in Paris: A True Story of Rape and Recovery. The memoir
follows Freedman back to Paris in 1990 when she was 22 and her life was forever changed by a brutal rape.
Freedman will share her harrowing yet inspirational journey through suffering and recovery.
At the dinner, the STAR Program will honor Peter E. Geier and Grayce Sills as the 2016 STAR Award
winners. This award annually recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the STAR
Program and to the trauma and mental health fields. Geier served as the chief operating officer of Ohio State’s
Wexner Medical Center from 2001 to 2016 and as OSU Health System's chief executive officer from 2003 to
2016. Sills is a nationally acclaimed scholar in the field of psychiatric nursing and has served on a number of local
and state committees to improve services for the mentally ill.
Francie B. Henry, executive vice president and leader of the Investment Advisors at Fifth Third Bank, and
Delaney A. Burgdoerfer are serving as the event's honorary chairs. Donation and sponsorship opportunities are
available. Stellar STAR Sponsors who have donated $25,000 or more include Brooke Bodney; Delaney and
Stuart Burgdoerfer; Kontogiannis Companies; Courtney and Keith McWalter; Dr. Lee Shackelford and LBrands
Foundation. Proceeds from the event will benefit the STAR Program to help individuals suffering from
overwhelming trauma and mental health challenges.

2. The STAR Program, an initiative of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, OSU Harding
Behavioral Health and Ohio State’s Neurological Institute, improves lives by developing and delivering trauma-
informed clinical services and educational programs to help those suffering the ravages of trauma and related
mental illness. Centered on the Medical Center’s values of compassion and empathy, the program also
contributes new knowledge on stress and resilience gained through research.
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