Katherine Stone

During a devastating bout with postpartum depression following the birth of her first child, Katherine Stone spent a year feeling alone and defective, convinced her child would never love her. After she recovered, she decided it was high time someone made some noise about this common yet underreported childbirth complication, so she created the award-winning internationally recognized website Postpartum Progress to raise awareness and give mothers comprehensive information and support.

Today, Postpartum Progress is the most widely read blog on postpartum depression (and all other mental illness related to pregnancy and childbirth) in the world, reaching hundreds of thousands of women annually. On the heels of that project, Stone founded Postpartum Progress, Inc., a national nonprofit focused on vastly improving the support and services for women with perinatal mental illness.

Stone has written about postpartum depression as a contributing expert for BlogHer, the world's top community for women in social media; the Today Show website; and PBS' This Emotional Life. She has also appeared in videos on postpartum depression for CNN, Health.com, and iVillage. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the inaugural Bloganthropy Award, which recognizes individuals who use social media to make a difference; a spot on More magazine's annual Fierce List; and recognition as a WebMD Health Hero, which awards individuals who have overcome challenges and helped transform healthcare.

"The mother to all mothers," as she is reverentially called by her readers and fans, Katherine Stone is determined that her daughter's generation does not suffer in silence. She is a dynamic and engaging speaker and presents at events around the country on postpartum depression, parenting, social media, and the patient empowerment movement.