Hope For Depression Research Foundation To Honor Audra McDonald At 19th Annual Hope Luncheon Seminar

The Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) has announced that award-winning singer and actor Audra McDonald will be honored at the 19th Annual Hope Luncheon Seminar, taking place Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.

About the Seminar

This year’s seminar will be led by Master of Ceremonies Chuck Scarborough and will focus on “Stress and the Brain: The Link between Stress and Depression.” The program will feature leading scientists and psychiatrists addressing the growing link between stress and mental health in modern life. The discussion will explore new research on how chronic stress impacts the brain and what can be done to strengthen emotional resilience and well-being.

The expert medical speaker will be Dr. James Murrough, Director of the Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. An internationally recognized researcher in depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Dr. Murrough will explain in accessible terms how stress creates neurological risk pathways for depression and the strategies that can reverse or mitigate those effects.

HDRF Depression Task Force member Dr. Huda Akil, Professor of Neurosciences at the University of Michigan Medical School, will present an update on the foundation’s collaborative research. Akil, best known for discovering the role of endorphins in stress and recovery, will share findings on genetic factors that influence how individuals react to and tolerate stress—an essential area in understanding depression’s biological roots.

Honorees

Audra McDonald will receive the 2025 Hope Award for Mental Health Advocacy in recognition of her openness about her personal experience with depression and her ongoing advocacy for mental health awareness. A Juilliard-trained soprano, McDonald is a six-time Tony Award winner and recipient of two Grammy Awards and an Emmy Award. In 2015, she received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.

McDonald is also a dedicated advocate for equal rights and at-risk youth. She co-founded Black Theatre United, an organization that promotes equity in the performing arts, and serves on the board of Covenant House International, which supports young people experiencing homelessness across North and Latin America.

Elyce Arons, founder and CEO of Frances Valentine, will receive the 2025 Hope Community Award for her long-standing support of HDRF. Arons has been a key philanthropic partner of the foundation for over a decade and recently published a memoir, We Might Just Make It After All, chronicling her friendship and business partnership with the late designer Kate Spade.

Event Co-Chairs for this year’s luncheon include Marchesa Barel di Sant’Albano, Christina and Brian Flaherty, Susan Gutfreund, Kim M. Heirston, Tania Higgins, Eleanora Kennedy, Kristen Maltese Krusen, Susan R. McCaw, Kitty and Bill McKnight, Peter S. Paine III, Barbara and Randall Smith, and Scott Snyder.

About Hope for Depression Research Foundation

Founded by Audrey Gruss, the Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) is the leading non-profit dedicated to advancing scientific understanding of depression and related mood disorders. Through its Depression Task Force—a consortium of top neuroscientists—the foundation funds pioneering research aimed at transforming the diagnosis and treatment of depression.