Today’s guest on Suicide Survival Stories is Carrie Lanier, an active community volunteer with more than a decade of marketing and public relations experience. Until 2010, Carrie worked for Jackson Spalding, where she led efforts for several of the firm’s top clients. Earlier, Carrie worked for Spanx as well as Chicago-based Marketing Werks, where she drove the Hershey’s Kissmobile across the U.S., raising awareness for the Hershey’s Kisses brand and funds for Children’s Miracle Network.

More recently, Carrie has held various roles on the Atlanta Speech School Board of Trustees where she currently serves as Vice Chair. She was the 2018-2019 Atlanta Speech School Guild President, where her leadership efforts fostered community building and provided significant fundraising for the School’s financial aid program. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Trinity School, where her three daughters are students. Since 2016, Carrie has been on Skyland Trail’s Advisory Board. This organization is a true passion of hers given the loss of her brother Jimmy to suicide. In 2021, Carrie co-chaired Skyland Trail’s primary annual fundraising event, “Benefits of Laughter,” where her efforts helped lead to a record-breaking $1.2 million dollars raised for financial aid.

Carrie and her husband, Whit, have three young daughters and one furry Goldendoodle son. Originally from South Carolina, Carrie graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina’s Honors College and is an active alumna and Gamecock fan. The Laniers attend St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and Carrie enjoys biking, hiking, traveling, writing, and reading.

Carrie joins us today to talk about her experience with suicide and remember her brother, Jimmy, who died by suicide on April 11, 1994, when he was 22 and Carrie was 16.