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Waltraud E. Prechter
“Carpe Diem” Waltraud (“Wally”) Prechter is President and Founder of The Heinz C. Prechter Fund for Manic Depression, which was founded in November, 2001. In April, 2004, the Fund was transferred to the University of Michigan Health System and is now the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Fund. For a quarter century, Wally served as the closest business advisor and confidant to her late husband, entrepreneurial visionary Heinz C. Prechter, quietly helping build the business empire that was Prechter Holdings. Driven by the spirit of giving back to the community, the Prechter family established the World Heritage Foundation, a philanthropic entity dedicated to helping make a difference, primarily in the areas of health and education. Wally has served as President of the World Heritage Foundation-Prechter Family Fund since its inception in 1985. Wally has been a positive force in her community, state, and country. She serves in leadership positions in numerous civic and charitable organizations including the University of Michigan President’s Advisory Group, the Georgetown University Board of Regents, the University of Michigan Depression Center National Advisory Board, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Kresge Eye Institute, the Robert and Gerry Ligon Research Center of Vision, Wayne State University’s Detroit Medical Center Women’s Clinical Services Board, Henry Ford Health System Foundation Board of Trustees, Hutzel/Harper Hospital, College for Creative Studies, Covenant House Michigan, the United German-American Committee of the USA, Inc. Advisory Board, and the Commonwealth Center of Excellence for Bipolar Disorder in Pittsburgh. A strong advocate of health education for many years, Wally Prechter established The Heinz C. Prechter Fund for Manic Depression in memory of her late husband to advance breakthrough medical research to develop cures for bipolar disorder. Heinz Prechter suffered from intermittent bouts of manic depression for most of his adult life and fell victim to suicide on July 6, 2001, at the age of 59. Wally has emerged as one of the most outspoken and effective mental health advocates in the United States. She was instrumental in establishing the Depression Center at the University of Michigan, the first of its kind in the nation. In May, 2002, she provided testimony before the U. S. Congressional Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, requesting a significant increase of federal funding of the National Institute of Mental Health and bipolar research. President George W. Bush appointed her to serve on the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health to help improve the mental health care system in America. She received honors from the Juvenile Bipolar Foundation, and the International Society for Bipolar Disorders and was named by the Detroit News as one of the 2002 Michiganians of the Year. In 2004, Wally was appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm to co-chair the Michigan Mental Health Commission and was selected as one of Detroit’s most enterprising women by the Detroit Historical Society. In 2007, she was selected by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of Metro Detroit’s Most Influential Women. She currently serves on the National Board of Directors of SPAN USA (Suicide Prevention Action Network). Born in Alfershausen, Germany, Wally attended the University of Erlangen. She emigrated to the United States in 1977 and completed her education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education with honors. A resident of suburban Detroit, Wally Prechter is the mother of adult twins.
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