Dennis Gillan

Book Dennis Gillan for your event

Dennis Gillan understands firsthand how suddenly suicide can alter a family. During his junior year of college, Dennis was preparing for two tests when the phone rang. His older brother, Mark, had died by suicide.

Dennis struggled with the loss and increased his use of alcohol and other substances as a way of coping. Eleven years later, the phone rang again. His younger brother, Matthew, had also died by suicide.

Losing two brothers took Dennis into an extremely dark period of his life. Therapy and sobriety helped him move forward, but for years, speaking publicly about Mark and Matthew was something he avoided.

Eventually, that silence became part of his reason for speaking.

From personal loss to action

Before becoming a professional speaker, Dennis worked behind the scenes of the suicide prevention movement. While living in Chicago, he volunteered for the Suicide Prevention Hotline, supporting people during moments when conversation and human connection mattered enormously.

After moving to South Carolina, he became involved with nonprofits addressing mental health, advocating for greater awareness and lobbying lawmakers to bring these often-difficult subjects into the open.

But Dennis still wasn't publicly telling his own story.

That changed in 2010, when he was invited to speak for five minutes at a fundraiser. Dennis barely made it through the speech. As he walked offstage, a woman pointed at him and told him he needed to tell that story more often.

His immediate reaction was that there was no chance he would do it again.

Then a local college invited him to speak to a group of interns. Dennis thought the presentation was horrible. The audience disagreed. Another school called, then another opportunity followed, and his speaking career began to grow. As Dennis jokes, that first college engagement also became his first professional speaking gig because they paid for his parking.

Real conversations about mental health

Today, Dennis uses storytelling, honesty and humor to help audiences become more comfortable talking about mental health, suicide prevention and the subjects people often find hardest to discuss.

Rather than treating mental health as an abstract concept, he creates an environment where challenging conversations feel human and accessible. Humor plays an important role in his delivery, helping disarm the room and creating space for difficult messages to land without diminishing their seriousness.

His keynotes also move beyond awareness. Dennis gives audiences practical ways to check in with themselves and others, listen more intentionally, recognise when someone may need support and become more willing to start conversations that might otherwise be avoided.

Dennis has brought his message to business leaders, military personnel, faith communities, students and organisations throughout the United States and internationally. His audiences have ranged from the Army and Air Force to colleges, businesses, churches and homeless shelters.

Loneliness, connection & kindness

Dennis's work has also expanded into the subjects of loneliness, kindness and genuine human connection. His TEDx talk on loneliness has received more than 27,000 views, extending his message far beyond the audiences he reaches from the stage.

He also co-wrote a children's book about dealing with sadness, helping younger readers understand difficult emotions while exploring how kindness can have a profound impact on another person.

This commitment to connection is reflected in his role as executive director of the Half a Sorrow Foundation. Its name comes from an old Swedish proverb: a shared joy is a double joy, and a shared sorrow is half a sorrow. The foundation works to improve mental health by encouraging real conversations and meaningful human connection.

Across Dennis's speaking, advocacy and nonprofit work, one principle remains central: difficult emotions should not have to be carried alone.

Why book Dennis Gillan?

Dennis brings audiences a deeply personal yet hopeful approach to some of the most challenging conversations around mental health. His keynotes combine lived experience with years of suicide prevention and advocacy work to create sessions that connect emotionally while encouraging meaningful action.

Book Dennis Gillan to:

• Open honest and approachable conversations about mental health and suicide prevention
• Help reduce stigma around discussing difficult emotions and asking for support
• Explore the impact of loneliness and the importance of genuine human connection
• Give audiences practical ways to check in, listen and support the people around them
• Experience a speaker who balances vulnerability and difficult subject matter with warmth and thoughtful humor
• Inspire audiences to continue important conversations long after the keynote ends

Through every story, laugh and difficult moment, Dennis ultimately returns to the message that drives his work: life is worth living.