Haley DeGreve is a young woman with a fulfilling career.
As a communications manager with John Deere, she helps tell the story of Deere & Co., its people and products.
She loves the job. “I get to tell the value stories of what John Deere is doing. … I get to tell victory stories,” she said.
But her life has not always been filled with victory stories. Ms. DeGreve has openly talked about her struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts. During one recent speech, she told an audience about a night filled with depression; it was a night she googled “The quickest way to kill yourself.”
Suddenly, a friend called her and helped her through those dark hours.
“One phone call saved my life. … This is the power of community. We all have to work together,” she said at that event.
Ms. DeGreve’s struggles with depression led her to form the group The Gray Matters Collective while she was an Augustana College student. That organization is a mental health awareness and suicide prevention nonprofit that she launched in 2018 as a way for “people to come together and make change.”
“It’s been awesome to see how much we’ve grown over the years,” she said, adding that Gray Matters has expanded its chapters to more than 40 high schools and colleges in the region and Midwest. Eventually, she hopes to expand the organization to every state.
“We are building a community. … We are showing people they are loved and they matter,” she said.
Ms. DeGreve’s work with The Gray Matters Collective and in the business community has earned her many honors and awards the past few years. In 2022, she was selected for the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal’s inaugural Forty Under 40 award class. She now is being honored as the Emerging Woman of Influence, an award presented through the QCBJ’s Women of Influence Awards.
When she got word that she was selected for the honor, Ms. DeGreve said “I was shocked.” And she was especially pleased to get a small gift that came along with the announcement of the honor – a bouquet of flowers. “It was just so awesome to get the flowers,” she added.
Ms. DeGreve is a lifelong Illinois Quad Cities resident. Her family includes her parents, grandparents, a sister and nephew.
She has lived most of her life in Moline, except for her college years when she lived in Rock Island while attending Augustana, where she graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and communications studies.
It was during her Augustana years that she turned her struggles with depression into an organization that helps others battling mental issues. As founder of The Gray Matters Collective, she has spoken at schools, events and workplaces to educate people about mental health. She also has launched a podcast, “Surviving the Suck,” that also addresses mental health and suicide topics.
“I get to talk with some very interesting and cool people,” she said.
One of her recent podcasts include an interview with Zak Williams, the son of the late comic and actor Robin Willliams. Mr. Williams talked about his own mental health struggles and founded a company called PYM (Prepare Your Mind), a company that offers products for supporting optimal mental wellness and alleviating anxiety.
The focus on mental wellness is one of the key activities to Ms. DeGreve’s Gray Matters organization. She added that one of the educational points to the group is telling people to think of mental health the same way they currently think of physical wellness. She also tells people that every mental crisis is temporary and problems can be resolved.
One of her key messages to people facing depression and mental wellness challenges is this: “We need your light and you can’t be replaced.”
This profile was originally published in the QCBJ’s 2024 Women of Influence publication. The QCBJ is excited to introduce this new awards program to the Quad Cities. Our inaugural class of Women of Influence are an inspiring group of trailblazers, role models and leaders in their workplaces and in their communities. They have overcome adversity, taken chances and committed themselves to making the Quad Cities community a better place for all of us to live, work and play.
The QCBJ will present the 2024 Women of Influence awards on Thursday, May 23, from 5:30-8 p.m., at the Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf. Tickets are still available to the event, which includes networking, dinner and remarks from the winners, by visiting quadcitiesbusiness.com.
