Brown speaks to college students; she feels "connected."

Tanya Brown is a life coach and public speaker and of course, the younger sister of the late Nicole Brown Simpson, however, she does have an identity of her own.

Recently, Brown, 39, aligned herself with a teen suicide prevention organization called With Hope Foundation.

“I am focusing solely on mental health to help others acknowledge their despair and get the help they need to prevent suicide,” says Brown, who has a BA in Psychology with an emphasis in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. “I am motivated to get this information and inspiration into the school systems; high school and higher education. I am pursuing marketing my life coaching services to help people attain and maintain mental health for a more productive life.”

Brown says she has always had the knack for helping others and what really motivated her in moving forward with was an experience that happened in 2004.

“I fell into a depression after 10 years of suppressed grief from my sister’s murder came free. This was an isolated incident. That experience forced me to get the help I needed to get through it. I was hospitalized as an in-patient for 10 days and was an out-patient for 2 months. The program had a schedule of daily classes that focused on time management, cognitive restructuring, and journaling, eliminating self sabotage, wellness and stress management. There were other tools as well, but these were the ones that helped me the most,” she recalls.

She says it was during those classes that she had an epiphany.

“I wanted to bring these tools to my friends and future clients. From this experience, I was inspired to resume my education to get my Bachelor’s in Psychology and I am proceeding to complete my Master’s in Counseling Psychology.”

For almost 15 years, Brown has been solely speaking on domestic violence prevention specifically to college students.

“I feel connected to the college student. It is their first time away from home. They may experience their first date, drink, party, kiss and maybe even have a sexual encounter. My job is to show them that there are signs to look out for early in a relationship that need to be addressed and acknowledged. These signs are so subliminal making them very difficult to see. They may not see them right away, but my job is to help them see the light when they begin to question things,” she says.

The work she is involved in has helped her immensely.

“When I learned about Nicole’s abuse, it took me a long time to understand how people can do this to one another. Since I have this knack of always wanting to be there for others, I found my calling. I love to public speak to educate our communities on how to have healthy and loving relationships, not ones comprised of violence. This is senseless, yet the only way to stop it is to educate the communities. When I speak to people; men, women, boys and girls and they come and share stories with me, it is impossible for me not to do something to stop the violence. I love it. I love to help people,” she says.

Brown adds that she is fulfilled most when guiding people to live violent-free and empowering lives.

“Nothing, nothing, in the world makes me happier knowing that I helped save someone’s life and spirit. I am blessed that I have the opportunity to create a platform to do this motivating work,” she says.

Brown also spends a good portion of her time volunteering with such groups as The Nicole Brown Foundation, Crime Survivors, Donate Life (Eye, Tissue, Organ donation) and The Lighthouse Guild; benefiting the children of Olive Crest.

“I think volunteering puts life into perspective. We are very fortunate where we live. Yet, there are so many people less fortunate than us,” she says.

Visit http://tanyabrown.net for more information.