Ashwin is the President of HealthEMe Inc., that is redefining how healthcare is delivered in a manner that does not disrupt the clinical workflow but takes on the bottlenecks, waitlists and lack of access to care head on. Initially designed for patients with Mental Illness, HealthEMe supports the individual when they
need it the most, customized to their unique needs, ensuring they do not continue to deteriorate as they await supports and care from the health system. HealthEMe will be seen across industries, namely Healthcare, Academia, Insurance and Pharma and beyond just Mental Illness to other chronic illness profiles globally. Most importantly a partnership with Ulnooweg will see it delivered to our First Nations and Indigenous communities across Nova Scotia and across the country.

He is also a member of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie University and supervises research for graduates from the Faculties of Health, Computer Science and Management along with being a mentor for BIPOC mentees from the University to navigate through the professional and academic career paths chosen by the individuals in Canada and abroad.

Ashwin currently serves as the Chair of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission and sits on the Boards of the IWK Health Centre and the Advisory Board of Creative Commons Canada. He has been on the Boards of the Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the Independent Living Resource Centre and VON Canada, while also giving back each year to numerous community organizations that are near and dear to him. Ashwin has been named a Top 50 CEO on numerous occasions and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

He has received numerous awards for leadership, including being named Business Person of the Year and a Next Generation Leader by the Government of Canada. Awards involving Innovation, Care, creating Capacity and Support are just additional achievements that Ashwin has added to his plethora of accolades over the years. He was most recently awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for his work in building a strong community and also for his outstanding and significant service to the Province of Nova Scotia

Johnny has worked in healthcare for over a decade in various leadership roles across mental health and primary care and is experienced in leading scaled change within health systems and healthcare delivery teams.

At Spectrum.Life, Johnny leads commercial and customer activities and is accountable for the organisation’s global customer operations.

Julie Drury is the Director Mental Health for Veterans Affairs Canada. Julie is responsible for leading clinical mental health expertise within VAC, and for the delivery of a comprehensive continuum of mental health care program and services for Veteran clients.

Her current focus is on access to mental health programs that meet the needs of Veterans where and how they would like to access care and support – with a strong emphasis on digital, virtual and e-Mental Health initiatives.

Julie has held several policy and program leadership roles across the Canadian federal government, provincial government, and as a patient partner consultant to national and international organizations. She is passionate about building and leading intersectoral partnerships and teams in health care program and policy, system design, innovation & improvement

Lindsey Thomson is a Registered Psychotherapist and the founder of Momentum Mindset Psychotherapy & Consulting in Ottawa, Canada. She is also an active advocate for improved access to mental health services for all in Canada through her work as Director of Public Affairs for the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.

Lindsey is purpose-driven by bridging the gaps in the system through her advocacy work, volunteering, and opening up about her lived and living experiences with mental health challenges while working in the field.

Through her own experience with generalized anxiety disorder, disordered eating and body image issues, Lindsey has been able to support her clients uniquely, helping them let go of societal expectations, reconnect with their true selves, improve relationships with food and know their worth.

John Moore is the CEO of software company Mental Fitness IQ, a firm dedicated to improving employee wellbeing.

Prior to founding mfIQ, John had a 30+ year career in the consulting industry. He specialized in helping clients transform their businesses – implementing new business models, building supportive cultures, improving business processes and leveraging new technologies.

John led PwC’s consulting business in Canada and was a member of the global leadership team. Previously he ran the systems integration business for IBM Canada.

Heidi Sturk is the Director of eMHPrac (e-Mental Health in Practice) at Queensland University of Technology. Heidi is a strategic and collaborative leader who oversees the development, delivery and evaluation of training and support on digital mental health to Australian health practitioners and service providers.

She holds a Master of Organisational Psychology and has worked in applied mental health research and workforce training for the last 30 years. Heidi has an in-depth knowledge of the Australian digital mental health sector and is an invited member of various Government advisory committees. She is passionate about educating others how to safely utilise technology for mental health treatment, support and connection.

Dr Andrew J. Greenshaw, University of Alberta Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, trained in Europe and Canada. A Fellow of the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CCNP), for which he served as President from 2000-2002, and the Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum (CINP), Andy served as University of Alberta Associate Vice President (Research) and served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the CIHR Institute of Neuroscience Mental Health & Addiction.

Andy has broad research interests that range from neuroscience to policy in mental health, with particular interests in AI and machine learning applications and e-health. Andy is a founding member of the University of Alberta computational psychiatry group, working closely with members of the Alberta machine intelligence institute. Since 2016 Andy has served as Scientific Director for the APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health.

Rachel Green commenced as SANE’s CEO in 2021.

Rachel is driven by her passion for pursuing big impact, community-focused interventions designed with the lived experiences of individuals and families at the forefront.

Rachel brings a wealth of experience and expertise across the mental health, not for profit and government sectors, and the fields of implementation science and public policy, and is passionate about championing the diverse voices of lived experience.

As Director of Policy, Rachel led the establishment of the Australian National Mental Health Commission in 2011, developing the Contributing Life Framework, authoring Australia’s first national consumer paid participation policy and producing the first Australian National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.

Rachel also designed and led the LifeSpan program at Black Dog Institute, a large-scale and integrated systems approach to suicide prevention research and was CEO of a medium sized mental health and disability NGO.

Rachel has also held senior roles in mental health, business development and public health policy with the Australian Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Department of Health.

Rachel holds academic qualifications in human geography, political economics, leadership and management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holding a range of non-executive director roles.

Dr. Tully is a Harvard trained Licensed Clinical Psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, VP of Clinical Integrations & Partnerships at Kooth, and holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Tully is a nationally recognized expert with 17 years of experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating digital mental health products for adolescents and young adults experiencing serious mental illness.

Over the past decade, Dr. Tully has worked to build and deploy multiple digital mental health tools for youth mental health in community settings across California, including universal screening for psychosis, adjunct early psychosis outpatient treatment support, and a learning healthcare network for improving outcomes in early psychosis care.

Kooth is a digital mental health company partnering with the California Department of Healthcare Services to deliver free and effective mental health support to all California youth aged 13-25 via the Soluna platform. Dr. Tully’s role at Kooth focuses on integrating Soluna into the mental health continuum of care through strategic partnerships with health and education systems and community advocacy.

Connect with Dr. Tully on LinkedIn

Chris is a system designer, technologist and expert in the field of digital implementation in mental health. In a career spanning over 20 years he has led a number of ground-breaking, award winning service transformation programmes that have changed fundamentally how mental health treatments and support is delivered across the population of Scotland.

For the past 8 years Chris has held significant and influential national roles within both the NHS and Scottish Government and is currently working in the Scottish Government as the National Advisor for Digital Mental Health and as the Head of the Digital Mental Health Programme which he established in 2020.

Chris is passionate about delivering innovative, high quality, sustainable digital services at large scale within mental health speaking regularly at public forums about his experiences and approaches. His work currently is focused on the development of strategy, policy, service and innovative technologies and he is working to change the culture across Health and Cares services to maximise the impact and the adoption of digital in mental health.

Dr. Kim Corace, PhD, C.Psych. is the Vice-President of Innovation & Senior Scientist at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Ottawa, Adjunct Scientist at the Institute of Mental Health Research, and a Clinical Health Psychologist. In addition, Dr. Corace was a Presidential Officer of the Canadian Psychological Association from 2019-2022.

Through her roles, she partners with providers, agencies, and persons with lived expertise, to provide strategic leadership for mental health and substance use health system transformation and integration, including innovation in digitally-enabled service delivery models. Working at provincial, national, and international levels, her work focuses on reducing stigma and improving treatment access and outcomes for people with substance use health and mental health problems. She contributes her expertise to numerous standards and guidelines committees as well as policy development initiatives to improve mental health and substance use health care.

The Ontario Ministry of Health Innovation Fund awarded the “Best Innovation in Mental Health Care Delivery” to Dr. Corace and her colleague for their Regional Opioid Intervention Service. In 2022, Dr Corace and colleagues won an Innovation Expo award for the development and implementation of the Digital Front Door to Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinics.

Dr Knut Schroeder is a distinguished General Practitioner with over 30 years of experience in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and academia. In 2012, he shifted his focus towards health education through mobile apps, recognising the critical need for accessible and reliable health information.

Knut founded Expert Self Care, a pioneering venture dedicated to creating user-friendly, evidence-based health apps that are freely available to everyone. His work addresses the need to improve health literacy, empowering individuals to manage their health more confidently, and navigate healthcare systems.
He collaborates extensively with experts by experience, NHS organisations, universities, health charities, and the private sector to co-produce apps that serve under-served groups. These award-winning apps have been instrumental in supporting students with mental health challenges, young carers, individuals with eating disorders, and others, significantly easing the burden on healthcare services.

Currently, Knut is leading innovative app projects targeting UK students, new parents, and Irish farmers, aiming to enhance health outcomes and reduce inequalities. His dedication extends beyond app development; he is an accomplished author and respected academic who has contributed to reputable journals and advises national organisations like the Patient Information Forum and the Self Care Forum.

Beyond his professional endeavours, Knut is passionate about sustainable living and lifelong learning. He enjoys running, cycling, cold-water swimming, playing the saxophone, and exploring plant-based cuisine.
Connect with Dr. Schroeder at knut.schroeder@expertselfcare.com or visit www.expertselfcare.com. Follow his updates on Twitter (X): @DrKnut and @expertselfcare.

Marija Stanojevic, Ph.D. is a Lead Applied Machine Learning Scientist at EudAImonia Science and Ellipsis Health. In the last four years, she mainly focused on applications of machine learning in cognitive and mental health.

She was a virtual chair of ICLR 2021 and ICML 2021, general chair of the Machine Learning for Cognitive and Mental Health workshop at AAAI 2024, and main organizer of the 9th Mid-Atlantic Student Colloquium on Speech, Language, and Learning (MASC-SLL 2022).

She worked at Meta, LinkedIn, Cambridge Cognition, and Winterlight Labs. See more details at marija-stanojevic.github.io.

Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie is co-founder, President and CEO of the Strongest Families Institute (SFI) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She obtained her PhD. at Dalhousie University where she is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and a Scientist at the IWK Health Centre (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada).

SFI is a charitable organization and an evidence-based, educational mental health service delivery system designed to deliver care to children, youth and adults from a distance. Strongest Families was developed to help resolve the serious problem of access to effective intervention for moderate mental health conditions. SFI helps 13,000+ people annually and continues to scale. Dr. Lingley-Pottie is also co-founder of SFI’s sophisticated eHealth system, IRIS (Intelligent Research and Intervention Software). IRIS uses smart technology to provide a robust ehealth information management system with an interactive client interface and a fully interoperable app connecting to all if SFIs programs. IRIS also has a robust staff interface providing real-time data entry and reporting as well as workflow management.

Patricia strives to remove barriers for underserviced populations, those in challenging geographic locations, and the economically underprivileged. She is committed to continued research and innovation efforts to improve the health and well-being and timely mental health service access for Canadians and families living within and beyond Canadian borders. Under her leadership, SFI has had a five-fold increase in revenue, staff, and geographic distribution. Patricia has and continues to mentor staff who have advanced to leadership positions.

In addition to the 36 articles and editorials Dr. Lingley-Pottie has published, She has received national recognition for social innovation as the recipient of the 2012 Mental Health Commission of Canada Award, the 2013 Ernest C. Manning Award, the 2017 Governor General of Canada Innovation Award, the recipient of the 2018 Atlantic Business Magazine Top 50 CEO Award, the 2019 Champion of Mental Health Award (Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health), the 2020 Women Leaders in Digital Health (Digital Health Canada) the 2022 Dalhousie Aurum Award, the 2022 Council of the Federation (COF) Award for Innovation in Mental Health and Addictions Care, the 2022 eMhic Leadership Excellence International Award, the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Nova Scotia), and the most recent 2024 Atlantic Business Magazine Top 50 CEO Award.

Dr. Pillai Riddell is the Tier 1 York Research Chair in Pain and Mental Health and Director of the Opportunities to Understand Childhood Hurt Laboratory (OUCH Lab ; www.yorku.ca/ouchlab) in the Department of Psychology of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is also a registered clinical psychologist, focused on her practice in perinatal/parent mental health, infant mental health, and chronic pain. As both a basic behavioural scientist and a clinician-scientist,

Dr. Pillai Riddell leads a multi-national research program that studies parents and babies during painful procedures. Her research is funded by all three national Canadian research councils (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council). She is also involved extensively in supporting EDI initiatives in research ecosystems.

She is the Nominated Principal Investigator for DIVERT Mental Health- a multi-million dollar CIHR-funded national training program. DIVERT aims to disrupt the Canadian mental health system by innovating training for mental health trainees, faculty, and practitioners that focuses on promoting diverse knowledges and leverages technology to make services accessible to more Canadians (divertmentalhealth.ca). DIVERT Mental Health is partnered with IBM Canada and more than 30 other academic, industry, and NGO organizations across Canada. She also leads an open-access online learning platform for Canadian researchers on how to adjudicate more inclusively and supportively (https://www.yorku.ca/research/project/polaris/).

Pillai Riddell is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. She was also recently awarded the 2020 Canadian Pain Society’s Outstanding Mentorship Award and the 2019 American Pain Society’s Jeffrey Lawson Award for Advocacy in Children’s Pain.

Sandra Moll is an Occupational Therapist and Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Her primary program of research over the past two decades has focused on mental health, along the continuum from mental health promotion to intervention and return to work, including healthcare workers and first responders. She has expertise in co-design, e-mental health and implementation science.

Steve is a psychology researcher and technology executive, with an academic background in computer science, mathematics and the psychology and neuroscience of mental health, and 25 years of experience leading technology transformation for multinationals.

Steve recently led a qualitative study to explore real-life experiences of using generative AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, for mental health. He is passionate about leveraging technology to address the global mental health crisis, and looking forward to connecting with so many experts, leaders and innovators in this exciting space.

Dr. Justine Dol is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-funded postdoctoral fellow at IWK Health (Nova Scotia Canada) working with Dr. Christine Chambers. Her research program is focused on using digital health technology to empower parents by equipping them with the information, support, and confidence they need during the perinatal period, in their parenting journey, and in the context of pain management to improve health and well-being for the whole family.

Dr. Dol has published over 75 peer reviewed journal articles and has worked on several Canadian and global health initiatives. She developed the Essential Coaching for Every Mother postpartum text message program and is leading other research projects to expand the use of text messaging to empower parents.

Dr. Aislin Mushquash is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Lakehead University and a Clinical Psychologist at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care in Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

Dr. Mushquash is working to improve access to mental health support for youth in underserved areas through technology. She is leading research with the JoyPopTM digital mental health app with the goal to better understand how the app can best support youth, and be integrated into systems as a: (a) mental health promotion tool; (b) a waitlist tool; and (c) an add-on to therapy.

Florence Khoriaty, stage name Florence K, has always thrived on music and writing. She has led a successful career as a pianist and singer for over twenty years and has received numerous artistic distinctions, including two Félix Awards (ADISQ) and multiple Juno Award nominations for one or another of her ten albums. In 2015 her book Buena Vida, the story of her own depression, became a bestseller highlighting society’s need to talk openly about mental health. This was followed by Nueva Vida: Dancing with Bipolar Disorder (Libre Expression, 2021).

Florence K is currently a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology and research at UQAM, where she is interested in the links between mood variability, creativity and well-being among performing artists. She conducts her research under the supervision of Arielle Bonneville-Roussy, Ph.D, and Pier-Luc de Chantal, Ph.D. She is also a lecturer in psychopathology at Université Téluq. Throughout the course of her studies, she has received the Great Graduate Award from TÉLUQ University, an Honorary Graduate Award from the Communication Department of the University of Montreal, a research grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec, a perseverance scholarship and an engagement scholarship from the University of Montreal, along with an excellence scholarship from the University of Quebec Funds. She is the recent recipient of the ACFAS New Generation of Researchers Award and a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

She dedicates a significant portion of her time to the destigmatization of mental health and ease of accessibility to psychological care. Her conferences are highly sought after in community, educational, corporate, and health sectors. Florence also hosts the weekly radio show C’est Formidable! on CBC Radio and CBC Music and has a weekly psychology segment on the show Dessine-moi un matin on Ici Radio-Canada Première. Her new album, Brésil mon amour, is a tribute to Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim.

Dr. Simon Hatcher is a Full Professor of Psychiatry at The University of Ottawa, Canada. He moved to Ottawa from the Department of Psychological Medicine in Auckland, New Zealand in May 2012. His main research interests include suicide, self-harm, psychotherapies, clinical trials and e-therapies. He has been the principal investigator in several large trials of non-pharmacological interventions in people who present to hospital with intentional self-harm. Currently he is the principal investigator on a randomized controlled trial of blended therapy for suicidal men in Ontario. The OHRI research lab he heads Hatching Ideas Hub focuses on clinical trials in underserved populations such as suicidal men, the homeless and first responders. Clinically he works in the downtown homeless shelters in Ottawa and the Liaison Psychiatry service at The Ottawa General Hospital. He is the Interim Chair of the Department of Psychiatry.

Email: shatcher@toh.ca
Website: https://www.hatchingideashub.com
Twitter: @HatchingHub or @shatchernz

Before founding MHI in 2017, Victoria was Director of Programmes at The Royal Foundation, building a portfolio of projects including the Invictus Games, Coach Core, and Heads Together.

She is Chair of the Bridges Impact Foundation, a trustee of the Westminster Foundation and adviser to the Charles Dunstone Charitable Trust.

Professor Robert JT Morris is the Chief Technology Strategist for the Ministry of Health Transformation (MOHT) Singapore and a Professor at the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. He advises the National Research Foundation in the Prime Minister’s Office, focusing on applying computer and information sciences, including AI, to healthcare transformation. Morris led IBM Research’s Global Laboratories from 2011-2017 and was named the “Smartest Scientist in Technology” by Fortune and Money Magazine in 2010.

During his tenure at IBM, Morris held several key positions, including VP of Services Research at the IBM TJ Watson Research Center and VP & Director of the IBM Almaden Research Center, where he contributed to pioneering technologies such as relational databases and the Deep Blue chess machine. He also served as Chairman of the Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium (BASIC) from 2001-2005. Originally from Australia, he began his career at Bell Labs and has lived and worked in Asia since 2011. Morris has published over 90 scientific articles, holds 11 patents, and has received numerous accolades, including Fellow IEEE, the Australian-American Fulbright Fellowship, and the PICMET Leadership in Technology Management Award. He has also been an editor for IEEE Transactions on Computers and served on many boards.

Margaret Meagher is the Chief Impact Officer at Crisis Text Line, leading data science efforts to explore over 9 million conversations about mental health crises, leverage AI/Machine Learning to contribute solution-oriented insights to the ongoing mental health epidemic, and measure the effectiveness and impact of Crisis Text Line’s service for texters, volunteers, and broader society. A senior leader and systems thinker, she brings 20+ years of experience leading complex, large-scale portfolios and collective impact networks to improve equity and wellbeing of diverse populations around the world.

She has technical expertise in mixed methods research, developmental evaluation, and impact assessment, grounded in a MA in Comparative International Development and Education, and PhD(ABD) in Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development with supporting emphases in public health and evaluation. She has led and scaled innovative social impact portfolios (>$250M, 25+ countries) in senior roles with mission-driven organizations such as Mastercard Foundation, American Institutes for Research, African Leadership Academy, and Care International, and served as advisor and collaborator with a host of governments and organizations such as UNGEI, UNESCO, and the Brookings Institution.

Lucita Lazo is the President of the World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation Philippines. She is the principal investigator in Defining the Mental Health Research Agenda of the Philippines (2015-2019) and currently serves as the Team Leader in the ongoing Development of the Mental Health Information System under the auspices of the National Center for Mental Health.

She was the first woman Director General, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). She has worked with the UN System throughout the years for various gender equality, labour, employment & social development projects in her capacity as Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO Regional Project on Rural Women Homeworkers and in her stint as Regional Program Director of UNIFEM Southeast Asia in Bangkok, Thailand

As President and CEO of Kids Help Phone, Katherine Hay provides strategic leadership and drives innovation, to make Kids Help Phone the most accessible and effective e-mental health service for young people across Canada.

As a passionate change-maker and the leader of a 35-year-old organization recognized as a founder of virtual care, Kathy is deeply committed to ensuring the organization will always be open, providing a safe and trusted place for all young people to Feel Out Loud in any moment of crisis or need. Kathy has impacted change and growth throughout her more than 20 years of exceptional service in senior leadership roles in the not-for-profit sector.

Connect with Kathy on LinkedIn: @Katherine (Kathy) Hay ICD.D

Dr. Romulo de Castro (Jong) is the Director of the Center for Informatics (CFI) at the University of San Agustin (in Iloilo City, Philippines), a consultant of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nuclear Medicine Diagnostic Imaging (NMDI) Section and Project Lead for the ATIPAN telehealth project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) – eAsia Knowledge Partnership Fund (EAKPF, South Korea), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada) via York University’s Global South AI4PEP Network. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry & Genetics from the University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston) and conducted his postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology (Neuroscience) and The Burnham Institute (Developmental Neurobiology).

His current occupation took him off laboratory research to pursue Informatics via the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, Autism Speaks, Pathway Genomics, 3R Biosystems and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (where he focused his work on Minority Health and Health Disparities). His current work in Mental Health includes the planning and development of the Philippines’ Mental Health Information System (MHIS), the Negros Occidental Mental Health Information Resource (NOMHIR), requirements analysis for dementia care in the Philippines, addressing the mental healthcare needs of underserved Indigenous and rural communities, and using AI on voice data to develop diagnostic tools for depression and dementia among Filipino patients.

Dr Allan Donsky, child and adolescent psychiatrist for 29 years and former pediatrician, is currently a clinical associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary. As an active educator who specializes in fostering wellbeing, he has purposefully dedicated himself to community outreach and capacity building, regularly facilitating workshops in academic settings, in not-for-profit agencies, and leading community groups. As an educator on transdisciplinary teams, he mentors residents and runs workshops and seminars. His current research interests are situated at the intersection of psychiatry, contemplative practice, and spirituality.

Allan is also a Consultant & Board Chair for the Canadian Institute of Natural and Integrative Medicine.

Ian is CEO of spunout, Ireland’s youth information and support platform and Adjunct Associate Professor at UCD School of Psychology. He a member of the National Implementation Monitoring Committee of Ireland’s national mental health policy, and was a member of the Irish Government’s National Taskforce on Youth Mental Health.

Ian is a former President of the National Youth Council of Ireland and holds an advanced diploma in juvenile justice from the King’s Inn, along with a US State Department professional fellowship in youth justice from Boston College.

Dr. Agyapong, Professor of Psychiatry and Global Mental Health at Dalhousie University, heads the Psychiatry Department and serves as Clinical Chief for Psychiatry at Nova Scotia Health Authority’s Central Zone. He’s a Clinical Professor at University of Alberta, where he previously directed the Division of Community Psychiatry and served as Clinical Section Chief for Community Mental Health. Additionally, he chairs the Global Psychological eHealth Foundation.

Dr. Agyapong holds two Doctorate degrees from the University of Dublin Trinity College and has received multiple Fellowships. With over 150 publications and 65 presentations globally, his research focuses on innovative mental health care. His e-mental health interventions, including text messages, have reached over 100,000 subscribers, supported by over $8 million in research grants. He’s won various awards, including recognition from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and his Text4Mood program has been acknowledged by the Mental Health Innovations Network.

Paulus drives ReachOut Australia’s transformation and program of dynamic digital service personalisation. As Product Lead, he led development of ReachOut’s innovative new PeerChat peer support product which saw us win recognition as the Not-for-profit Tech Innovator of the Year in 2023. With a focus on learning and growth, he eagerly seeks insights from industry peers to enhance his leadership in balancing product management, team coaching, and future innovations.

Alisa Simon brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in health-care access and non-profit management to her role as Executive Vice President, E-mental Health Transformation and Chief Youth Officer at Kids Help Phone. As a champion of innovation, Alisa is integral to the organization’s development of virtual health solutions for youth. Using comprehensive data and research, Alisa drives improvements in e-mental health services and strategies that respond to evolving technologies and the changing needs of young people. Under Alisa’s leadership, Kids Help Phone has evolved from a phone-based helpline to a comprehensive solution that fully integrates a growing number of access points, programs and resources. In her role, Alisa oversees Kids Help Phone’s 24/7 clinical services as well as the organization’s knowledge translation, quality assurance and equity programs.

Alisa holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013 and was named the Digital Health Canada 2021 Digital Health Executive of the Year. Alisa volunteers on many national boards and committees.

Dr Janagan Alagarajah (MD) is Technical Lead at YLabs, a non-profit organization that designs, implements, and evaluates digital and in-person youth-friendly projects in low and middle-income countries. He has over eight years of experience as a public health physician, with a background in psychiatry and sexual health, and a Master of Public Health degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

His core competencies include leading multidisciplinary teams, conducting data analysis, and applying human-centred design principles to create impactful and innovative solutions for mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and nutrition. He has designed digital tools for marginalized youth, such as HIV positive, young mothers, and unemployed, in Rwanda and Tanzania, using a data-driven and participatory approach. His mission is to improve the health and well-being of young people around the world through digital technology and evidence-based interventions.

Sandy has been a social worker for more than 35 years with the privilege of practicing social work in the Northwest Territories for the past 29 years. Her career has included medical social work, children’s mental health, NGO crisis work, suicide prevention, mental health systems development, and social work education.

Her current job is Territorial Manager, Mental Health and Community Wellness, for the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority. In 2023, Sandy was part of planning and implementing responses for multiple wildfire evacuations in the NWT and brings experience with virtual mental health resources from both a management and personal perspective.

Nelson joined Canadian Red Cross (CRC) in January 2019 and holds the role of Director (interim) Mental Health & Psychosocial Support Service since December 2023.

Previously to joining CRC, Nelson held a range of leadership roles in the field of emergency management and community health services with the Australian Red Cross and Search for Common Grounds (Australia and Timor-Leste). Nelson has also contributed to peacebuilding endeavors in South-East Asia during the earlier stages of his professional journey. Engaging in consultancy work for various not-for-profit organizations, he focused on empowering youth-at risk through impactful peacebuilding projects.

Nelson has a M.A. in Business, M.A. in Peacebuilding & Conflict Resolution and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and is currently completing his green belt Lean Six Sigma certification. Residing with his partner, two children and a lovable puppy on the unceded and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe Algonquin nation (also known as Ottawa-Gatineau).

Bob Gold is a leading behavioral technologist with over 20 years of expertise in applied research and development within the behavioral and cognitive sciences. He specializes in crafting clinical care plans and digital therapeutics that seamlessly integrate psycho-social factors and personal determinants, particularly focusing on chronic and complex population health management, with a strong emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Bob’s primary focus is on transforming clinical care plans and medication therapies into behaviorally-driven digital therapy programs, aiming to establish sustainable population health business models. His methods mitigate adverse events such as unnecessary emergency department visits and readmissions while harnessing valuable electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs), yielding tangible improvements in patient satisfaction and adherence, especially within complex health conditions and difficult patient health journeys.

In addition to his professional endeavors, Bob has a rich background, including founding and leading three prior companies, each leaving a significant mark in its respective industry. Furthermore, his personal interests and accomplishments, such as winning TV Emmy Awards with his entertainment company, preserving farmland in New Jersey, and simplifying financial data for better consumer understanding, reflect his multifaceted talents and commitment to making a positive impact in various spheres of life.

Kristofer Vernmark holds a MSc and PhD in psychology. He is currently doing research at Linköping University on the dissemination and implementation of internet-based treatment for refugees and migrants. Kristofer has worked for almost two decades as a psychologist, manager, consultant, and researcher in digital psychology and digital mental health, and has had a leading role in making internet-based treatment available in the Swedish health care system.

His PhD-thesis investigated different digital treatment modalities and the role of alliance in internet-based treatment. Kristofer is the founder of the network for Digital Psychologists in Sweden and was awarded the 2022 eMHIC award for Leadership excellence in eMental health implementation. He is also the co-chairman of the Global network for mental health, a board member of the Swedish psychology association and the creator of the global acceleration program Build for Earth aimed at helping innovative sustainability solutions become reality.

Louise has a master’s degree in psychology from University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Institute of Psychology, and a PhD and DMSc degree from Department of Clinical Medicine, UCPH. She has a clinical specialization in adult psychiatry and psychotherapy and has been working as a clinical psychologist in in- and outpatient facilities in Denmark.

She is an associate professor at Department of Psychology UCPH, and head of VIRTU Research Group that has the overarching research focus on utilizing new technologies, primarily virtual reality, in advancing the assessment and treatment of mental health disorders. She is PI/co-PI on 8 ongoing large-scale clinical trials evaluating virtual reality-based interventions in mental health disorders comprising psychosis, anxiety, eating disorders, and autism.

Marie Paldam Folker is Director of the Centre for Digital Psychiatry, Mental Health Services in the Region of Southern Denmark.  Marie is an expert digital mental health innovator and practitioner and has worked in the digital healthcare field for over 15 years specialising in digital mental health. Originally trained as an anthropologist, Marie is passionate about making a difference to people with mental illness and involving people with lived experience to inform and shape the development of digital mental health services.

At the Centre for Digital Psychiatry Marie is responsible for the development and implementation of digital mental health interventions with regional and national uptake. Her role is to identify and facilitate strategic partnerships at regional, national and international levels to ensure that digital mental health services are developed and deployed in a way that maximises benefits for end-users – both patients, relatives and mental health care providers.

Dr. Venkat Bhat (MD MSc FRCPC DABPN) is a staff psychiatrist at St. Michael’s Hospital and at the University Health Network. He envisioned and developed the Interventional Psychiatry Program at St. Michael’s Hospital, an interdisciplinary program which offers emerging interventions for neuropsychiatric disorders.

He is the founding lead for the multi-institutional Digital Interventions & Intelligence Group (DiiG), leads the Health Care AI/Analytics pillar within the Institute for Biomedical Science, Engineering & Technology, is a member within Faculties of Medicine & Biomedical Engineering, and within the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Science and Technology at the University of Toronto.