Areas Of Focus
Meaning & Purpose
When you have goals and feel that what you do matters beyond yourself, it changes the way you feel about the world around you.
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Quality Relationships
Having people in your life that you can trust, turn to or just chat where you feel you are valued greatly increased wellbeing.
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Resiliency & Self-Efficacy
Understanding your problems and seeing them as manageable is a learned skill that we practice every day of our lives.
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Our Team
ARLENE MACDOUGALL
Dr. Arlene MacDougall is an accomplished psychiatrist, researcher, educator and innovator. She has led the development of transformative and novel cross-sectoral initiatives to address the growing burden of mental ill-health both locally and globally. She has authored over 45 publications and has been recognized as a global Young Physician Leader by the InterAcademy Partnership. Arlene is committed to building capacity in mindfulness and social innovation to catalyze self and system transformations for mental health and wellbeing.
RENEE HUNT
Renee is passionate and accomplished researcher whose focuses on general health and well-being, with an emphasis on mental health related to positive psychological practices and patterns of interpersonal behaviour. She was most recently a Mitacs Elevate Program Postdoctoral Fellow, Western University and graduated with her PhD in Social Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier.
RAKSHA SULE
Raksha Sule holds expertise across mental health and psychosocial support, education, social innovation, and peacebuilding. She has consulted for the World Health Organization and the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee, and has worked in Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Iraq, Kenya, Myanmar, and Ukraine. She is especially passionate about supporting children and youth, and specializes in the reintegration of children associated with armed forces/groups. Raksha’s work is grounded by learning with and from communities; and welcoming what is sacred to cultivate compassion, joy, and inspiration for transformational learning and healing.
MELISSA TAYLOR-GATES
Melissa believes foremost in empathy and compassion for those in the world around us. Her work centralizes around power inequality and authentic communication. She strive to foster safe spaces where people can learn from and care for each other in a holistic way. Outside her work, she is a storyteller, archer, tea-lover, feminist, writer, and gamer.
DAPHNE VARGHESE
Daphne is a PhD candidate from the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. Her doctoral research is on social innovation in higher education, especially with regards to the influence of philanthropic foundations on social innovation initiatives in Canadian universities. She has been involved in research that maps the leadership practices of social innovators as well as examining the progression and influence of social innovation initiatives within the context of Canadian universities.
Shara Thomas
Shara is a research associate with MINDS London, who specializes in curriculum development, program design and knowledge mobilization. Her work frequently involves leveraging creativity, mental health research, education and social innovation for inner and outer transformation. Since graduating from the Global Health Systems program at Western University, she has been grateful to collaborate with global health professionals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, El Salvador and Canada. She is driven to work with children, youth and families to address the complex challenges and deep-rooted injustices that exist within the community. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the piano, singing and dancing.
Jennifer Silcox
Jennifer is a research associate with MINDS London and an assistant professor in the Department of Child and Youth Studies at King’s University College at Western University. Her main areas of research include social inequality, youth mental health, and youth crime and legislation in Canada. She graduated with a PhD in Sociology, with a specialized focus in criminology, from Western University. In her personal time, she enjoys volunteering with wildlife rescue and rehabilitation and spending time with family and friends..
