KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 

Andrew Baxter, MSW RSW, has worked in school-based and community mental health for over 18 years. During his time with Alberta Health Services, he has provided direct treatment for students from K-12, as well as consultation for their families and teachers. Andrew currently serves as the Team Lead for mentalhealthliteracy.org  and the Alberta Mental Health Literacy Project. In these roles, he has worked to promote school mental health literacy among students, educators, parents, and mental health professionals at provincial, national and international levels. Andrew has delivered mental health literacy training to over 10,000 educators and supported school leaders from across Alberta and beyond in implementing the mental health literacy approach in their school districts to better address youth mental health needs. Responding to the many requests from educators, Andrew is currently coordinating the development of resources for mental health literacy suitable for students in elementary grades to complement the suite of resources developed for junior high and high school students.  He is honored to be a member of the Indigenous Mental Health Literacy committee, supported through the Canadian Institute of Health Research.  Andrew provides professional learning for educators through the University of British Columbia Faculty of Education Mental Health Institute and is an Adjunct Lecturer with the University of Calgary Department of Psychiatry. Andrew is actively making parenting mistakes with his two elementary-aged children.

Professor Timothy Caulfield is an unrivalled communicator who debunks myths and assumptions about innovation in the health sector — from research on stem cells to diets to alternative medicine — for the benefit of the public and decision-makers. He is a Canada Research Chair in health law and policy, a professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and a research director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. 

Over the past several years, Caulfield has been involved in a variety of interdisciplinary research endeavours that have allowed him to publish more than 350 articles and book chapters. His research focuses on topics like stem cells, genetics, research ethics, and the public representations of science and health policy issues. The recipient of numerous academic and writing awards, Caulfield is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. 

Caulfield also writes frequently for the popular press on a range of health and science policy issues and is the author of several bestselling books, including: The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness; Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash; and, most recently, Relax, Dammit!: A User’s Guide to the Age of Anxiety. He is also the host and co-producer of the award-winning documentary TV show, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death, which aired in over 60 countries, including streaming on Netflix in North America.

Dr Daniel Fung is married to Joyce and the father of 5 grown up children and recently became a grandfather.  He studied at Anglo Chinese School from 1973 until 1982.  Dr Fung is the Chief Executive Officer of Singapore’s Institute of Mental Health since Feb 2021 and was its Chairman Medical Board from 2011 to 2020.  Dr Fung is an Adjunct Associate Professor at all 3 medical schools in Singapore.  

Dr Fung is currently the President of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions and President Elect of the College of Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine Singapore.  He received the National Day (Public Service Administration (Bronze)) Award in 2017 and the National Medical Excellence Award (Team) in 2018 for his work on community and school based mental health.

Dr Fung is interested in the treatment of emotional and behavioural disorders in children and he has advocated for the development of child mental health services and strategies through his research. His current interest is in developing age appropriate, culturally relevant, locally sensitive resources to improve mental health literacy and reduce stress and suicidality in youths and families.

Dr Fung’s research is supported by the National Medical Research Council and other agencies. He has co-authored over 200 peer reviewed research papers (154), books (33) and book chapters (20).

Dr. Stan Kutcher is an internationally renowned psychiatrist in adolescent mental health. He is a leader in mental health research, education, advocacy, policy and services innovation. He previously worked at the University of Toronto and Dalhousie University where he was the Department Head of Psychiatry, the Associate Dean of International Health and the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health.     

Dr. Kutcher’s work has been recognized through numerous awards and honors including: the Order of Nova Scotia, the John Ruedy Award in Medical Education, the Dr. John Savage Award in Global Health and was twice named a Mental Health Champion (Research and Innovation) in Canada.  He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, a Distinguished Alumni of McMaster University, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the former Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Mental Health Policy and Training.   

Dr. Kutcher and his team at Dalhousie University led the development of a national child and youth mental health framework for Canada (Evergreen). He has conducted award winning research into the neurobiology and treatments of mental disorders in young people and has developed and deployed innovative systems of mental health care nationally and internationally. Recently his focus was on primary care mental health interventions, mental health literacy development in school systems and in postsecondary institutions. Ensuring that the best available evidence is used to advance mental health and enable rapid access to effective mental health care is essential to all of Dr. Kutcher’s initiatives.   

In 2017, after fifteen years as a technical geologist and leadership professional in the Energy Industry, Kiersten embarked on the most significant challenge of her life: gender transition. 

Gender transition was life-changing in more ways than one. Kiersten's authentic and vulnerable approach to her gender transition allowed her to foster a deeper and more personal connection with so many people and highlighted how authenticity could be a powerful tool to build meaningful and connected relationships. As she continued her corporate career, Kiersten found new motivation to engage in a more meaningful life through volunteering, educating herself with a Bachelor of Psychology, and building a vast network of professionals in the LGBTQ2S+ community. 

The more Kiersten got involved, the more she began to truly appreciate the challenges transgender and gender-diverse individuals face in the realm of careers and employment. Ultimately, her experience ignited a personal passion to 'demystify' gender diversity in corporate spaces and make the transition process more grounded for those taking a similar path. This drive led Kiersten to step out of her energy industry role, continue with a Master's in Psychology, and establish Terra Firma Transition Consulting. Terra Firma Transition is passionately driven to support transitioning individuals while also working with organizations to remove the enormous employment barriers facing the transgender and gender-diverse population.

In her community, Kiersten is proudly the President of the Airdrie Pride Society, a member of the Women's Advisory Cabinet for Ducks Unlimited Canada and the current Publications Director for the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists. Most recently, Kiersten was honoured to be recognized by her community as Airdrie's 2020 Amazing Women in Advocacy and nominated by the Mayor of Airdrie for a 2020 Star of Alberta Award.

Kiersten shares her life with her supportive spouse

Rosie is the CEO of Student Minds, the UK's student mental health charity. Student Minds develops innovative approaches to support healthy university communities, collaborates on research, and empowers students, university professionals and connected communities to create change. Rosie has been working on the issue of student wellbeing for several years. She became the charity's Chief Executive Officer in 2015, following a number of different roles at Student Minds managing volunteering, campaigns and university relationships, and she has been undertaking a Churchill Fellowship to explore preventative approaches to student mental health in Canada and Australia. Rosie is currently overseeing the Student Space programme, designed to provide additional support for students during the coronavirus pandemic.

Michael Ungar, Ph.D. is the founder and Director of the Resilience Research Centre at Dalhousie University. His groundbreaking work as a family therapist and resilience researcher is recognized around the world, with much of that work focused on the resilience of marginalized children and families, and adult populations experiencing mental health challenges at home and in the workplace. Dr. Ungar has provided consultation and training to Fortune 500 companies like Unilever and Cigna, NGOs such as Save The Children and the Red Cross, and educational institutions and government agencies on five continents. He is routinely called upon by thought leaders such as the Boston Consulting Group and Canvas8. His work emphasizes how to use the theory of resilience to increase both individual and institutional agility during crises, with numerous organizations having adopted his concept of resilience as a negotiated process that enhances wellbeing and social responsibility.

Dr. Ungar is the author of 16 books for lay and professional audiences, and over 200 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. These include Change Your World: The Science of Resilience and the True Path to Success, a book for adults experiencing stress at work and at home, and I Still Love You: Nine Things Trouble Teens Need from their Parents. His blog, Nurturing Resilience, can be read on Psychology Today’s website.

Mark D. Weist received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Virginia Tech in 1991 after completing his internship at Duke University, and is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina. In 1995, with colleagues from the University of Maryland, he established the National Center for School Mental Health, now in its 26th year of supporting this field (see www.schoolmentalhealth.org). He is also a partner on the National Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (see www.pbis.org). He has edited or developed 14 books and has published and presented widely in the area of school behavioral health (SBH), trauma, violence and youth, evidence-based practice, and cognitive behavioral therapy. He is currently co-leading a regional conference on SBH (see www.schoolbehavioralhealth.org), and leading or co-leading a number of federally funded studies on strategies to improve its effectiveness.