Advisory Council

Big shoutout to the people who have helped us come this far and continue to provide us with valuable advice.

Become an Advisor

Schools need systemic solutions to solve systemic problems.

Teachers don’t have the knowledge and the appropriate tools to address mental health in their classrooms. They also should know they are not alone.

Our tool connects teachers across Canada with the support they need to build resiliency within themselves and their students. This service will be available to teachers starting in September 2022.

Stay tuned for more details and stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter.

Teachers

Krysta Marie Veneruz (She/Her)

English as a Second Language Teacher

After working full-time as a new teacher throughout the covid-19 pandemic in Quebec, I realized how difficult it was to take care of my mental health as well as respect that of my students. With the demands of this job being more than ever before, I find that new teachers are often left without guidance and support, and I believe it’s important to help new teachers especially.

Nabeela Shariff

Instructor Therapist and Teacher Candidate

I really wanted to join the Teacher App team because it's made for educators with mental health as the main focus! Oftentimes "teacher resources" are solely academic which felt pretty dated to me considering teaching is such a social job!

Eric Demore

Teacher and Writer

I’ve been a high school teacher in Toronto for eleven years. In that time, thousands of interactions with young people and colleagues have made clear the imperative for robust self-care initiatives in our schools.

Laura

Teacher

Laura is currently teaching at the faculty of English and American studies at Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE) in Budapest,Hungary. Despite being a certified second language teacher in Ontario, teaching English in a higher education setting has come with some unexpected but exciting challenges!

Maria Kouznetsova (They/Them/She)

MBA, Contract Teaching Faculty at WLU

I am a musician, educator, and administrator, educated in the music and business worlds. I love teaching and empowering students with tools to bring their visions to life, and particularly love projects that make our world just a teeny bit better than it was.

Joshua Hill (He/Him)

Teacher and Community Builder

I see myself as a community builder who uses music as a vehicle to create healthy thriving communities. I do that through my role as Music Department Head at Cameron Heights Collegiate in Kitchener, Ontario.

Advisors

Farshad (Fred) Rouhani (He/Him)

Innovation and Business Coach

I literally lost hair in Design Thinking, Lean, Agile, consumer and enterprise applications. More than anything, I'm here to empower. Down the road, age 80 (life expectancy for men in Canada), want to have lots of stories to tell. Stories of helping for-profits, nonprofits and social enterprises rising and evolving. Simply, thinking impact.

Andreas (He/Him)

Business and Policy Advisor

Andreas is a policy professional based in Calgary, Alberta. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Calgary, and a Bachelor of Commerce Honours and Certificate in Public Policy from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Aerilyn (She/Her)

Accessibility and Youth Care Advisor

My name is Aerie and I am the Accessibility and Youth Care Advisor for The Teacher App. I'm a passionate Child and Youth Care practitioner with 7+ years of experience working with children and youth, and I have been an Accessibility and Disability Consultant for 3+ years.

Cara Chen (She/Her)

MA Counselling Psychology, Manager of Community Crisis Responders with Kids Help Phone

Cara has 7 years experience working in youth crisis intervention, volunteer management, and community mental health counselling. Her research focus is around the experience of novice clinician self-care and burnout, building equitable and accessible supervision and supports to clinical frontline workers, and facilitating open discussions about workplace emotional distress (WED).

Raisa Lada (She/Her)

BPH, MSc

Raisa's greatest passions lie in wellness, advocacy, and empowerment. She has a Bachelors of Honours Public Health and an MSc in Public Health and Health Systems, both from the University of Waterloo. Her research areas include health equity, paediatrics and patient advocacy.

Tristan (She/Her/Elle)

Research Coordinator, Psychosocial Support Worker, Life-Long Learner

Tristan has always had a passion for helping others and for learning. Having been supported by so many wonderful teachers along the way, she deeply values the change that a great teacher can make in a child’s life. Tristan completed her Bachelor of Arts in Honour’s psychology in 2020 and has since worked hard to educate and support those around her.

Mael

Business and Advocacy Advisor

Mael is the director of digital services at Elite Consultation, where he helps organizations find innovative ways to use technology to improve their performance and operational efficiency. In his free time, he is involved in youth focused initiatives and organizations such as the Prime Minister Youth Council, the YMCA, and other non-profit organizations.

Elvis (He/Him)

Co-director of Camp LIFT, mediator, lawyer

As the Co-director of a non-profit offering healthy lifestyle education to high school students, I am sensitive to the challenges teachers face on a daily basis. I believe the services offered by The Teacher App are essential in order for teachers to thrive and contribute to a positive learning experience.

Jonathan (He/Him)

Camp LIFT Co-director

After years of addiction and debauchery, my sole focus in sobriety has been to give back what was generously shared with me: help. This APP is completely aligned with Camp LIFT's mission/vision/values and it's an honor to collaborate with their team!

Simarjit (She/Her)

Computer Engineering Student

I am currently a Computer Engineering student at Concordia University and a Project Coordinator for the Youth Social Entrepreneurship Program at CEED Concordia. Through this program, I got the chance to meet the lovely Amanda. I would love to be part of her journey and see her take this project to the next level!

Zain (He/Him)

Researcher

I am a young researcher passionate about empowering and supporting diverse populations and improving access to different care services through the use of technology and social networks.

Advocates

Krystal (She/Her)

Mental Health Advocate

I’m fun loving, adventurous, love to help others and value life-long learning. I want to be on the advisory council to ensure that the app has input from the perspective of a student who has struggled with several different mental health challenges for their entire educational career.

Chelsea (She/Her)

Psychology Student and Mental Health Advocate

My passion for mental health has lead me to pursue an undergraduate degree in psychology, where I hope to obtain a PhD and become a practicing psychologist. Being a mental health advocate is at my core, increasing mental health literacy and making care more accessible has lead me to the Teacher App.