Youth Advisors

Headshot

Puspita Alwi

Puspita has a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Indonesia and is pursuing her master’s in mental health community & disability. Puspita has worked with IOM Indonesia, the Integrated Services Center for Women and Children, DKI Jakarta, and the Division of Applied Social Psychology Research. In 2018, she co-founded Sehat Jiwa Bahagia, a social […]

Read More
Headshot

Sweetbert M. Anselimus

Sweetbert is a 26 years old Tanzanian youth, the Executive Director (ED) of Tanzania’s Psychosocial Welfare Organization (PWO), and Assistant Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). He founded and has been ED at PWO since 2019. As ED, he leads the team and oversees projects that address the mental challenges of youths […]

Read More
Headshot

Jihad Bnimoussa

Jihad is a Moroccan American Psychologist and founder of InspireCorp, a mental health social enterprise in the MENA region specializing in building high-impact mental health prevention programs using a resilience approach. Her work reaches thousands of teachers, social workers, and 8 million youth in Morocco. She is a Stanford AMENDS Fellow and an Atlantic Dialogues […]

Read More

Muskan Lamba

Muskan Lamba (she/her) is a mental health researcher and youth advocate from Delhi, India. Currently, she’s pursuing her Master’s thesis on the intersections of climate change and mental health among youth in the Indian subcontinent, with a focus on climate anxiety. Muskan has led and contributed to diverse social impact initiatives, both locally and internationally, including collaborations with […]

Read More
Headshot

Oriana Ortiz

Oriana was born in 1999 in Mexico. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations. Currently, and is studying for a Master’s Degree in Governance and Globalization, focusing on global governance. Since 2021, Oriana has worked as an Opportunity Activator in the Latin American and Caribbean YMCA (YMCA LAC) Regional Office, where she collaborates in […]

Read More
Headshot

Jackee (Jaclyn) Schess

Jackee Schess is a lived experience advocate and mental health researcher from New York, USA. Jackee is the Founder and CEO of Generation Mental Health, a youth-led non-profit empowering young people with lived experience of mental ill-health to be mental health advocates, researchers, and innovators. She recently completed an MA in Economics and will begin […]

Read More
Headshot

Viet Trinh

Viet Trinh (he/him/his) is a distinguished young advocate and researcher focusing on LGBTIQ+ mental health and sexual health in the Asia Pacific region. He serves as Program Director at Lighthouse Social Enterprise, a leading civil-led society organization in LGBTIQ+ rights and health in Vietnam. His work adopts a person-centred approach, encompassing community engagement and outreach, […]

Read More

Lived Experience Advisors

Headshot

Sankhulani Daka

Sankhulani Daka is the CEO and Co-Founder of Let’s Talk Mental Health (LTMH). His passion for mental health stems from his past struggles with mental health. From being bullied and experiencing anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. As someone who understands the effects of mental illness, he hopes to bring healing to people who have been […]

Read More
Headshot

Cecilia Fofo

Cecilia Fofo hasy with lived experience of bipolar affective disorder and a mental health advocate trained in early childhood development. She began her mental health advocacy career in 2018, a year after she was diagnosed with a mental health condition. BasicNeedsGhana is a non-governmental organization focusing on mental health and development, aiming to improve the […]

Read More
Headshot

Manasi Gupta

Manasi Gupta is a social entrepreneur and an engineer by profession. She is the founder of Huesofthemind Foundation, a UN SDSN member nonprofit organization to provide mental health services and has impacted 50,000+ beneficiaries with its initiatives. She is a mental health advocate and wants to make mental health resources more accessible, affordable, and available. […]

Read More
Headshot

Issa Kamara

Issa Kamara is a youth activist and democracy ambassador. He is the chairman of Hagancatwright organization and has served in that capacity for more than eight years. Hagancatwright organization raises awareness about mental health and illicit drugs like Kush in Sierra Leone. The organization works with youth living in slums who engage in high-risk substance […]

Read More
Headshot

Venant Mligo

Venant Mligo is co-founder and chairperson of the Mental Health Initiative and Youth Innovation Forum in Tanzania. This community-based civil organization promotes mental health and innovation among youth. He has also been a staff member at Mzumbe University in the Student’s Welfare Services Department for 12 years. Venant collaborates with Foundation for a Drug-Free World, […]

Read More
Headshot

Anindya Shabrina

Anindya Shabrina is a lawyer and human rights defender who combines strong writing and public campaigning skills to create campaigns and advocate for litigation and non-litigation in human rights cases that compel people to act. RESISTER INDONESIA represents several groups of marginalized people (women, LGBTQ+ people, and minorities) who face mental health issues and struggle […]

Read More
Headshot

Fizza Yasmeen

Dr. Yasmeen is the Founder and CEO of Shining Star Vocational Training Institute for vulnerable women of marginalized communities aiming to use skill training to prevent psychosocial disabilities. Previously, she was also CEO of Basic Needs Pakistan, which mobilized 300,000 people for mental well-being through a women’s economic empowerment project for women with psychosocial disabilities. […]

Read More