Board

Ted is an attorney with over forty-seven years of experience in commercial litigation. Having experienced several episodes of severe depression and the related stigma associated with “mental illness,” he decided to go public with his story in 2005 and has since been involved with individuals, small support groups, and larger organizations like The Kennedy Forum, NAMI, and The Stability Network in seeking to improve the quality and availability of services for people from all backgrounds who are dealing with mental health conditions.

Geralyn has spent 20 years at Johnson & Johnson and currently leads Change Management & Communications in Global Services. She is the founder of the Mental Health Diplomats, an award-winning employee resource group for employees living with a mental illness and caregivers. She holds a BA degree in Psychology from Rutgers University and is a Certified Professional Coach. Geralyn’s passion to create the Mental Health Diplomats originates from her personal experience living with an eating disorder and depression. She understands the difficult steps that need to be taken every day to be healthy and happy. She lives in Middlesex, New Jersey with her two teenage daughters.

Bartholemew (Bart) is a Motivational Speaker, Advance Level WRAP Facilitator, Management Consultant, Wellness Educator, and Life Coach, with over 30 years of leadership experience in operations management and consulting. Bart studied Human Resources Management and Management & Community Studies at Ryerson University. He also holds a Master of Education degree focused on adult learning from Yorkville University and certificates in peer support, coaching and mentoring, leadership, and others. Bart is an active volunteer at Faith Sanctuary Pentecostal Church, Mood Disorders Association of Ontario, Consumer Survivor Information Centre Toronto, and many more. Currently, Bart is semi-retired from corporate life and is passionate about making a positive impact on mental health and wellness. By being open about his journey with mental health, Bart hopes to inspire those suffering in silence, so they can break free from self-stigma, recover, and find total wellness.

Joanna is the founder and director of Building Community Capacity, a social enterprise, which operates at the intersection between education, mental health, and community development to increase access to information and resources that strengthen, empower, and engage children, families, and communities, especially Indigenous populations. Her work includes community development initiatives focused on housing and education; culturally competent and integrated mental health delivery systems; transformative pedagogy and curriculum development; capacity and team building; program and organizational evaluation; and political engagement strategies. Joanna earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Public Policy Studies and Sociology, respectively, from the University of Chicago, and another master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is a first-time grandmother to Zahere, whose arrival has helped her better understand the reasons for uniting with other changemakers to create a more accessible and equitable mental health system. 

Donna is an internationally recognized industry expert and thought leader at the complex intersection of the workplace and mental health. Since 2003, she has leveraged her personal experience of losing a job and a career due to mental health and addiction challenges into award-winning training, tools, speaking, writing and coaching. She is a fierce advocate for systems change using human centered design that is based on knowledge gained from lived experience. Her background is in psychology, mental health policy, adult education, peer support and transformational coaching. She has been a Leader with the Stability Network since 2015 and has served on the Board since 2018. Donna lives in Toronto, Canada.

Peter Varnum is a Director for High Lantern Group, a strategy and communications consulting firm with expertise in mental health. He built and led the World Economic Forum’s work on global mental health from 2017 to 2020, focusing on youth, technology, and the workplace. From 2020 to 2022, Peter was an Associate Director for Orygen, an Australian organization with three decades of world-leading expertise in youth mental health. He has also worked in the civil society and academia sectors, spending the first five years of his career in education. Peter earned a BA in English from Carleton College and an MA in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. In 2019, he completed the World Economic Forum’s Global Leadership Fellows executive education program, with partner universities Harvard, INSEAD, Oxford, CEIBS, Columbia, and London Business School. Peter loves language, people, and the feeling of fresh air against his face. He lives with his family in Geneva, Switzerland.