Learning Institute Shareback 2024

Once again, #Frayme2024 would not have been possible without the critical support of our co-hosts, moderators, volunteers,  partners and sponsors who came together to lend their time, voices and expertise to the event. Frayme is grateful for all our youth, caregiver and advocate volunteers for guiding our participants through the two days of our Learning Institute:

Co-Hosts:

Alisha Haseeb
Alisha (she/her) is currently in her second year of the Bachelor of Health Sciences program at McMaster University. She wishes to pursue a career in healthcare with an understanding of the Canadian mental health landscape for youth. She hopes to make medicine more inclusive and accessible, and address systemic barriers to seeking help. Through her experience of immigrating from Pakistan, Alisha has had first-hand experience with the impact of cultural attitudes on the well-being of minority communities. As the founder of her high school Jack.org chapter, she created a safe space for exploration and education on this issue, which marked the beginning of her mental health advocacy. Since then, Alisha has served as a national projects assistant with the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, planned the first Youth Summit for Mental Health in her hometown of Belleville, Ontario, and is currently a member of the Youth Council for the Mental Health Commission of Canada. As a co-host for the Frayme Learning Institute, Alisha hopes to contribute to a culture of collaboration and shared learning to drive positive, sustainable change in the YMHSU system.

Matt Prebeg
Matt (he/him) is an artist, designer, and researcher who is passionate about bridging knowledge gaps in the youth mental health and substance use sphere and beyond. Matt wears a few different hats, as a Youth Engagement Specialist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and a Research Engagement Coordinator at SickKids, as well as being a graduate student at the University of Toronto. Matt hopes to help build interdisciplinary teams that welcome different and unique forms of knowledge, including lived/living expertise. He works at the intersection of art and research to bridge knowledge gaps in youth mental health and ensure accessible and quality practices for youth and community engagement. Outside of work, you'll find Matt working on a new art project while watching reruns of Seinfeld.

Youth & Caregiver Moderators:

Co-Moderator Sabrina Abdul
Sabrina Abdul (she/her) is a graduate from the University of Guelph with a major in Neuroscience. She has over four years of dedicated experience in the field of youth mental health in a wide range of settings. Her professional journey began at the Grove Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario in Wellington County, where she served as a Youth Community Support Worker. Operating in both rural and urban settings, this role illuminated the systemic barriers prevalent in the current youth mental health systems, particularly for those in rural communities. This eye-opening experience fueled Sabrina’s passion in dismantling barriers that hinder youth in rural areas from accessing essential mental health support. Presently, she works as a Mental Wellness Program Facilitator at the YMCA of Greater Toronto Area, co-facilitating the group-based Y Mind Program tailored to teenagers and youth experiencing mild-to-moderate anxiety or stress. As an immigrant, she has navigated the youth mental health system firsthand. This experience fuels her advocacy for accessible mental health support regardless of immigration status. When she is not working, she likes to cook new recipes, mountain bike, play soccer or go on a long walks with a nice podcast.

Co-Moderator Charly Daly
As a young person living with comorbid mental health issues and chronic illness, I am passionate about removing barriers to accessing proper mental health services. I’m currently an undergraduate Psychology student at York. I hope to specialize in Health Psychology. My goal is to combine my lived experience with technical training to help contribute patient-informed research and care to the field. I enjoy creating pixel art in my free time.

Co-Moderator Herbert Fong
Herbert (they/them) is a queer and non-binary mental health advocate. A multi-disciplinary person, they are also a piano teacher and a spoken word poet. Herbert loves to write and perform poetry in various events like the Vancouver Poetry Slam. Herbert is a public speaker doing talks on mental health as part of Jack.org's Jack Talks program, which has inspired them to strive to transform music education to be more positive and mental health-friendly. A fun fact is that this is their first time hosting and moderating, having been so inspired by their first time attending Frayme 2023 in their home city of Vancouver! Herbert loves to travel, doing photography, and meeting new people.

Co-Moderator Mishika Khurana
Mishika Khurana is a 4th-year Geographic Analysis student at Toronto Metropolitan University. Born and raised in Toronto, Mishika has always been interested in how cities are shaped and the various factors that contribute to that, such as the wellbeing of community members. Over the last few years, she has worked within multiple healthcare organizations, which really shaped her ideas on the connections of accessible mental health supports to create more inclusive, sustainable and resilient cities. 

Co-Moderator Samarah Maqbool
Samarah is a passionate mental health advocate. Aside from studying biochemistry at McMaster University, she is also a Network Representative at Jack.org, Youth Advisor with CHEO’s Knowledge Institute, and a member of the CAMH’s national youth action council. In these roles she provides youth insights and is a platform to voice lived experiences from intersecting marginalized communities. A fun fact about her is that she likes to sew, especially skirts and dresses. 

Co-Moderator Jill Stringer
Jill Stringer (she/her) is a Public Health PhD Candidate researching mental health promotion. She holds a master’s degree in Public Health with experience working and volunteering in the public health sector and with national non-profits like the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health, and Jack.org. She is a board member of Mental Health International, mental health advisor to the Canadian Youth Delegate to the WHA and PAHO-DC, and has collaborated on mental health projects with The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, The Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health, and the Hamilton Family Health Team. As a self-proclaimed life-long learner, Jill is driven to advocate for positive health system change that acknowledges and integrates lived expertise and other diverse forms of knowledge. She is passionate about multidimensional health promotion through an understanding of programs, processes, and policies at the intersection of psychological, physical, and social wellbeing. When she’s not working or studying, Jill enjoys baking, weightlifting, and swimming with friends.