Virtual Stigma-Free School Program

Andrea Paquette is the President and Co-Founder of the Stigma-Free Society. She is an experienced speaker who lives well with bipolar disorder having been diagnosed for over 16 years. She holds a double major degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies and she has worked for the BC government in the areas of mental health and addictions, social development and education. She is certified in ASIST Suicide Prevention. She has also been trained and certified in the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Mental Health First Aid course. Andrea has received many awards including the 2015 Courage to Come Back Award by Coast Mental Health.

Lindsay Goulet, PhD, is the Community Development Manager for the Stigma-Free Society on Vancouver Island. With strong strategic planning and marketing skills, Lindsay helps educate and raise awareness for the Stigma-Free Society by expanding, promoting and presenting for programs offered by the Charity. As a Support Warrior for her son, who was diagnosed with mental illness at age 10, she has advocated for childhood mental illness awareness through her own efforts, especially through various fundraising campaigns. Lindsay is beyond excited to help spread the education and awareness that the Stigma-Free Society brings to communities.

Cosette is a current PsyD student at Adler University. Growing up, she competed as a synchronized swimmer at the national and international level until her eating disorder became so severe that she could no longer ignore the issue. During her recovery Cosette recognized that she had been associating her value to her performance in the sport. She has now created a new relationship with physical activity, one that is derived from respect and appreciation of her body. Cosette is motivated to help others see that weight and physical appearance do not determine one’s worth. She aspires to help individuals by fostering hope and educating others on the fact that they are not alone.

Benjamin Garner is an award winning artist, actor and resilient advocate for mental health. Through the arts, he expresses a personal interest on the topics of mental health, gender identity, societal norms and connection to the human spirit. He possesses a varied educational background in counseling and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. As a queer male, and having recovered from addictions, Ben lives with bipolar disorder and understands the effects of stigma. He has 10 years of experience working with marginalized populations with respect to comorbid health concerns, psychopathology, mental health and addictions, gender identity, HIV, personal trauma and stigma related issues.

Joesh is a school presenter for the Stigma-Free Society. He is very passionate about sports and plays a lot of them, his favourites are soccer, basketball, and football. Joesh is extremely passionate about ADHD and learning differences and how we as a society can be more aware of them. Joesh does not see these as a disorder but as more of a benefit and how we can effectively utilize ADHD and learning differences in our school systems. As someone who has both ADHD and the learning difference of written output, Joesh wants to inspire and educate young minds about what it’s like to live life with these and why it is important in our communities.

Nathan Lirenman is a 20-year-old young man, currently enrolled in the Kinesiology program at Capilano University. Nathan is a person who has worked hard to learn the skills necessary to be successful in life and proud of who he is, a young man who happens to have Autism. Nathan has used determination, and hard work to not let stigma, stereotypes, and adversity get in the way of his goals. Nathan loves to keep active by running, working out, and walking in nature which he has felt has made him stronger mentally. Nathan is motivated to shatter all the stigmas associated with Autism!