Ashley is a 12th grade student at International Christian School. She’s a creative soul interested in entrepreneurship, digital media, and medicine. In addition to creating content about mental health on her social platforms, she has created content for various NGOs and is currently creating educational content for Edgi Learning. Carrying a handful of personal experiences with various mental health issues, she brings first hand insight into the world of mental health. In joining Coolminds, she hopes to leverage her experiences to develop and refine Coolminds offerings that will benefit the local community.

Anson is a fresh graduate from The University of Hong Kong. Not only is he a freelance emcee and voice actor, but also a devoted volunteer. He is experienced in youth education and district affairs, serving in different committees and organisations for years. As part of the Youth Advisory Committee, Anson would like to focus on policy advocacy and destigmatisation, promoting mental health awareness with his expertise. With his passion and enthusiasm, he expects to motivate more people to participate in social services, contributing to the local community.

Kadence is a Y12 IB student at ESF Sha Tin College. She enjoys volunteering at various organisations and is particularly interested in the intersection between climate change and mental health. Having grown up in Hong Kong’s fast-paced competitive culture, she realises that many people experience mental health-related issues or lack an understanding of how mental health affects one’s life. By joining the Coolminds Advisory Committee, she hopes to advocate for greater awareness around mental health and destigmatise conversations around the topic amongst the wider community.

China is a grade 11 student at Independent Schools Foundation. Through her personal battles against mental disorders, she realized the importance of mental health and the society’s lack of understanding towards it. Through joining Coolminds, she strives to destigmatize and raise awareness for mental health by helping and educating adolescents. She is excited to be a part of the committee and looks forward to collaborating with other members in advocating mental health.

Charlotte is one year away from embarking on the journey of being a university student. Before high school ends, she would like to make an impact by helping raise awareness on an issue she is passionate about – mental health. She is ecstatic to become part of the Youth Advisory Committee of Coolminds and participate in addressing and reducing the stigma of mental health in Hong Kong among the youth. The quote, “You are not struggling with mental illness. Mental illness is struggling with you.”, portrays that no individual is a passive victim of mental illness and encapsulates the reason behind her aspiration to advocate for the wellbeing of herself and others.

Megan is a current student at Wycombe Abbey. She’s always had a huge interest in psychology and believes it is an interdisciplinary subject, involving politics, social justice and even philosophy. She also personally witnessed the impacts of mental health on her peers and hopes to increase mental health awareness in Hong Kong because of this.

Verona is a form 6 student at St. Paul’s Co-educational College. Through her passion in neuroscience and psychology, she has gained a deeper understanding of mental health and has realized the lack of proper stress management among adolescents. To contribute to the society, she has participated in different mental health projects and has been regularly volunteering for the intellectually disabled at The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong. By joining Coolminds, she hopes to help destigmatize mental health issues and raise awareness on the importance of mental wellbeing among her peers and the local community.

Joseph is a form 6 student at Diocesan Boys’ School. He believes that inclusivity and understanding are critical in the journey to overcome mental health issues. Having known many people who suffer from mental health issues and stigma, he joined Coolminds to better help those around him. He is also committed to the destigmatisation of mental health and promoting a more inclusive environment for mental health in the modern era.

Oceanna is a Grade 12 student at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong. She became interested in the field of psychology after completing a group project on mental health in Grade 6. Her interest further sparked after noticing her mental health struggles during the lockdown period. She plans on majoring in psychology at university and looks forward to working with the Coolminds Youth Advisory Committee to reduce stigma surrounding mental health and to promote mental health in Hong Kong.

Louna is a Y13 student at Renaissance College. She loves visual art and developed a passion in exploring it along with psychology. As mixed Hong Kong and French, she has gained exposure to local and international school environments which opened her eyes to the various stigmas against mental health. She hopes to help tackle these issues and spread greater awareness about the importance of mental health by joining Coolminds.