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.

EJ is a School and Community Presenter for the Stigma-Free Society and is extremely passionate about mental health and LGBTQ+ topics with the intersectionality of both subjects. EJ is able to talk openly about their experience with their own mental health, sexuality, gender identity and the effects stigma has on it. As a non-binary person, and having recovered from addictions, EJ is a person living with complex PTSD and depression, who understands the importance of asking for help.  They believe that we are able to change people’s lives and create meaningful change when we share our stories and experiences.

Mack is a School and Community presenter for the Stigma-Free Society. He is a professional cook, who is passionate about LGBTQ+ advocacy. Mack openly shares his story around gender, mental health and how they can coincide  as a way to break down the stigma and show youth they aren’t alone. As a queer transmasculine person living with ADHD, anxiety and having grown up with family members with addiction, he knows the importance of community, representation and strives to help others access it.

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!