Webinar MC
eMHIC
CANADA
Nicole Waldron is a dynamic speaker, mental health advocate, and storyteller with lived experience as a family mental health caregiver. She speaks with authenticity, compassion, and purpose—sparking conversations that challenge stigma and inspire hope.
Nicole delivers impactful keynotes, panels, and workshops on:
- The journey of family mental health caregivers
- Building a Victory Mindset through adversity
- Community wellness, co-operative housing, and advocacy
- Empowering women, youth, and marginalized communities
As the host of the Victory Speaks Podcast & Show, she encourages audiences to live with intention and resilience. Her talks combine vulnerability with practical tools to cultivate wellness and purpose.
Nicole is a respected voice in mental health policy, serving as a Family Advisor with CAMH, Stella’s Place, and OFCAN. She collaborates on several mental health initiatives, including CIHR-funded research and the MHA Provincial Coordinated Access Working Group.
Recognized for her leadership, she is a recipient of the Brian Burch Community Service Award, named among the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women, and honoured by HERstory in Black.
Nicole serves on the boards of The Co-operators, the Ontario Caregiver Organization, and CHFT Charitable Fund. Her mission remains clear: speak life, ignite victory, and amplify voices that matter.
Consultant Psychiatrist
Canadian Institute of Natural and Integrative Medicine (Cinim)
CANADA
Dr Allan Donsky is a retired Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary. He is a consultant Psychiatrist at the Canadian Institute of Natural and Integrative Medicine (Cinim) where he contributes to the development of online mental health programs.
After 30 years of clinical work he is now dedicated to bringing heart and soul back to the field of mental health. His interests lie at the interface of psychiatry, contemplative practices, inner literacy and secular spirituality. Allan is currently writing a book about exploring the inner world of mind, heart and soul in the service of enhancing human wellbeing and flourishing in challenging times.
Critical Incident Stress Management/Counselor
United Nations - Department of Safety and Security, NY
USA
Dr. Janvier Rugira is a registered psychologist and Regional Stress Counsellor within the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) Critical Incident Stress Management Section. He provides strategic coordination and technical oversight of psychosocial support and critical incident stress management for UN personnel and their families, particularly those serving in complex humanitarian and peacekeeping operations across nearly 30 countries.
With nearly a decade of UN service, Dr. Rugira specializes in workplace mental health and psychosocial risk management. He champions systemic, preventive approaches to institutional well-being, advocating that psychosocial hazards, such as excessive workload, organizational culture, isolation, and burnout, be managed with the same rigor as financial, operational, and safety risks. Within the UN system, he co-leads two system-wide working groups under the Mental Health Implementation Board, focusing on Family Support Services and Mental Health Insurance.
Before joining the UN, Dr. Rugira held academic positions at the University of Johannesburg and completed postdoctoral research at North-West University. A published researcher, his academic interests include loneliness and the impact of human-machine interaction on work-life dynamics.
Dr. Rugira holds a PhD in Psychology from North-West University (South Africa), an MBA from Regent Business School, and an MA in Counselling Psychology from Daystar University. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and registered with the Rwanda Psychological Society. An avid long-distance runner, he credits the sport with sharpening his understanding of endurance, resilience, and sustained performance.
Founder and Executive Director
Stress Clinic Uganda
UGANDA
Martin Opiyo’s leadership in global mental health was forged in Northern Uganda, where he survived civil war as a child displaced into an IDP camp, later living on the street, losing relatives to the conflict, and enduring a family unit torn apart. In its aftermath, he battled suicidal ideation rooted in post-traumatic stress. His search for recovery became the foundation of his life’s work: building the infrastructure he once needed himself.
That conviction led him to found Stress Clinic Uganda, which he built from the grassroots into a national advocacy force, culminating in a Memorandum of Understanding with the Parliament of Uganda through its Forum on Mental Health.
Beyond mental health, Martin is a strategic humanitarian and development leader with over 10 years of experience in area-level programme coordination and field operations across refugee settlements and fragile, conflict-affected contexts in Uganda, including Rhino Camp and Palabek Refugee Settlements, leading multi- sector programmes in protection, education, livelihoods, climate change, WASH, health, and psychosocial support.
He now serves as Africa Representative and Board Member of the Global Mental Health Action Network, Country Director (Uganda) for the East African Community Mental Health Network, and, as a volunteer, Deputy Director of Partnerships at Speak Now (US).
His trajectory has earned recognition including the African Humanitarian Award (HEXA Media, 2024), UNFPA’s Outstanding Innovation Award for the ADILE model (2026), and Stress Clinic Uganda’s naming as Best Community Mental Health and Integrated Development Organization in East Africa (MEA Markets, 2026).
Martin’s long-term vision: positioning mental health as foundational infrastructure within development systems, particularly in contexts of fragility, inequality, and displacement.