Let's Talk About It: Mental Health, with Mark Henick & Bee Quammie

Join us for this special event for Bell Let's Talk Day.

Whatever you’re dealing with, you aren’t alone.

Hear from our special guests, Mark Henick and Bee Quammie, as they help de-stigmatize mental health by sharing their personal experiences and stories. Learn more about Mark and Bee, below. Refreshments provided.

This event is free and tickets are open to Conestoga College students, guests of Conestoga College students, and faculty/staff of Conestoga. Guaranteed admission to the first 120 guests to arrive. Doors open at 5:45pm.

Mark Henick

Mental Health Advocate and Strategist | Top 50 TEDx Speaker

With over six million views, Mark Henick’s TEDx talk, "Why We Choose Suicide," is among the most watched in the world. His story of searching for “the man in the light brown jacket” who saved his life from a teenage suicide attempt captured global attention, and when he learned of products being sold on Amazon that promoted suicide, his successful online petition to have them removed garnered tens of thousands of signatures. Henick has dedicated his life from an early age to opening minds and creating change. His talks are informed by his direct experience with stigma and the mental health care system, and he brings his diverse and unique perspective to every audience as someone who has been a patient, a professional, a policy influencer, and a public figure in the mental health system.

Henick is currently the Principal and CEO of a boutique consulting firm that helps individuals, companies, and governments to move strategically from awareness to action in improving mental health and wellness. He was previously the National Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), and, prior to that, served as the youngest president of a provincial CMHA division in history, the youngest ever member of the board of directors for Canada’s Mental Health Commission, and as a national spokesperson for the Faces of Mental Illness campaign. He has also worked as a frontline mental health counsellor, and as the manager of a national workplace mental health training program.

Henick has appeared in hundreds of television, radio, print, and online media features on mental health. His work has been featured in such outlets as CTV National News, Entertainment Tonight, the Toronto Star, The New York Daily News, The Independent, The Daily Mail, The Huffington Post, and Reader’s Digest. He has had bylines with CNN, The Globe and Mail, The Montreal Gazette, and the Chicago Tribune, among others.

The worldwide rights to his first book have recently been acquired by HarperCollins, with an anticipated release in early 2020.

Henick holds a Master of Science in child development; a Bachelor of Arts with interdisciplinary honours in psychology and philosophy; and has certificates in trauma counselling, suicide intervention, non-violent crisis intervention, mental health first aid, and knowledge exchange.

Bee Quammie

Award-Winning Blogger, Journalist, and Community Activist

What can we learn when we really listen to each other? Bee’s presentations centre on the stories that often aren’t told, providing spaces where audiences can learn, be empowered, and find a relatable voice.

Blogging since 2006, Bee started her longest-running personal blog, ‘83 To Infinity, in 2011. Focusing on areas around natural hair care, wellness, race & culture and more, ‘83 To Infinity enabled Bee’s transition to freelance writing. Her writing has been featured in print and digital publications around the world like Chatelaine, Ascension Magazine, For Harriet, EBONY Magazine, The Globe & Mail, The Establishment, VICE, Revolt, and many others. Bee was recognized by Black Enterprise as one of the “most impactful and successful voices in the online space,” was the recipient of the Best Blogger Award at the 2014 Black Canadians Awards, and was accepted into the 2016 class at the THREAD At Yale Fellowship Program for Storytelling in Modern Media. After the birth of her daughter in 2014, Bee founded The Brown Suga Mama, a blog focused on motherhood from the perspective of a Black Canadian mom.

Bee has also taken her thoughts, words, and knowledge from behind the computer screen. She can be seen and heard across North America, having spoken at conferences and schools, and having been featured on TV and radio across the continent. Some of her notable features include being featured on Arise TV’s Our Take in New York City discussing international healthcare, and twice on TVO’s The Agenda With Steve Paikin, speaking on education & employment options for Canadian millennials and the presence of women in media. Bee is also a cast member of the Drunk Feminist Films collective, which hosts bi-monthly interactive film screenings that examine societal structures within pop culture.

Bee holds a degree in Health Sciences from the University of Western Ontario and Post-Graduate Certificate studies in Health Promotion from George Brown College. Her work in healthcare has focused on mental health research, international health, and brain injury/dementia support and advocacy. Bee has worked with entities like the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, helping to lead provincial discussions in dementia and technology and with program promotion across the province, while also conducting work with the Ontario Provincial Police on awareness of community policing and dementia.