Our people are passionate about your people.

The Power of Lived Experience

Mental Health Innovations (MHI) is built on the premise that lived experience is invaluable. We recognize that about 1 in 5 people in most organizations have some form of mental health experience. MHI uniquely embraces this, with nearly 100% of our population embodying lived experience, often a requirement for our roles.

Our Leadership Team

Stéphane Grenier

Founder and Lead Innovator

Stéphane is an internationally known mental health innovator, advocate, speaker, author and entrepreneur. 

In 2012, after successfully leading the development of a national peer support network for Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans and their families, being seconded to the Mental Health Commission of Canada to develop Standards of Practice for peer support, Stéphane founded Mental Health Innovations (MHI) to develop non-clinical mental health interventions as a compliment to traditional clinical care for all types of North American civilian organizations.

In 2015, Stéphane was awarded an (honorary) Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Guelph and Humber College, for his contributions in the field of workplace mental health. In 2018, he was appointed to the Order of Canada and published his autobiography, After the War: Surviving PTSD and Changing Mental Health Culture.

Lesile Bennett

Partner, Human Capital Innovator

Leslie is focused on supporting organizations that prioritize workplace mental health. She uses her skills and expertise to assist clients in addressing the issue of mental health in workplaces by implementing the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, supporting organizations to create a workplace culture of compassion and designing and implementing social support (workplace peer support) programs within highly complex systems. Leslie focuses on eliminating barriers and supporting clients to build the case for a mentally healthy work environment. She is a volunteer working with people who have lived through mental illness.

When she’s not working with MHI, Leslie is still “re-humanizing workplaces” in other ways. She is the Canadian Regional Lead for The Stability Network– a growing movement of people living and working with mental health conditions and sharing their stories to inspire others to change how people think about mental health.

In 2007, Leslie made a life-changing decision to be open about her experience living with bipolar disorder. After concealing her mental illness for 10 years, she now speaks and writes about her journey through her mental health blog. Leslie has a Bachelor of Commerce in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Ryerson University; Professional Coach Certification (PCC); is a CultureSync™ Approved Tribal Leader, Certified Psychological Health and Safety Advisor; and is also a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator.

Taryn Tang, PhD

Research and Evaluation Lead

Taryn supports the vision and mission of MHI by developing strategic research partnerships and ensuring programs and services are consistently evaluated and achieve a high level of scientific integrity. She is committed to the advancement of evidence-based solutions for mental health challenges and is focused on integrating research and application to support the well-being of individuals, families, organizations, and communities.  Taryn is a mental health entrepreneur, researcher, educator, and family caregiver. She has taught, given numerous presentations, delivered workshops, received grant support, and published on diverse topics in mental health.

She is an academically trained researcher who spent over 20 years leading and implementing research and evaluation programs in university, hospital and community settings, and social enterprises. Taryn holds a PhD in Applied Psychology from the University of Toronto and is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. 

Lauren Scott

Director of Peer Support Services

Lauren is a highly experienced peer support program manager and peer support facilitator. She is ideally positioned to consult on peer support programs. Lauren has led both small and large teams throughout her career. She spent almost a decade managing approximately 300, multi-disciplinary, healthcare employees. She has been with MHI for over five years and manages a team of peer supporters within the Nova Scotia healthcare system. Lauren is also a talented and engaging facilitator who receives rave reviews. Lauren has delivered training to professionals, government employees, community organizations, and members.

Lauren is as comfortable delivering training online as she is in person and adapts to the audience in front of her to ensure they are engaged and learning. She is also a licensed therapist in the province of Nova Scotia and is the Vice-Chair of the Nova Scotia College of Registered Counselling Therapists Complaints Committee. She holds a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, a Master of Arts in Health Services Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours.

Deborah Watring-Ellis

Product Manager and Instructional Design Lead

Deb provides strategic planning, business development and instructional design support to the MHI team. She shares her years of experience in instructional design and facilitation to help clients address the challenges of an ever-evolving workplace. Deb is a ground-breaking entrepreneur who has spent the last 33 years providing consulting services in the fields of sales performance improvement and customer experience. In 1986 – prior to deployment of the internet – Deb started a virtual company. In the course of building it into a multi-million-dollar, multi-national operation, she learned many key lessons about people, technology, culture and leadership.

Now she shares those best practices with MHI’s clients to maximize performance and maintain mental wellness. Her passion extends to assisting leaders in navigating their employees’ mental health in a virtual workplace. Deb uses her vast experience in leading teams in the virtual space to mitigate the two top risks of remote work: isolation and loneliness. 

Deb’s compassion is born of a personal faith and her own lived experience as a young victim of sexual molestation, being the child of an alcoholic and living in foster care after losing her mother at a young age. Those experiences led to years of grappling with sexual identity and coping with depression. Today, she is driven to pay forward the support she has received over the years.

Véronique Grenier

Operations Lead

Véronique is driven by her values and seeks to do the right things for the right reasons. She brings to MHI a breadth of experience in project management and communications, as well as a personal passion for leading real change to make the world a more humane place. She leverages her experience from working within corporate settings and the consulting industry. Her love for entrepreneurial endeavours underpins her passion. Véronique’s prior experience includes working in the events industry, including a medical congress in Hong Kong, and an electronic music festival in Montreal. She later transitioned to a more strategic role as a project manager

With the role, she worked with a reputation management firm where she gained tremendous insight into navigating the challenges of building corporate identities, employer brands, and communication plans that respect both an organization’s history, all the while driving them towards success and a brighter future.

Today, Véronique is motivated to make a difference by bringing MHI’s philosophy and approach to everything she does. She has seen and experienced firsthand the benefits of what our organization strives to bring to workplaces and organizations alike. Her passion for working with wonderful human beings continuously fuels her ambition and work.

Get started with MHI, today.