Faith Mackey

Faith Mackey is a 22-year-old Psychology student attending Concordia University in Montreal. With a focus on positive psychology, Faith is always asking herself “how good could it be?” to bring forth a positive mindset to all that she does. Faith is the Director of the Worth Living Blog and creates new blog posts each month to add to the mission of destigmatizing mental health in all areas of life and to help bring people to the Worth Living Community.  With experience in blogging, marketing, social media, podcast production, as well as her personal mental health experiences, Faith uses these experiences to curate and create a list of engaging and thought-provoking posts for the blog.

Maggie Hayes

Maggie Hayes, Current BBA Student

Maggie Hayes is a 21 year old student currently working towards her undergraduate degree in Accounting at Acadia University. While at Acadia Maggie works as a Resident Assistant helping students navigate through university life. In 2021 she worked with the Canadian Mental Health Association in the marketing and communications department and looks to bring that experience on board at Worth Living doing web design and some business consulting.

Patricia Murray

Patricia Murray, BA, MSc, MHSA

The bulk of my career has been spent in the area of mental health. As a practicing mental health clinician, I assessed, diagnosed, and treated children, youth and families in the public health care system. As a leader and Public Servant in the Nova Scotia government, I oversaw the development, funding and implementation of services for those living with mental illness and addictions. After retirement, I worked for and with the nonprofit sector primarily for organizations addressing mental health challenges. I have lived with anxiety most of my life but for a number of reasons including stigma and shame, I did not seek treatment until I was 50. I continue to be happily retired and I look forward to ways I can continue to contribute to an improved understanding of the intersectionality between mental wellness and mental illness and improved mental health for us all.

Ryan Gould

Ryan  Gould 

Ryan  Gould is a thirty-seven year old father of six beautiful daughters, Trinity age 19, Serenity 17, Miracle Rain 15, Haven 11, and Jaelyn 5. He is full blooded Mi’kmaq and was born and raised in Membertou, Nova  Scotia. He has an amazingly strong woman, Samantha, by his side. His parents are Lee Gould from Membertou and Everett Sanipass from Elsipogtog.

A plumber by trade, he is the proud owner and operator of Rusty Pipes Plumbing & Heating. In 2019, he began his position as the Aboriginal Apprenticeship Coordinator for the Mi’kmaq Economic Benefits Office located in Membertou where he  provides mentoring, support, and services to all Aboriginal tradespeople of Unama’ki and guides them along their pathway to certification in skilled trades.

He mentors brothers and sisters struggling with addiction, mental health, or grieving issues as President of the Membertou Men’s Society. He is 4 years clean and sober from cocaine and alcohol. Ryan feels amazing.

 

Hannah-Grace Morgan

Hannah-Grace Morgan, BSc

Hannah-Grace is a 25 year old content creator from Halifax, Nova Scotia. After graduating from Acadia University with a BSc in Applied Psychology in 2019, she completed a Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from Mount Saint Vincent University in 2021. In May, she will return to her studies as she pursues her MA in Counselling Psychology. Hannah-Grace hopes to use her personal experience with mental health coupled with her academic and professional background to help make psychological services more accessible and less stigmatized. She is the Director of Merchandise and Design for Worth Living, where she is the creative mind behind all merchandise and website/social media content for us. 

Cat Davis

Cat Davis

Cat Davis is a 24-year-old student and author from Little Rock, AR. She graduated from the University of Virginia in 2019, where she studied Cognitive Science with a concentration in Neuroscience. She is currently pursuing a career in medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She looks forward to using her personal experience with bipolar disorder to change the narrative on mental illness in the healthcare field. Cat has advocated for mental health awareness through platforms such as TEDx, The Human Library Organization, the mental health blog I Am 1 in 4, and the book It’s Ok to Not Be Ok. She is the Director of Worth Living USA, where she contributes as a blogger, a podcast host, and now an author and editor for Life Worth Living. One day, she plans to publish a memoir about her time navigating two psychiatric hospitals before being diagnosed with bipolar I at age 19. 

 

Keith Anderson

Keith Anderson, LL.B., LL.M. 

Keith is a lawyer who had depression. He is a graduate of  Dalhousie Law School ( LL.B., 1983) and University College London ( LL.M., 1987). 

He first went public with his journey in an article in the National Post newspaper, called How I Returned to a Life Worth Living, published on February 20, 2008. 

Since then, Keith has spoken at national and international mental health conferences, legal conferences, universities, and fundraisers. He was recently invited to present a paper on Lawyers and Mental Health at the Commonwealth Lawyers Conference in The Bahamas this past September but due to covid, there were no connecting flights available. 

His articles have appeared in publications of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, the Canadian Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. 

He has also served on numerous Boards of Directors and Committees for mental health non-profit groups. 

Keith was a volunteer with Glenn Close’s mental health advocacy group, Bring Change to Mind, for many years. 

In the fall of 2015, Keith launched Worth Living Mental Health Consulting, which offers a blog, podcasts, consulting, and conferences. Worth Living is a safe, diverse online community where people gather to share their personal journeys with mental health challenges. The message is one of Hope Healing Health and  Happiness. 

This past summer, he published the book, Life Worth Living: A Mental Health Anthology. Keith wrote Chapter 1- Worth Living: Darkest Days to the Brightest Nights.  He was then joined by 11 other authours each contributing a chapter on their journey.  It is an incredibly diverse group, from Canada, the United States, and Nigeria. 

Keith also works with the Canadian Mental Health Association Nova Scotia as the Provincial Lead: Peer Support. He also serves on the Social Justice Committee of CMHA NS and the Suicide Prevention and Risk Reduction Community Working Group which is led by the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness. 

He has recently accepted an offer to join The Associates Consulting Firm based in Toronto, where he will provide mental health strategies and presentations to clients.  He will continue working remotely in Nova Scotia but will travel to Toronto when needed. 

When he is not working, Keith enjoys concerts, traveling, and celebrating life with great food. 

Findlay Hilchie

Findlay comes from the start up world where he has spent seven years doing  website design, digital marketing, and community management. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from St. Mary’s University. He has also completed his Masters at SMU and now lectures there.  He also works for an international  web development and consulting firm.

Findlay struggled with depression and has seen the effect that it can have on those around him. With effort and commitment to doing things that matter to him, he is happy to have found a life worth living!