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About Us

We inspire each other

We are a diverse group of graduate students, postdocs and professionals with different backgrounds and experiences who are passionate about creating a space to have conversations about mental health in academia. Dragonfly Mental Health is an international organization that spreads awareness of mental health issues within academia. Together, we have created a conference and are curating resources from across the globe to support our peers.

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Our Story

Over the past few years, the importance of mental health in higher education, especially among students, has been brought to light. To address the issue locally, we have developed some tools and gathered resources. However, implementing new ideas is challenging, and systemic resistance often poses a problem. We recognize that this is not a unique challenge, which is why we decided to organize this international conference to approach the problem as a community. 

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Our Mission

  • Provide a safe and collaborative platform for you to share your knowledge and learn from others

  • Normalize the discussion of mental health, prioritize work-life balance, and discourage the glorification of toxic work culture 

  • Provide tools and accumulated resources to start building your own support network 

  • Make the conference and resources accessible to anyone worldwide

  • Promote a healthier academic environment by fundraising for non-profit organizations starting with Dragonfly Mental Health

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Core Organization Committee

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Aleksandra Marakhovskaia

MINDS Co-founder, Content Creation Co-team Lead

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Claire Shyu

Marketing Co-team Lead

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Alex Malinowski

MINDS Co-founder, Resource Curation Co-team Lead

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Lucia Rotheray

IT Co-Team Lead

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Alaa Alsaafin

MINDS Co-founder,
Liaison Co-team Lead

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Alison Jee

MINDS Co-founder,

Finance Co-team Lead

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Joanna Law

Resource Curation Co-team Lead

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Olga Vvedenskaya

Dragonfly Collaborator

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George Perlman

Liaisons Co-team Lead

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Tiago Silva

Finance Co-team Lead

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Dipa Chatterjee

IT Co-Team Lead

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Roo Steinberg

Dragonfly Collaborator

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Our Amazing Volunteers!

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Emma Russo

Liaisons Associate

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Tuana Kant

Liaisons Associate

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Jie Gao

Marketing Associate

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Kayvan Aflaki

Resource Curation Associate

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Megan Sullivan

Resource Curation Associate

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Zachary Coulson

Liaisons Associate

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Jon Lacanlale

Liaisons Associate

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Emily Cooper

Content Creation Associate

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Kiren Kaloty

Resource Curation Associate

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Nadezhda Pirogova

IT & Marketing Associate

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Sarai Guerrero

Liaisons Associate

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Sophie Karolczak

Liaisons Associate

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Olga Sirbu

Finance Associate

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Sofia Melliou

Resource Curation Associate

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Ayse Ercan

Liaisons Associate

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Neda Rashidi-Ranjbar

Liaisons Associate

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Vincent Lam

Finance Associate

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Negar Mir

Resource Curation Associate

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