Who We Are
Susana Meza (she/they) is a Toronto-based emerging artist and art educator from Venezuela who has worked with George Brown College, Workman Arts, CAMH, WomenatthecentrE, Scarborough Arts, and other local organizations with a focus on incentivizing creativity and self-expression while building community through art-making. Currently, Susana is on the board of directors of the North York Women Centre, is a Newcomer Artist Ambassador for MABELLEarts, and is a Fellow of the 2022 cohort of the Yale University Lived Experience Transformational Leadership Academy. Susana is working on their second solo art show Epi Oinopa Ponton, which will premiere on August 2nd at Show Gallery, and is on the cast of Judith Thompson's play We Are Here which will debut this Summer at the CAMH auditorium
website:
https://cargocollective.com/susanameza/
social media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanamakesart/
https://twitter.com/susanamakesart
https://www.instagram.com/susanamakesart/
website:
https://cargocollective.com/susanameza/
social media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanamakesart/
https://twitter.com/susanamakesart
https://www.instagram.com/susanamakesart/
Miranda Newman is nonfiction writer and editor based in Toronto who lives with BPD, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Her lived experience informs her writing on topics related to mental health and trauma. Her work has been published in The Walrus, The Literary Review of Canada, Broadview, Xtra, The Montreal Gazette, and more. She’s co-editor of AFTERNOON, a yearly arts and letters publication, and publishes Life as a Lunatic, a monthly newsletter about coping with symptoms of mental illness. Miranda is a 2021-2022 Fellow at Yale University’s Lived Experience Transformational Leadership Institute (LET[s]LEAD).
She is also a member of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s National Youth Action Council, WomenatthecentrE, and is a youth advisor to CAMH’s Client Learning Fund Committee.
Website:
https://www.mirandanewman.com
Instagram: @mirandanewman
Twitter: @mirandanewman
She is also a member of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s National Youth Action Council, WomenatthecentrE, and is a youth advisor to CAMH’s Client Learning Fund Committee.
Website:
https://www.mirandanewman.com
Instagram: @mirandanewman
Twitter: @mirandanewman

Don Vaillancourt is a French-Canadian sound designer, musician, Dj, vinyl collector, artist, lover, outreach & harm reduction worker, who found common ground marrying their passion for the arts and connecting with vulnerable communities. Don is currently an outreach/harm reduction worker at The 519 and is one of the founding individuals responsible for their Breaking The Ice program which is a community engagement and outreach program focused on supporting people who use crystal meth in Toronto’s Downtown East district, and has a specific focus on understanding the needs and barriers faced by LGBTQ2S people who use drugs and who also face mental health barriers. They also have extensive lived experience with bipolar disorder, body dysmorphic disorder and is a trauma survivor and implements their complex history as an educational tool in the work they do.
Additionally, Don is a member and Peer Support worker at Workman Arts and is currently a 2021-2022 Fellow at Yale University’s Lived Experience Transformational Leadership Academy and will be implementing in-depth creative programming for those faced with mental health, trauma & addiction challenges in March 2022 on the Centre For Addiction And Mental Health’s (CAMH) Collaborative Learning website.
Website:
https://www.thefantasyclinic.com
https://www.the519.org/programs/bti
Social Media:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFantasyClinic
https://twitter.com/lefantasyclinic
Additionally, Don is a member and Peer Support worker at Workman Arts and is currently a 2021-2022 Fellow at Yale University’s Lived Experience Transformational Leadership Academy and will be implementing in-depth creative programming for those faced with mental health, trauma & addiction challenges in March 2022 on the Centre For Addiction And Mental Health’s (CAMH) Collaborative Learning website.
Website:
https://www.thefantasyclinic.com
https://www.the519.org/programs/bti
Social Media:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFantasyClinic
https://twitter.com/lefantasyclinic