Raffela Mancuso
Mental Health Activist, Entrepreneur, and Content Creator
Staya
CANADA
Raffela (she/they) is a mental health activist, entrepreneur, and content creator who draws on her lived experience with mental illness and severe ADHD to challenge stigma and inaccessible mental health systems. She earned a Bachelor of Science with a Specialization in Psychology and Research Certificate from the University of Alberta and is currently developing a digital tool called Staya, which aims to reduce barriers for those seeking mental health support.
She has collaborated with organizations across Canada to amplify the voices of youth and people with lived experience across the mental health sector and promote inclusive solutions that meet people where they are. Whether she’s sharing on social media, consulting for grassroots initiatives, or working on her own various projects, Raffela’s focus will always be on improving the quality of life for all marginalized and oppressed people.
Do you know how to meaningfully engage people with lived experience, especially youth? Co-creation is the essential ingredient for any digital mental health solution to succeed, but only including them to check a box is not enough. This session will explore how to find the right lived experience experts from the start, ensure participation is fully accessible, and make sure their expertise is valued and respected. No tokenizing allowed.