Converge is Canada’s coalition for mental health systems change. We bring together the right people around the issues that matter most, turning collaboration into action and ideas into impact.
We create the conditions for change.
Bringing people together is only the beginning.
Complex challenges need more than meetings. They need space for people to think differently, work across boundaries, build trust and stay with difficult problems long enough for new solutions to emerge.
That’s what Converge creates.
We don’t solve Canada’s biggest mental health challenges ourselves. We create the conditions for the people who can.
We create the space for leaders to focus on shared challenges, explore new possibilities and move promising ideas into action.
Sometimes that means convening conversations that have never happened before. Sometimes it means supporting a collaborative initiative, strengthening systems leadership or helping a successful idea take root in a new community.
Whatever the work looks like, the goal is always the same: creating the conditions where meaningful change becomes possible.
Every challenge deserves a different response.
There is no single solution to complex mental health challenges. That’s why we begin with the issue, not the answer.
We bring together the right people, explore the challenge from multiple perspectives and identify where collaboration can create the greatest opportunity for change.
Sometimes that means connecting leaders, designing practical solutions, strengthening systems leadership or helping a promising idea grow beyond the community where it began.
What would become possible if the right people worked on this challenge together?
Better conditions create better outcomes.
Systems change happens over time, through stronger relationships, clearer shared priorities and new ways of working across organizations and sectors.
When leaders have space to build trust, understand challenges more fully and work beyond traditional boundaries, ideas are strengthened, solutions better reflect community needs and promising approaches can move beyond where they began.
That is the impact Converge is working toward.
We look at what changes because people came together differently: whether relationships are stronger, coordination has improved, knowledge is moving more freely and practical ideas are gaining traction across communities and systems.
Our impact is not measured only by what Converge produces, but by what becomes possible because the Coalition has the relationships, confidence and shared understanding to act.
Learn more about our initiativesClick to read bios.
Click to read bios.
We are here to answer any questions that you may have.
Mona Hunter is a prominent Canadian philanthropist and healthcare advocate, deeply committed to transforming mental health systems across the country. As Chair of the mental health pillar at the Hunter Family Foundation, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the foundation’s strategic focus on innovation, accessibility, and systemic reform in healthcare.
Mona is also the founding Chair of CONVERGE Mental Health Coalition which is reimagining Canada’s mental health infrastructure by fostering collaboration, reducing service fragmentation, and ensuring timely access to care.
Mona’s work is rooted in a family-driven philanthropic vision that integrates health, entrepreneurial thinking, and free-market principles. Alongside her husband, Derrick Hunter, and the broader Hunter family, she has helped steer the foundation toward initiatives that catalyze systemic change.
Karen is the Executive Director of Viewpoint Family Office and Viewpoint Foundation. She has built her career working with family-controlled and private enterprises, with a focus on financial stewardship, governance, and philanthropy. Her interest in this field was shaped early in life as a third-generation member of a business family, where she saw firsthand the important contributions entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses make to their communities, the charitable sector, and Canada’s economy.
Karen remains deeply engaged in both the business and philanthropic communities. She currently serves as a director of Viewpoint Investment Management Corporation, Calvert Home Mortgage Investment Corporation, Radostits Holdings Inc., Monark Inc., Converge, and CAWST. She also serves on the Canadian Avalanche Foundation Investment Committee and the 51 Fund Advisory Committee. Karen holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from the University of Alberta, is a CPA, and is a Family Enterprise Advisor. Outside of work, she enjoys skiing, cycling, and hiking with family and friends.
Peyasu has spent much of his career working for Federal and First Nation governments across Canada. Currently he works as a management consultant in Maskwacîs, Alberta on Treaty six (6) territory. He volunteers working on men’s wellness and enjoys spending time with his family and in the great outdoors.
Dr. Paul Arnold is a Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Genetics at the University of Calgary. He was the inaugural Director of the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education from 2015 to 2026. He was recently named the Cuthbertson and Fischer Chair in Pediatric Mental Health, and the Precision Mental Health Lead for the One Child Every Child Initiative at the University of Calgary. He is a practicing child and adolescent psychiatrist, specializing in assessment and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Dr. Arnold has over 20 years of research experience in child and youth mental health, with a broad range of research interests including integrating measurement and data in clinical care, school-based mental health, and precision health.
Andréanne Deschamps serves as Interim Executive Vice President of e-Mental Health Transformation & Clinical Services at KHP. With over 10 years of experience in program leadership, she has dedicated her career to ensuring quality mental health support is accessible to youth and the communities that support them. In her current role, she provides strategic leadership and oversight of the organization’s clinical services, programs, and research initiatives, driving innovation and transformation in digital mental health to improve outcomes for young people.
Robbie Babins-Wagner is a visionary leader in mental health and counselling, dedicated to reducing barriers and improving evidence-based outcomes in the delivery of counselling services. With a PhD in social work from the University of Calgary, an MSW from Carleton University, and undergraduate degrees from McGill University, she brings extensive experience in counselling, mental health, and family violence. Robbie serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work and is an Approved Social Work Supervisor in Alberta.
Robbie’s contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including the Westbury Legacy Award, the Lieutenant Governor’s True Leadership Award for Mental Health and Addictions, the University of Calgary Alumni Achievement Award, and the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal. Her work continues to positively impact the mental health of Albertans, cementing her reputation as a pioneer in the field.
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Quentin Broad, C. Dir is Vice-Chair of Echelon Insurance, chair of the investment committees at Echelon, CAA Club Group and CAA Insurance and serves on Converge Health and Michael Garron Hospital Foundation boards. After his “Bay Street” career, he was the CEO of Capitalize for Kids (C4K), a charity providing consulting services to kids’ mental health agencies across Canada. Prior to C4K, Mr. Broad worked at CIBC World Markets for 17 years in equities, leading the research & equity sales teams on a global basis. He has also held roles in investment and corporate banking and spent time in human resources. Mr. Broad holds an MBA and received the 2020 Wayne C. Fox Distinguished Alumni Award and the 2011/12 IIAC Future Leader Scholarship Award at Wharton. He has been married for 36 years and has three wonderful children. He is a global Ironman competitor finishing 16 races including the Norseman Extreme Triathlon (2017) and Ironman World Championships in Kona (2022).
Meaghon works at the intersection of policy, practice, and lived experience, bringing together diverse actors to improve coordination, access, and outcomes.
Previously, Meaghon held leadership roles with Vibrant Communities Calgary, the Mental Health Commission of Canada in Ottawa, and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing in Washington, DC. Her work has consistently focused on scaling practical solutions that strengthen how people move through systems. Meaghon is known for making complex work clearer, more connected, and more doable. She is particularly interested in how systems can be designed to work better for people, not around them.
As Coalition Director, Tessa Penich leads coalition development by building network capacity, amplifying what is working, and helping move ideas with real potential into broader system impact. She is also the Chair of the Board of Directors for Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society. Tessa brings experience in leading research initiatives focused on informing policy change at a systems level, creating the operational conditions for systems change work, frontline work in the domestic violence and youth-serving sectors, and a strong background in qualitative research. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies from the University of Lethbridge, and a Master of Arts in Legal Studies from Carleton University.
This work matters to Tessa because her background in academia and the non-profit sector has shown her just how deeply mental health intersects with the systems we navigate every day – education, employment, healthcare, housing – and how those systems can make it hard or even impossible to get support. She knows tackling these complex problems is too big a job for any one organization, which is exactly why Converge’s collaborative approach is so exciting. Her favourite part of working in a coalition is nerding out about research and systems change with smart, passionate people from across the country.
Kendra supports the people, partnerships, initiatives, and systems that help advance the coalition’s work. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from MacEwan University and brings experience across non-profit, private, and clinical settings, with a background in project management, operations, administration, and communications. Kendra also serves on the board of the Community Mediation Calgary Society and volunteers as a community mediator, helping people work through conflict and find solutions that strengthen relationships and communities.
Kendra’s commitment to this work grew from seeing firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate a fragmented mental health system. In her previous roles in nonprofit organizations and private clinics, she saw how disconnected services and resources could leave people struggling to find their way through the system to get the help they need. She is motivated by the opportunity to help address these gaps and build stronger connections across the mental health sector so that people can access the support they need, when they need it.
George Alvarez leads the Information Sharing Framework initiative for Converge. With an extensive background in privacy and information sharing, George has over 37 years of experience working for the Government of Alberta, the first half in the delivery of various social service programs. As Director of the Information Privacy Office, he was responsible for providing privacy management services for multiple public bodies across a number of government ministries. He was also responsible for leading the development and implementation of the government’s Information Sharing Strategy, which required a broad knowledge of the various pieces of privacy legislation in Alberta, along with a deep understanding of their impact on organizations requiring access to personal and health information. On behalf of Converge, George has been working on adapting the Framework for use in other jurisdictions, as well as working on policy recommendations regarding legislative amendments.