Meet Our Team

Nadisha Jayasinghe MD

Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer

Nadisha began MYND Initiative Inc. in April 2015 after observing the lack of understanding and compassion for people in the community struggling with mental illness. This gave him the idea to develop an initiative that would help educate people about mental health and mental illness and remove the associated stigma. Through his medical knowledge, combined with lived experience of depression and anxiety, Nadisha has developed a passion for mental health advocacy. It is his dream that communities of understanding will develop with increased education and resources. Nadisha also co-founded mental health initiatives including UNSW Psychiatry Society and developed a mental health guide for UNSW medical students.

Hsui Yang Wong (Yang)

Co-Founder, Vice President of Governance, Co-Chief Governance Officer – Head of Finance Governance

Hsui Yang Wong (Yang) has been involved with MYND Initiative Inc. since July 2015. He is currently a medical and mental health professional, which has been a lifelong dream as well as many years of back-breaking work, with interests in several fields ranging from community mental health, clinical medicine, research, advocacy, and many others.

Nicky Cashmere

Chief Administration Officer

Nicky has an extensive background in administration having worked as a legal secretary for over twenty years. She is passionate about mental health and undertook a Diploma of Community Services with an emphasis on mental health. She has a lived experience of mental illness and was a long term carer for her daughter who also struggles with a number of mental health issues.

Megat Stefan

Chief Business and Finance Officer

Megat joined MYND Initiative Inc. in May 2019. For the past five years, Stefan has been working as a freelance day trader in financial markets. He has particular experience in dealing with derivatives and arbitrage trading. His passion for data science and numbers has driven him to utilise his knowledge to develop MYND Initiative Inc.

Caroline Quach

Co-Chief Governance Officer – Head of Policy & Legal Affairs

Caroline joined MYND Initiative Inc. in 2022 and has been part of the Governance Team. She is currently completing her double degree of Bachelor of Law (Honours)/Bachelor of Biomedicine with an Honours research project in lupus. During her undergraduate studies she volunteered at a community legal centre and was able to learn about the complex relationship between mental health and other facets of one’s life, including their legal, financial, and social interests. She continues to do her best to understand the complexities around mental health and leads an open dialogue amongst her social circles.

Junghyun (Rae) Heo

Chief Information Officer

Rae is in her final year studying a Bachelor of Psychological Science in Human Resource Management.
She joined MYND Initiative to make real positive impacts on our community through her specialty in psychology.
She is helping the Information Team ensure that MYND Initiative has accurate and up-to-date information on mental health.

Renee Cashmere Simpson

Vice President of Culture and Branding

Renee’s role is to oversee all design aspects of MYND Initiative Inc. and help create video projects. Renee comes to us from a history of being a mental health advocate at headspace in Tweed Heads and since being with us she has created the MYND logo. Renee is a highly creative and inspiring young woman who speaks personally about her mental health journey and in her spare time is a singer/songwriter.

Abida Mary Shaji

Chief Marketing and Advertising Officer

Over the years, Abida has been fortunate to build up a diversified experience. Professionally, she has been working in Marketing for over 3 years. She also enjoys understanding, monitoring and studying data to help businesses develop strategies for increasing productivity. Personally, she is easily adaptable and loves meeting new people from around to world to learn and appreciate different cultures as well as values. In the upcoming years, Abida hopes to participate in more events advocating gender equality.

Elizabeth Lun

Chief Advocacy Officer

Elizabeth is passionate about mental health advocacy and improving community outcomes through the development of education programs to facilitate sociocultural change. She hopes to spread MYND’s important message that mental health matters to everyone and that there should be no stigma associated with seeking mental health services. As a doctor, Elizabeth believes that access to healthcare, both physical and mental, is a fundamental human right. Her interests include global health, research, organising community outreach programs and attempting to grow succulent plants.

Sarika Goel

Chief HR Officer

Sarika is a Certified Life Coach and HR leader with over 20 years of experience. At MYND, she drives the Human Resources function, focusing on building processes and people strategy. Noted for her visionary leadership, she excels in fostering growth mindsets and leading teams towards objectives. Passionate about mental health, she’s dedicated to enhancing well-being. With expertise in HR setup, employee engagement, and global team management, she’s committed to creating a community where everyone feels connected and valued.

Ping-Yun, Chieh

Chief Operations Officer

Ping-Yun has always been passionate about the event planning/MICE industry. She has obtained a bachelor’s degree in her hometown and has worked in related areas in the past. She continues to study for a master’s degree in this field at ICMS and is expected to graduate this year. Because of the relationship between family and friends, she gradually began to care about mental health issues and tried to use her professional knowledge to plan more events and meetings to help convey important messages of MYND Initiative Inc.

Andrew Lean

Chief Technology Officer

Andrew joined MYND Initiative Inc in 2022 after contributing to a variety of mental health charities as both a volunteer and as technical resource. He graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Computer Science & Technology and is currently working in the IT industry. Andrew is responsible for maintaining the MYND website, the internal tooling and architecture of new digital projects.

Matt Akoma

Chief Marketing Officer

With over two decades of expertise in business management and consulting, Matt possesses a foundation in psychology and therapy. He plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of MYND Initiative, where he supervises partnerships and strategic endeavours in the realm of music and arts therapy. In addition to his responsibilities at MYND Initiative, Matt is presently engaged in private client work, concentrating on psychedelics-assisted therapy, as well as the guidance of practice, clinic, and retreat owners on digital marketing strategies.