OUR
PEOPLE
KRISTINA FREEMAN
CO-FOUNDER
Director of Business and Partnerships
Bachelor of Health Science (TCM) UTS
ALICE PEEL
CO-FOUNDER
Director of Education
NSW Accredited Primary School Teacher
Masters of International Public Health USYD
Being slightly obsessed with wellbeing and working as a primary school teacher, Alice knew she had the concept of a story: animals that represent the brain as a playful way to teach children about their mental health. With her background in public health, positive psychology and mindfulness Alice could see, not just in the world of research, but within the classroom she taught in, that the students with emotional regulation skills and an ability to bounce back were thriving. Alice now designs the content for the school program, delivers teacher wellbeing workshops and writes stories and blogs that aim to bring what it means to be and feel mentally healthy to life in both homes and schools.
As a passionate acupuncturist, Kristina knew there was a need not being met. She was seeing more and more younger patients in her clinic presenting with anxiety. These patients had the knowledge to look after their physical bodies but seemed at a loss as to what they could do for their minds. Kristina’s background in Chinese Medicine and Health Science gave her a great respect for the body and mind connection. Something was amiss and Kristina wanted to create an offering for her family, her patients and for others around the world to slow down, be more present, ponder joy, connect and practice the ingredients that develop resilience.
emma clohesy
Guess who playdough artist
Emma jumped at the chance to join forces with Grow Your Mind to spotlight incredible people through the Guess Who series. Em creates faces of amazing people out of playdough, Alice then gives a video lesson sharing their story & asking students to identify their character strengths.
Em is passionate about encouraging calm creative play as a tool for positive mental health and wellbeing.Suffering from anxiety herself, Em realised, to minimise the symptoms, she needed to prioritise creativity. When her hands were happy- making and creating, so was her heart. Making time for yourself to make and create can be hard but Em soon realised that playdough was a perfect medium to get her creative groove on that her young children could also get involved in because it's suitable for all ages and all abilities.
Check out her amazing business she runs from her home in Bendigo, Victoria Happy Hands Happy Heart.
lisa TayloR
Podcast produceR
Lisa recorded, made edits and helped produce Grow Your Mind's first ever podcast. It features kids talking about hope, kindness, resilience, movement and more. Lisa forgo being paid throughout the podcast in order to ensure we could produce a high quality, educational offering for any student in the world to access.
Lisa's podcast experience began at her son's school where she was surrounded by kids with big ideas and incredible opinions. After several years teaching primary ethics at her sons’ school, the seed was planted for ‘The Pod Squad’, a podcast-making workshop for school kids.
Lisa is also a communications specialist with a passion for creating well-crafted messaging. She thrives in new social situations and loves bringing people together with purpose. mattlisa@iinet.net.au
OUR ADVISORS
Sarah MCKAY
Dr Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist and science communicator who specialises in translating brain
science research into simple, actionable strategies for peak performance, creativity, health and
wellbeing.
Sarah grew up in New Zealand where she completed BSc(Hons) at Otago University, then headed to
Oxford University for her PhD. She sums up her thesis with the words, ‘Nature, Nurture or
Neuroplasticity’. After five years of postdoctoral research, Sarah hung up her lab coat to pursue a
career in science communications.
Sarah is the author of The Women's Brain Book—The neuroscience of health, hormones and
happiness, and the director of The Neuroscience Academy, which offers professional development
program in applied neuroscience and brain health. In 2019, Sarah hosted an episode of ABC Catalyst
exploring brain health, bio-hacking and longevity.
Sarah lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches with her Irish husband and together they are raising two
surfer dudes.
NICOLE MOLLOY
Bio to come
Our ambassadors
kate Brandon
Kate is a NSW accredited primary school teacher. She has been working with children in various capacities for 15 years, including Outside of School Hours Care, tutoring and classroom teaching. Kate comes from a family of teachers and lifelong learners and is passionate about providing her students with meaningful learning experiences. She lived and taught in London for three years, in mostly low socio-economic areas, cementing her belief in the need for an inclusive classroom environment with a focus on mental health and well-being.
Since coming back to Sydney, Kate has become increasingly more involved with Grow Your Mind, firstly through working with Alice in her classroom and now, by helping to write units and create content. She is thrilled to be involved with Grow Your Mind and facilitate teachers and students to develop the toolkit required to look after their mental health.
hannah costello
Hannah is a NSW accredited early childhood and primary school teacher who has taught students from a diverse range of socio-cultural backgrounds since 2013. She seeks to intellectually engage students in an inclusive learning environment where they feel safe, supported, challenged and where they envisage their learning as lifelong.
Hannah is passionate about introducing students to Grow Your Mind practises from a young age as it equips them with the skills, knowledge and understanding to take care of their mental health. She is delighted to be involved with Grow Your Mind.
annabelle bailey
TEACHER
Annabelle is an NSW accredited primary school teacher. During her first two years of teaching, Grow Your Mind was brought into the school she was working at. Annabelle also participated in the NESA accredited teacher and school wellbeing course. She loved the concept behind it and saw it's amazing potential. Having a keen interest in health and wellness, Annabelle was excited about bringing Grow Your Mind into her classroom to develop her students' awareness of their mental health in a fun and playful way. Annabelle ran the first preschool pilot program for Grow Your Mind.
Annabelle continues to work as an accredited primary school teacher but is also thrilled to become a part of the Grow Your Mind team and continue to promote joy and wellness throughout school communities.
awards & RECOGNITION
Grow Your Mind was chosen as one of the inaugural Australian SheEO Ventures. This means we were voted by this radically generous community of women, as a venture they wanted to support to achieve its impact. We have enjoyed financial support via an interest free loan, as well as continued invaluable mentorship.
In 2019 Grow Your Mind was awarded a grant to be able to gift 100 Grow Your Mind kits to schools and to train some of the Atlassian staff to volunteer in introducing the kits to these schools. This grant also enabled us to deliver a teacher wellbeing program to teachers representing 10 different schools.
In 2018 Grow Your Mind was chosen as one of 10 Social Ventures to be part of the Kickstarter business mentoring program and we were awarded one of 2 $15,000 grants at the end of the program.
we are proud to be partnering with:
In partnership with their Social Entrepreneurship students we are running several projects looking into a range of business areas, including Social Impact measurement.
In July 2019, Grow Your Mind joined forces with social enterprise, Avenue. As part of the Fighting Chance enterprise model, Avenue is a co-working space where people of all abilities are supported to work, socialise and develop their individual skills, regardless of their support needs. This is a really meaningful partnership for us. We know the importance of connection, of belonging, of feeling of value, especially when it comes to enduring good mental health.
The fabulous teams at Avenue Botany and Parramatta now pack all our kits and fulfil all our online orders. So when you order from Grow Your Mind, you now know you are not only supporting us and mental health education, but also other women and men to be able to enjoy meaningful employment, develop further skills and feel part of our society.