Podcasts
Episode 1
A New Blueprint for Public-Private Mental Health Collaboration
In this episode of Mind the Gap, we speak with Daisy Rosales and Sumathi Balasubramanian about their new Catalyst Now report on what it really takes to integrate mental health innovations into public systems. We unpack why public-private integration is rarely a straight line, how to protect community voice and lived experience in government partnerships, and why “messy” back-and-forth can be a sign of system strength. Drawing on case studies from around the world, Daisy and Su share insights on navigating political realities, sustaining the human elements that make programs work, and making the case to funders for long-term, relational change.
Listen now by clicking the links below.
Biographies
Daisy Rosales is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Brio, a nonprofit that strengthens mental health at scale by partnering with community leaders and civil society to build psychological flexibility. Since 2018, Brio has co-created mental health initiatives in Latin America, Asia, and the United States, and aims to reach 4 million people by 2030. Her work through Brio has been recognized by Yale University, Poets and Quants, One Young World, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Daisy is an Acumen Fellow and holds a BA cum laude from Harvard and an MBA from Yale.
Su Balasubramanian is a clinical mental health and international development professional with 20+ years of experience using human-centered design, behavior change, and marketing strategies for social impact across global health and gender equity. Her work spans HIV, gender-based violence, reproductive health, and mental health/psychosocial support, with leadership roles across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She holds degrees from Case Western Reserve (BSE), Duke University (MBA), and Columbia University (MSW).
Episode 2
Beyond the Manual: Building Real Systems to Fill the Mental Health Workforce Gap
In this episode of Mind the Gap, we sit down with Nicola Willis of Zvandiri and Joy Bittner from Vida Plena to explore what it really takes to fill the mental health workforce gap in low-resource settings. From training young peer counselors in Zimbabwe to adapting evidence-based therapy for indigenous communities in Ecuador, they share how empathy, lived experience, and strong systems can scale care responsibly. We dive into task-shifting, supervision, government partnerships, and why sustainable scale depends as much on scaffolding as it does on reach.
Listen now by clicking the links below.
Biographies
Nicola Willis – Founder and Executive Director, Zvandiri, meaning ‘As I am’, based in Zimbabwe. Zvandiri trains young people living with HIV as peer counsellors and connects them with other children and adolescents living with HIV to support them to survive and thrive. The model has been scaled regionally, with 7,500 peer counsellors integrated into national health systems across 15 countries. Nicola’s PhD focused on integrating HIV and mental health services for children and adolescents. She is the Co-Chair of WHO’s adolescent HIV service delivery technical working group.
Joy Bittner – Co-Founder, Vida Plena, meaning a “flourishing life” in Spanish, which provides community-led depression treatment to people who would otherwise have no access to care. Her mission is to blend human connection and evidence-based practice to build strong mental health in Latin America.
Episode 3
Context First: How Zambia Is Rewriting Suicide Prevention
When youth suicide emerged as a hidden crisis in Zambia, two leaders came together to build a response from the ground up. In this episode, we hear how Dr. Francisca Bwalya and Dr. Irene Falgas-Bague are rewriting the rules of suicide prevention–with local data, context-first tools, and a bold national strategy that could change how the world responds.
Listen now by clicking the links below.
Biographies
Irene Falgas-Bague is a clinical psychiatrist specializing in cultural and social psychiatry, and a public mental health researcher focused on underserved populations worldwide. She is a project leader at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. Her work bridges clinical expertise with research on the social determinants of mental health, leading projects in Southern Africa, the U.S., and Europe to co-develop, test, and implement culturally relevant, evidence-based interventions for common mental disorders.
Francisca Bwalya-Chama is a Consultant Psychiatrist, lecturer, and National Mental Health Coordinator at Zambia’s Ministry of Health. She directs the Specialist Training Programme for psychiatry at the Zambian College of Medicine and Surgery, mentoring the next generation of mental health specialists. She has led the development of national treatment guidelines, shaped mental health policies, and spearheaded capacity-building initiatives to expand access to care. Partnering with NGOs, she works nationally to improve services, raise awareness, and reduce stigma around mental health.
Episode 4
Shifting Power, Funding Innovation: A Conversation with Grand Challenges Canada
In this episode of Mind the Gap, we’re joined by Nicole Bardikoff and Sahil Chopra from Grand Challenges Canada to explore how funders can move beyond pilots and invest in long-term, locally led solutions.
We dive into GCC’s integrated innovation model, the role of locally led organizations, governments, and other funders—and why mental health, so often invisible in systems, should be treated as a force multiplier. Nicole and Sahil share lessons from GCC’s long-standing work in the field, offering examples of what it takes to build ecosystems, not just interventions, and how catalytic capital can unlock broader investment and drive sustainable change.
This is a conversation about shifting power, building appetite, and rethinking what it means to fund for lasting impact.
Listen now by clicking the links below.
Biographies
Nicole Bardikoff – Associate Director, GMH – Grand Challenges Canada.
Sahil Chopra – Portfolio Manager, GMH- Grand Challenges Canada
Nicole Bardikoff is the Associate Director, Global Mental Health with Grand Challenges Canada’s Global Health Innovation team. In this role she focuses on investments and partnerships that support the mental health and wellbeing of young people in low-resource settings, including leading the work of the Being Initiative. Nicole joined Grand Challenges Canada in 2019 to lead the relaunch of the Global Mental Health program. Prior to joining GCC, Nicole worked to support mental health programs in Canada. She has an MSc in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Queen’s University.
Sahil Chopra is a Portfolio Manager with Grand Challenges Canada’s Global Mental Health program, where he oversees investments supporting young people’s mental health in low-resource settings under the Being initiative. A public health professional with over a decade of experience in implementation, policy, and grant management, he previously managed SRHR and nutrition portfolios at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and collaborated with partners including BMGF, WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA. Sahil has also led adolescent health projects in India with Jhpiego and served as Senior Consultant to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, on health system strengthening.
Episode 5
From an Email to a Movement: The Story of Finemind
What happens when two strangers, one in Uganda, one in Canada, connect over email and decide to build something neither could do alone? In this episode, we sit down with David Oyet and Pavel Reppo, the co-founders of Finemind, to explore how a grassroots mental health movement took shape against the odds. From personal stories to national systems change, we unpack how Finemind is making mental health care routine in Uganda’s communities, one conversation at a time.
Listen now by clicking the links below.
Biographies
Oyet David – Co-founder, FineMind.
Pavel Reppo – Co-founder and Executive Director, Finemind
Oyet David is the Co-founder of FineMind Uganda, leading efforts to integrate mental health care into primary health services in rural, post-conflict Northern Uganda. With experience in research, youth advocacy, and public health, he partners with the Ministry of Health and global institutions to scale innovative mental health models.
Pavel is the co-founder and Executive Director of Finemind, where he leads efforts to bring everyday mental health care to communities across East Africa by embedding it into trusted public systems. He’s also the founder of Matchbox Fund, a purpose-first grantmaking initiative that backs bold, early-stage mental health projects often overlooked by traditional philanthropy. With a passion for systems change, storytelling, and centering local leadership, Pavel brings relentless optimism and grounded pragmatism to everything he builds. Whether investing in a first-time peer counselor or a quiet act of rebellion, he’s always looking for sparks that can grow into something transformative.
Episode 6
Fulfilling a Promise: A Founder’s Story to Help Young People Phlourish
What does it take to help young people truly flourish? In this episode of Mind the Gap, we speak with Rochelle Bata, co-founder of Phlourish Mental Health and Executive Director of the Dory Foundation, about building a practical, cost-effective toolbox for adolescent mental health in the Philippines. From choosing paper over apps to navigating stigma, Rochelle shares what it means to design with intention, lead with lived experience, and build the kind of future she once promised herself was possible.
Listen now by clicking the links below.
Biographies
Rochelle Bata – Co-founder, Phlourish Mental Health Initiative Inc.
Rochelle Bata co-founded Phlourish Mental Health Initiative Inc., a nonprofit in the Philippines that seeks to test and scale evidence-based and cost-effective mental health solutions. She also manages Dory Foundation, a US private foundation seeking to support early-stage nonprofits doing impactful work. Before these, she mostly did operations work for nonprofits focusing on climate change.