National Program Manager

Kristina Hennessey Braun is a National Program Manager with Mood Disorders Society of Canada (MDSC), bringing together professional expertise, digital experience and extensive lived experience with mental illness to her work.

Kristina lives with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). Her lived experience has given her a deep, firsthand understanding of the realities of navigating mental health care, searching for reliable information, advocating for herself, and trying to access the right supports while managing the challenges of persistent mental illness. Rather than simply understanding these challenges from a professional or academic perspective, Kristina has experienced them personally – and that perspective directly informs the work she does every day.

She brings this lived experience together with more than 15 years of experience in retail and financial management, as well as a background in web development, digital communications and program management. Kristina graduated with Distinction from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in 2020 and began her journey with MDSC that same year as a volunteer Website Auditor. Her creativity, reliability and determination led to a position as MDSC’s National Digital Creative Specialist, and she has since progressed into her current role as National Program Manager.

Today, Kristina contributes to the development and delivery of national mental health programs, manages several of MDSC’s social media channels, oversees website content and development, and works on digital initiatives designed to connect Canadians with accessible mental health information and resources.

Her combination of lived experience and professional expertise allows Kristina to approach programs and communications with both a strategic perspective and an understanding of what it is actually like to be the person on the other side of the system. She is particularly passionate about mental health technology, accessibility and creating resources that are practical, understandable and genuinely useful to the people who need them.

Outside of work, Kristina enjoys true crime documentaries, spending time with animals and exploring the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, where she lives with her husband, Russell, and their three cats, Cairo, Kleo and Cassie.