Leslie Kulperger is a seasoned professional with expertise in management systems, research, evaluation, evidence-informed equitable program co-design, and large-scale program development and implementation. After the tragic loss of her son to suicide at a young age, and in recognition that her skills could play an important role in advancing life-saving system solutions in the mental health space, Leslie established Myles Ahead, Advancing Child & Youth Mental Health (Myles Ahead). In honour of her son’s too-short life, Leslie has dedicated her life to understanding which elements of the system can increase the risk of adverse mental health outcomes, including suicide, and identifying global best practices with demonstrated evidence to mitigate those risks. Myles Ahead’s flagship transformation framework, SafER Space, was co-developed to address the adverse mental health outcomes associated with Hospital Emergency Department (“ER”) visits, which can increase the risk of suicide by three to eight times compared with the national average.
Generating tangible improvements through strategic facilitation, co-designed program development, delivery, monitoring, evaluation, as well as policy advocacy has been a primary focus of Leslie’s career. Leslie’s ethos of valuing relationships and establishing value-based partnerships to foster change is fundamental to her approach, as is using an evaluative lens to uncover the root-cause of gaps in fragmented systems, identifying risk-mitigation and continuous improvement opportunities.
Leslie holds a HBSc in Environmental Science from the University of Toronto, is a designated Environmental Professional, a Certified Measurement and Verification Professional, and holds Certification in Quality Management Systems (9001), Environmental Management Greenhouse Gas Inventories & Measurement (14064-1), Greenhouse Gas Projects and Reducing Environmental Impact (14064-2), and Greenhouse Gas Verification and Validation (14064-3), and Occupational Health and Safety Assessments from the International Organization for Standards.
- Company:Myles Ahead
- Short Bio:Founder and Executive Director