About
FOR THE YOUTH, BY THE YOUTH
Youth Mind is an online magazine made for the youth, by the youth. Our editors and contributors aim to cover content that we believe young people care about.
Whether it’s school, the job market, the environment or social justice, we know that these areas affect — and will continue to affect — our demographic the most.
For this reason we wanted to cover such content with the utmost respect and attention that it deserves.
We hope that Youth Mind will inform, motivate and empower the young people of today.
OUR TEAM
Melanie Lennon
she / her
Managing Editor
Melanie is the managing editor for Youth Mind. She has a background in journalism and feels very
passionate about storytelling. When she isn’t working, you’ll find her listening to music (a little too
loudly), rewatching the same movies she’s seen too many times or scrolling through TikTok.
Gabby Altman
she / her
Contributing Editor
Gabby Altman is a contributing editor at Youth Mind. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her travelling
the world, trying new food and hanging out with her puppy named Mochi. She’s excited to be back
writing for Youth Mind for her third summer!
Jordan Desmarais
he / him
Writer
Jordan is a writer for Youth Mind. In his free time, you can find him playing basketball, hanging
out with friends or working hard to become a full-time writer.
Kyle Quilatan
he / him
Writer
Kyle is a writer for Youth Mind who studied English at Wilfrid Laurier University. When he’s not writing,
he enjoys art and music.
Miriam Hanson
she / her
Writer
Miriam is a writer for Youth Mind. She is a graduate student at Western University studying political
science and international relations. She has written for Women Quest with the Ontario Learning
Development Foundation (OLDF), Sidebar with the Diversified Dispute Resolution Institute of
Canada, and Feminism Unfiltered. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her planning her next trip
itinerary. She’s happy to be back writing with the OLDF team this summer!
Feyza Basaran
she / her
Web Developer
Feyza is the web developer for Youth Mind. When she’s not coding, you can usually find her
enjoying movies with her cats or getting lost in the pages of a good book.
Hamid Siddiqi
he / him
Creative Editor
Hamid is the creative editor for Youth Mind. He is currently studying a joint degree program at Carleton
University and Algonquin College in information technology with a focus in interactive multimedia and
design. In his free time, he likes to watch soccer, go biking, take photos on his DSLR camera and learn
new creative skills.
Tara Chiodo
she / her
Social Media Coordinator
Tara is a 2020 journalism graduate and the social media coordinator for Youth Mind. She is very passionate about tv shows and movies. Whenever she has downtime you can find her reading, cooking or hiking.
FORMER TEAM MEMBERS
Haeley DiRisio
Former Managing Editor
Youth Mind’s previous Managing Editor, Haeley DiRisio, aspires to one day become a published author, preferably writing from the comfort of a cottage in the English countryside.
Laura Bourbonnais
Former Copy Editor
Laura is a previous Copy Editor for Youth Mind. When she’s not reading, writing, proofreading or editing, she’s binge-watching series and films, adding new goals to her bucket list and daydreaming or listening to an eclectic playlist or podcast. She can also often be found dancing, unsubscribing to emails she accidentally subscribed to, discovering new green spaces or snuggling with her dog.
Kayla Empey
Former Copy Editor
Kayla Empey is a previous copy editor for Youth Mind. She enjoys drinking tea, obsessing over Carrie Underwood and wearing plaid (she owns 16 flannel shirts).
Aisharja Chowdhury
Former Creative Editor
Aisharja is the previous Creative Editor. She is currently studying Graphic Communications Management at Toronto Metropolitain University (formerly Ryerson). When she isn’t working, she likes to watch movies and K-drama’s, listen to music and play video games.
Alyssa Bravo
Former Writer
Alyssa Bravo is a previous Writer for Youth Mind. She is a coffee fiend and likes music, movies and food. She wishes to travel to Italy and Greece, and hopes she’ll live to see the day the Toronto Maple Leafs win their 14th championship. When she’s not writing, you can probably find her watching videos of dogs or baby pandas.
Amy Fournier
Former Writer
Amy is a previous Writer for Youth Mind. She is passionate about oat milk lattes, any film featuring Adam Driver, and tending to her tiny indoor Basil garden.
Grace Nelson-Gunness
Former Writer
Grace Nelson-Gunness is a previous Writer for Youth Mind. She enjoys watching Criminal Minds or reading a suspenseful horror-thriller novel while drinking a vanilla latte.
Rebecca Benitez-Berona
Former Writer
Rebecca Benitez-Berona is a previous Writer at Youth Mind. She is passionate about social justice, creative writing, reading poetry and youth mental health. When she is not writing, she is exploring nature or trying out yet another new bubble tea shop.
Olivia Matheson-Mowers
Former Writer
Olivia Matheson-Mowers is a previous Writer for Youth Mind. When she’s not writing, or playing with her cat, Daisy, you can find her curled up in her heated blanket watching seasons 1-6 of Dragon Ball Z and complaining about seasons 7-9.
Brittany Stuckless
Former Writer
Brittany is a previous Writer for Youth Mind. When she isn’t working hard to become a full-time writer, she can be found making a dinner reservation, rewatching her favourite movies, or reading about true crime. She’s also ready to hop back onto her bike —as soon as she gets her brakes fixed.
Khaleda Khan
Former Writer
Khaleda is a previous Writer for Youth Mind. If she’s not daydreaming of owning a bookstore cafe, she’s most likely pining over pretty classic book covers.
Nabeeha Baig
Former Social Media Coordinator
Nabeeha Baig is the previous social media coordinator for Youth Mind and graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 2021. When she’s not working, she enjoys thrift shopping, reading in the park or spending time with her cat, Lulu
Aneesh Chatterjee
Former Writer
Aneesh is a previous staff Writer for Youth Mind.
Eliot Gilbert
Former Writer
Eliot is a previous Writer for Youth Mind. His background is in English and creative writing at York University. When not writing, he studies medical laboratory science in Kingston, and enjoys hand spinning yarn, cooking, and gardening.
Dru Gary
Former Writer
Dru Gary (she/they) is a previous Writer for Youth Mind. She is a queer BIPOC poet and writer and a recent graduate from OCADU with a BFA in Creative Writing. She loves words and the act of stringing them together to create arrangements that are both beautiful and meaningful. They find inspiration in the intangible and attempt to create images out of abstract thought to understand and ground themselves. She ultimately seeks truth and healing through her practice.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As settlers, we’re grateful for the opportunity to meet here and we thank all the generations of people who have taken care of this land — for thousands of years.
Youth Mind Magazine acknowledges the Indigenous land on which we work that has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples since the beginning.
Long before today, there have been Indigenous peoples who have been the stewards of this place.
We wish to acknowledge the traditional territory of many nations, including the Petun, Mississaugas of the Credit, the Mississauga, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.
We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this place. We also recognize the contributions of Métis, Inuit, and other Indigenous peoples have made, both in shaping and strengthening this community in particular, and our province and country as a whole.
As settlers, this recognition of the contributions and historic importance of Indigenous peoples must also be clearly and overtly connected to our collective commitment to make the promise and the challenge of Truth and Reconciliation real in our communities, and in particular to bring justice for murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls across our country.