WHO WE ARE
Our vision is a world in which the wellbeing of populations is prioritized alongside their economic productivity.
We recognize the importance of economic stability and growth and believe collective wellbeing can enhance these things. And, in a world where knowledge economies are necessary for economic competitiveness, we believe collective brain health — resulting in strong brain capital — is the primary driver for both economic growth and societal wellbeing. [1]
We curate brain health, mental health, and wellbeing programs for global-scale events to this end. We do this through two unique areas of expertise: dialogues for action and lived experience inclusion. We frequently work with partners across sectors. We are based in Europe with a network that reaches all six continents.
Those affected by mental ill-health or neurological disorders – experts by experience – bring critical expertise to discussions on policy and program planning. We partner with them in preparing and executing Dialogues for Action, every time.
If brain health is the issue of our time, collaboration is the process by which it must be addressed. We view collaborators internally and externally as partners in our shared pursuits.
Output is best when diverse minds work together. We work with and are made up of people with different backgrounds and perspectives.
Openness in what we do, why we do it, and how we do it drives our work. We are open with employees and clients alike.
It costs nothing and means everything. We are kind and act with kindness.
We hold ourselves to the highest standard in both what we deliver and how we deliver it.
We examine ourselves honestly and consider how we can improve, acting out these values.
OUR VALUES
Individuals deserve to thrive.
Individually, healthy individuals lead more fulfilling lives. According to the World Health Organization, “Brain health is the state of brain functioning across cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, behavioural and motor domains, allowing a person to realize their full potential over the life course, irrespective of the presence or absence of disorders.” [2]
Brain health encompasses brain functioning, neurological development, neuroplasticity, mental health, and wellbeing.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Societal wellbeing is the issue of our time.
Coordination is the process by which it must be addressed.
Wellbeing of a population must be central to determining whether it is “thriving.”
Wellbeing is “a positive state experience by individuals and societies … [encompassing] quality of life and the ability of people and societies to contribute to the world with a sense of meaning and purpose.”
A wellbeing economy – designed to serve people and planet – has been adopted by Canada, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. [3]
Collectively, healthy individuals contribute to a healthy society. Today’s societies are driven by brain economies – the cumulative social, emotional, and cognitive skill set (“brain capital”) of a population that enables a society to thrive socially and economically. [4]
OUR FOUNDER
Peter Varnum
Peter Varnum founded Brain Health Collective after an extensive career in global mental health and lived experience advocacy. His purpose in founding BHC was to work with organizations and people who cared about making a meaningful difference in mental and brain health amid the fads and platitudes surrounding those subjects as their popularity increases.
Peter built the World Economic Forum’s first-ever portfolio in mental health, launching projects and events on workplace mental health, technology and mental health, and youth mental health. He also worked directly with Ministerial-level leadership in government as well as senior executives from across the health, professional services, and other industries. He has consulted with medical associations, pharmaceutical companies, international organizations, academic instituons, and civil society organizations in six continents.
As an advocate, Peter has worked with globally focused organizations including Chairing the Board of The Stability Network, focused on reducing stigma through storytelling, and leading the Child and Youth working group of the Global Mental Health Action Network alongside UNICEF and United for Global Mental Health. He has trained organizations on lived experience inclusion as well as mentored numerous global mental health advocates around the world.
Peter is trained academically with a Masters in global health policy and international communication to go alongside a Bachelors in English within a liberal arts curriculum. He also received an Executive Masters in Leadership — focused on self, others, and systems — through a fellowship program within the World Economic Forum and partner institutions Harvard, Oxford, INSEAD, London Business School, CEIBS, and the THNK School of Design. He speaks professional-level French.
Peter has been hospitalized four times for episodes of psychosis, from the ages of 17-31. He has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses, including bipolar and major depression, which he rejects as incomplete and inaccurate. In general he finds these labels useful only insofar as they set a framing for part of his lived experience — but he would much prefer speaking about his mental ill-health and recovery from a holistic perspective rooted not in psychiatry but in his human experience.
Peter enjoys writing, playing and listening to music, spending time with his daughter and others close to him, sports, and listening to great speakers. His closest cultural tie to his hometown of Kansas City is a cross between his love of KC barbecue and of his childhood American football team, the Kansas City Chiefs.