Michelle Cruickshank is the Acting Senior Manager at Grand Challenges Canada Global Mental Health program, working to expand access to mental health care in low-resource settings.

Michelle previously led the Saving Brains portfolio, overseeing one of Grand Challenges Canada’s largest portfolios of investments where she provided strategic direction of the portfolio and sourced bold early child and brain development innovations for investment.

Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Michelle led a portfolio of research and evaluation in child and youth mental health, forensic mental health, and Autism at Ontario’s largest child mental health agency. As part of this role, she provided provincial leaders with evidence-based advice, strategies, and recommendations on public mental health programs, policies, and healthcare system improvements.

Michelle has held multiple Board positions in the Greater Toronto Area, including serving as Chair/President of the Board at Girls Inc. for several years. She holds an undergraduate degree in psychology and public policy from the University of Guelph and a graduate degree in psychology from the University of London.