Meet the Team
Meet the dedicated team behind the Keep Your Head Up Foundation—professionals and facilitators with diverse backgrounds in the traumatic brain injury space, including concussion. Some bring lived experience, while all are committed to supporting recovery through a holistic and compassionate approach.
Mindful Moments Program Instructors
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Hi everyone, I’m Maria, and I am so excited to be part of the KYHU team and community. I’m a performer and a coach. I have a masters degree in vocal performance, and over 10 years of experience as a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor.
After being hit by a drunk driver in my twenties, I was left with chronic muscle tension, migraines, and sensory processing issues. At the time I had no idea these symptoms would become my biggest teachers in mindfulness, balance, boundary setting, and compassion for self and others. I’m eager to share what I’ve learned on my own journey, and offer you some tools and techniques to promote wellness within your unique odyssey with TBI.
In order to better understand the inner workings of my own brain and body, and to better serve my clients, I am dedicated to ongoing learning, training and development. I am a certified mental health and vocal health first aider. I have trained in postural assessments and myofascial release using foam rollers, therapy balls, and self-massage techniques. I have studied the foundations of trauma-informed expressive arts therapy, and have taken several meditation courses in addition to being a meditation practitioner for over 10 years.
Currently, I am enrolled in a neurobiology course at The University of Chicago in order to learn about various neurological conditions that challenge folks like you. I wholeheartedly believe that movement is medicinal, however, in order to tap into the incredible mental and physical health benefits of movement, we first have to get the prescription right. Not all physical activity is right for all bodies, and that is where mindfulness comes in. By focusing your attention on the present moment and on the physical sensations of movement while you’re experiencing them, you can develop a keener somatic awareness that allows you to more easily read the cues and feedback that your body is sending you. A mindful movement practice can generate a heightened sense of self-knowledge moment-to-moment, allowing you to challenge yourself safely and discern your limits more accurately without further judgement of your experience.
With practice, moving mindfully can grant you more comfort and control over your mind and body’s response to physical activity, often making it a more enjoyable experience overall. I’m looking forward to meeting you, and moving mindfully with you all very soon!
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Kaitlyn Aquino is a certified Neurologic Music Therapist (NMT) and the owner of Rhythmic Rehab. She completed her Master of Music in Applied Music and Health Sciences at the University of Toronto where she specialized in neurorehabilitation and interdisciplinary collaboration. She now provides neurologic music therapy services to individuals with neurologic illness and injury in the community. Using a client-centered approach to care, Kaitlyn is passionate about helping individuals recover from stroke and brain injury, and she is excited to join the Keep Your Head Up community!
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Hi, I am Rebecca! I got my first serious concussion tobogganing in grade 2. Since then, I've had many more. My 8th concussion in 2014 left me with long term symptoms, forcing me to step away from my sales career to focus on building resiliency. Fortunately, I had my yoga practice and my Education degree to help me create a daily routine that supported my growth, as I had to wait months to receive help from Parkwood Hospital, where the wonderful staff taught me so much more about living with a concussion.
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Hi folks! My name is Hank and I am an artist and group facilitator with a Masters of Social Work living in Kitchener-Waterloo. My pronouns are they/them.
My concussion journey actually began not with myself, but when my mother received a serious concussion seven years ago. Being one of her support people quickly taught me a lot about concussions and recovery - lessons that would later become very helpful three years later when I got my own concussion that left me with long-term symptoms, and suddenly had my own recovery path to walk. A big part of my journey has been re-discovering a love of art and mindfulness-based practices, and learning new concussion-friendly activities that bring me joy. When Keep Your Head Up started their Mindful Moments program last year, I quickly fell in love with the programming. And now I am so excited to be able to be a part of it as a facilitator, and pass on some of what I’ve learned to support folks going through a similar experience!
Prior to my bain injury, much of my work focused on supporting survivors of trauma in both individual and group counselling settings. I also have many years of experience leading programming for youth in a variety of settings, including support groups, summer camps, and leadership training programs. Outside of social work, I am also an artist! I love working with watercolour and acrylic paints, as well as sketching with whatever I can get my hands on.
Finding supportive community that understands some of what you’re going through is, in my mind, one of the most important parts of recovery. I know how difficult that can be with a brain injury, and am so glad to be a part of this new program with Keep Your Head Up that will help provide a space to build community for youth with brain injuries in our area. I can’t wait to meet all of you!
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Jaclynn Phillips holds a degree in Social Work with a minor in Fine Arts and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Social Work. With over 15 years of experience, she has used art as a powerful tool for expression, healing, and personal growth, working with diverse communities, including those with mental health challenges, chronic illnesses, seniors, individuals experiencing intimate partner violence, at-risk youth, and people with disabilities. Jaclynn has over 10 years of experience developing social work art programming and facilitating groups.
Jaclynn’s passion for the arts is deeply personal, as she has close family members who have experienced traumatic brain injuries due to concussions, making this community especially close to her heart. She also deals with chronic illness, which further informs her empathetic and holistic approach to her work. In her spare time, Jaclynn enjoys throwing pottery, creating ceramic art, drawing, and making lino cut prints. She also loves using nature as a medium for art-making and healing, incorporating found natural objects into her practice.
Program & Operations Coordinator
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In this world, some people are blessed with a compelling sense of what they will be or do with their life. Some strive to be doctors, lawyers, firefighters, or teachers. Some want to fly to the moon, discover a new species of animal, or engineer the newest efficient transportation invention.
I was not one of those people…
I, however, always knew that wherever I landed, I would be putting my efforts to assisting those around me that needed it and wanted it, in whichever way I could. I knew that I would always try to help others, so I guess you could count me as one of the blessed.
Here I am now, 5 feet 1 inch deep in Brain Injury Rehabilitation after earning my degree in Neuroscience and Psychology and post-graduate studies in Brain Disorders Management, I enveloped myself in giving back to the community especially for those with acquired brain injuries, in more ways than I had ever hoped. At Keep Your Head Up Foundation, I have the opportunity to be able to apply my background in the field, knowledge of the practice, and compassion for the people, to help provide much-needed resources to our ever-growing community.
Outside of my passion for my career, you can catch me eating anything and everything most people would qualify as food. I am in constant pursuit of trying something new because so far, I literally do not have one thing I hate eating (humble brag). Almost as much as I like to eat, I also love to cook and bake. It is very likely that if you were to catch me in a kitchen (and I am not eating), then I would be the one behind the range. I also have a deep adoration towards the arts, both visual and musical and could humbly say that I could draw for my life if needed, but don’t ask me to sing or I’d take you down and everyone else with me. I have a strong respect for physical activities/sports, and if only my skills could match my enthusiasm, but I can give you at least an A for effort. I dream of having my own personal library at some point as I can lose myself in a book for hours on end. I also like to just get lost. Literally. I love exploring, learning, and absorbing life outside in the world beyond my home. And to cap off the list of my interests, I have a semi big mutt that only answers to variations of “Harold” and the squeaks of his toys, and right now, my favourite colours are yellow and green. I simply just like them.
I hope that we get a chance to meet in the community and that I get to know a little bit about you too!