Casey Fellows Speaker Series

Launched in 2018, The Casey Fellows Program for Mental Health and Student Wellbeing brings world-renowned experts in the field of wellbeing to Upper Canada College, and is made possible by the generosity of Matthew Casey ’83.

2023 Casey Fellow Dr. Nick Holton

As part of the Upper Canada College Casey Fellows Speaker Series, UCC is proud to present this year’s Casey Fellow Dr. Nick Holton, who will speak about mental health and wellbeing. Dr. Holton will present what the latest wellbeing science teaches us about nurturing mentally healthy and resilient children and adolescents, both in school and at home.

Dr. Holton’s presentation, Antifragility: Fostering Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children and Adolescents, will consider questions such as: What do mental health and wellbeing mean? How do we measure them in children and adolescents? Most importantly, how do we create the most enabling conditions to promote mental health and wellbeing for children and adolescents?

In his keynote address, Dr. Holton will present what the latest wellbeing science teaches us about nurturing mentally healthy and resilient children and adolescents, both in school and at home. He will provide concrete examples of how educators and parents can proactively promote mental health and wellbeing and prevent psychological ill-being in our UCC students. Dr. Holton will also be sharing some of the best ways to measure the development of life skills that can contribute to overall youth wellbeing, as well as measuring youth wellbeing directly. And his talk will include actionable steps that adults can take to foster and measure their own integral wellbeing, which has been shown to be a precursor to youth wellbeing. In short, as adults, we need to learn and live wellbeing skills before we can teach them explicitly to youth or embed them into what we teach in a more implicit manner.

Event Details and Registration

What: Antifragility: Fostering Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children and Adolescents with Dr. Nick Holton

When: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 7 p.m.

Where: In-person event in Laidlaw Hall (Upper School) with the option of attending virtually

About Dr. Nick Holton

Dr. Nick Holton is an international consultant, coach, speaker and author. He has directed Positive Education and education for flourishing initiatives at multiple schools across the United States, and has worked with professional and collegiate athletes, Fortune 500 business leaders, schools and thought leaders from around the world.

His work focuses on human flourishing and the scientific research that supports optimal functioning, a synergistic development of both optimal performance towards meaningful pursuits and overall wellbeing and satisfaction. He is particularly interested in the interplay between wellbeing, human potential and antifragility, the ability to thrive under and grow from adversity.

Nick works with a wide range of individuals and organizations but is most passionate about bringing the science of human flourishing to young people and planting seeds of peak potential for future generations. His current roles and projects include co-founding The Antifragile Academy, where he develops gamified training for schools, sports programs and leadership teams in the science of antifragility; coaching and consulting for school and business leaders along with elite athletes; and co-hosting FlourishFM, a Harvard-sponsored podcast on the science of human flourishing, where he interviews some of the greatest experts from around the world on what we can learn about the good life and human potential.