Executive Director - HASHTAG HOPE

In 2012, Hashtag Hope founder Nick Pegg coded a bot for Twitter that would automatically respond to suicidal tweets with the simple reply of "#Hope". He did this as a way to reach out to others who, like him, struggled with their mental health and thoughts of suicide. Since then, he crossed Canada sharing a message of hope in bars and youth groups. Nick is an artist, using spoken word, digital design, and merchandise as mediums to destigmatize suicide and mental health struggles. Today, he serves as the Creative Director for Hashtag Hope and lives in Dundas.

Mark Stromenberg served as a youth worker, program director, communicator, and suicide intervention instructor for 11 years with Youth Unlimited, speaking at youth conferences, high schools, and professional settings on mental health and suicide. In 2019, he partnered with Nick to begin registering Hashtag Hope as a charity, which was received in 2020. Following that, Mark completed his transition period from his previous job and now serves fulltime as Hashtag Hope's Executive Director, and a speaker & trainer, having delivered over 200 talks and workshops. Mark lives in Cambridge, near the Hashtag Hope office in Galt.