Hellen Jerono

Hellen Jerono is a dedicated Counselling Psychologist, Mental Health Advocate, and Community Orchestrator who serves as the "Heartbeat" of the Collaborative Approach ecosystem. As the Founder of Nafasi Salama Hub, she has pioneered safe spaces for mental health resilience, a mission she now integrates into her role as the Community and Digital Engagement Lead. Hellen operates at the strategic intersection of human-centred storytelling, digital inclusivity, and systems thinking. With a technical background in psychological health and youth development, she is responsible for stewarding the firm’s digital commons with the main goal of bridging the gap between national coordination and grassroots realities.

Her expertise lies in narrative harvesting and facilitated digital engagement, where she translates the lived experiences of young leaders from ASAL regions, informal settlements, and refugee communities into compelling impact stories. Hellen is committed to dismantling the "Hero-Centric" leadership paradigm by fostering distributed leadership and ensuring that safeguarding and psychological safety are embedded in every community conversation. Through her work at Nafasi Salama Hub and the Collaborative Approach, Hellen continues to champion a "Culture of Care", mainstreaming mental health literacy as a prerequisite for sustainable social transformation and collective well-being across Africa.