As for so many others, the founder journey for Jennifer ROWAN Peacock’03 started when she spotted a gap—not in the consumer market, but in the way we’re caring for the mental health of our young people.
Over a decade ago, Jen was part of the SickKids Hospital Innovators Team, a group of young philanthropists who strategically tackle the most pressing areas of need for children and youth. “Through that, I was exposed to the mental health crisis,” says Jen, who has a background in marketing and sales. “The demand was increasing at a rapid pace, and the supply was just nowhere near that. That’s when I thought, ‘This system is definitely broken.’”
Jen, who has three children of her own, threw herself into learning about the traditional way that we treat mental health concerns in kids and youth. She quickly realized that not only was care difficult to access, but it was often reactive rather than proactive, coming after a crisis point rather than helping to prevent one happening in the first place.
“I recognized that whatever mechanisms were in place obviously weren’t right. How could I create something that was unique, and could help this next generation?” Jen asked herself. “Why are they struggling so much? And how can we create programming to try to help people before it gets to a really dire state?”
In answer to that, in 2019 she founded Straight Up Health, which brings together a whole team of experts to provide holistic mental health care services for young people in an environment that’s supportive and sees them as multi-dimensional human beings, not patient numbers on a chart.
“My vision is to make mental health support human, proactive and accessible,” says Jen. “I want to help young people build confidence, resilience and emotional skills early on—equipping them to understand themselves, connect with others and thrive in life.”
While other clinics have traditionally been quite siloed, Straight Up works to create a 360-degree approach to treatment.
“I’m so proud of the collaboration across disciplines,” says Jen. A young person could meet with a clinical therapist, for example, but also work with a mental performance coach or learning strategist, and meet with a sleep therapist or a nutritionist too. “Different people with different skill sets come together to meet individuals where they’re at, and provide a really tailored approach.”
“I recognized that whatever mechanisms were in place obviously weren’t right. How could I create something that was unique, and could help this next generation?”
As a founder, Jen says no two days are ever the same. “Some days, I’m working directly with families, helping them find the right support to navigate complex systems,” she says. “Other days, I’m designing new programs or running school workshops. Right now, I’m facilitating a young leader program for Grades 11 and 12.”
She also spends a lot of her time connecting with others who work in the mental health field, “trying to better understand how we can be more effective in building bridges between the care we’re providing and the reality of what’s out there.”
In recognition of her work, Jen was awarded the Branksome Hall Young Alum Achievement Award for 2025. It’s deeply meaningful to be recognized by her school community, she says.
“The values that Branksome instilled in me are still with me—leadership, resilience, empathy, curiosity—and they’re also a lot of the values that I use in the work I do today,” she says. “It feels like a real full-circle moment.”
