GAMIAN-Europe President: Mrs Hilkka Kärkkäinen, Finland Hilkka is a social worker by profession and she has retired from her job as Social Ombudsman in Sosiaalitaito in 2014. She is also a patient and an expert by experience having suffered reactive depression in 2002. She has worked both for the City of Helsinki and the City of Espoo in Child Welfare several years. Hilkka was a Senior Social Worker in Probation and After Care Association in Helsinki for seven years. As an office manager in Espoo Social Services in 1980’s she was also in charge of a Horizon ECHO program for people with mental disorders. She was Executive Director of Finnish Central Association for Mental Health 1998-2002 and has been President and Vice President of Mieli Maasta, which is a patient association for those suffering from depression. She has worked for the City of Järvenpää as a Planner of Regional Mental Health Care. Hilkka was a Board Director of European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) 2002-2004 and President of GAMIAN-Europe once before in 1999. She is a Board Director of European Brain Council (EBC), European Patient Forum (EPF) and European Psychiatric Association (EPA).