Annual Health Equity Summit

Dr. Areej Al-Hamad is Assistant professor at the Faculty of Community Services, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

She holds two PhDs: one in Rural and Northern Health from Laurentian University (2019) and another in Nursing from Western University (2021). Al-Hamad has been an assistant professor at the University of Calgary in Qatar since 2019 and currently serves as an adjunct professor at both the University of Calgary in Canada and Qatar.

Her research focuses on food insecurity, women’s health, marginalized populations, refugees, intersectionality, and social justice, leading to several publications and a successful grant of USD $30,000 for a photovoice study on food security among nursing students in Qatar. Al-Hamad has received multiple awards, including recognition for her PhD dissertation in 2021-2022 and the best oral presentation at the Joint Mental Health Research and Innovation Day 2020.

David Sanchez Villa is a Researcher at the Hispanic Development Council and represents the organization in the Racialized Health Working Group Initiative. In this role, he has facilitated focus group discussions and consultations with members and experts from the Latinx and Hispanic communities, gaining valuable insights on their healthcare experiences and identifying key areas for improving equity and access. He is also a Ph.D. candidate at FLACSO Argentina – the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales).

He is also a Ph.D. candidate at FLACSO Argentina (Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences) and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Labor Relations and a Master’s in Social Policy from the University of Buenos Aires. Currently, he is completing an internship at York University’s Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC), where his research focuses on social protection systems, inequality, and public policy in Latin America.

Jamaul Taylor is the Community Development Officer at Roots Community Services and represents the organization in the Racialized Health Working Group Initiative. In this role, he has led focus group discussions and consultations with Black, African, and Caribbean (BAC) residents and professionals in the Region of Peel, gathering critical insights into the health inequities they experience and their underlying root causes.

Jamaul has extensive expertise in community engagement within the BAC communities of Peel, coupled with a strong background in community-based research. He is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Driven by a commitment to health equity, Jamaul aims to contribute meaningfully toward reducing health disparities for racialized communities across Canada.

Mahdiba Chowdhury is a dedicated health equity advocate and Project Manager for Health Promotion & Equity at CASSA. A graduate of the University of Toronto, she specialized in Mental Health Studies, focusing on equitable access to culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare for South Asian communities.

Previously, Mahdiba was the lead coordinator of the South Asian Vaccine Engagement Collaborative, part of the City of Toronto’s Vaccine Engagement Team, where she oversaw outreach initiatives and managed partnerships to enhance vaccine accessibility. She also led mental health and cancer screening initiatives through the High Priorities Community Strategy. Currently, she raises awareness of honour-based violence and develops training programs for its identification. As Coordinator of the Racialized Health Working Group, Mahdiba addresses health disparities affecting racialized populations and fosters inclusive dialogue on culturally competent care and policy change. Since 2020, she has coordinated CASSA’s Annual Health Equity Summit, empowering communities to advocate for their health needs.

Dr. Mandana Vahabi is a Registered Nurse. Full Professor and Women’s Health Research Chair at the University of Toronto and Unity Health, an ICES Scientist, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing, and an Adjunct Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research is centered on promoting equitable access to primary health care, with a strong focus on addressing cancer screening disparities among structurally marginalized populations including Immigrants and Refugees.

She works closely with equity deserving communities locally and globally and draws upon extensive experience consulting on systems-level projects with various levels of government to develop evidence-based, inclusive health promotion programs and policies that improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.

Colombian Physician with a Master’s degree in Community Health from the University of Toronto. Mariangela, grounded in the principles of Latin American Social Medicine and Collective Health, is currently a research officer at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Her extensive clinical experience across private and public sectors in Colombia inspired her to shift toward community-based research, aiming to address the root causes of health disparities. Her research program focuses on developing evidence-based strategies that utilize community participation to improve health outcomes for Latinx migrants in Canada and South-South migrants in Latin America.

Noah (Yinuo) Wang is a dedicated Community Organizer with CCNCTO. A graduate of George Brown College’s Assaulted Women and Children’s Counselor/Advocate Program, she has specialized training in anti-racism and anti-oppression frameworks. This informs her work in addressing systemic barriers and supporting marginalized communities, particularly within migrant and racialized populations.

As a former international student and immigrant from China, Noah understands the struggles faced by migrants, including access to healthcare, employment, and social services. She has worked extensively on anti-racism advocacy, supporting Chinese workers and youth through community programming and education. Her work emphasizes solidarity-building and fostering cross-cultural understanding.

Noah is passionate about advancing health equity and addressing the social determinants of health that affect marginalized communities. Drawing from her personal experience and professional expertise, she is committed to creating inclusive spaces that empower vulnerable populations to thrive.

Noura Hamade is a dedicated researcher with expertise in epidemiology and biostatistics. She is currently the Director of Research and Policy at the Canadian Arab Institute which is a non-profit that focuses on issues and interests of the Canadian Arab community through research, policy, programming and community engagement.

In the past, Noura has worked in patient education at the University Health Network Hospitals and as a researcher in the department of Global Health at the University of Toronto focusing on women’s health in countries in conflict. Noura has actively engaged in studies exploring the resilience and well-being of marginalized populations. Her involvement in projects examining the mental health and integration of Syrian refugees has highlighted the importance of addressing the unique challenges faced by displaced communities. Noura’s research has encompassed various aspects of public health, with a particular emphasis on understanding the impact of hatred on health and well-being. She has engaged in studies exploring the effects of discrimination and hatred on marginalized communities, aiming to shed light on these pressing concerns and develop evidence-based interventions.

Sophia is the Founder and Executive Director of Health Commons, a pioneering organization focused on addressing health disparities through community-driven solutions. Her multidisciplinary approach combines epidemiology, service design, and political science to influence health policy.
With extensive experience in senior government roles, Sophia has led strategic health planning for the Toronto Regional Health Authority, overseeing a $4.4B healthcare investment. She engaged diverse communities to address equity gaps and introduced population health management strategies.

As a Senior Advisor to Ontario’s Premier and Health Ministers, Sophia shaped health system reforms, including funding, quality initiatives, and workforce strategies. She also led the Nursing Secretariat’s $180M recruitment plan, creating over 12,000 nursing positions.

Sophia holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Queen’s University.

Akwatu Khenti is Director of Community Resources at the City of Toronto’s Social Development, Finance and Administration Division. He was a Special Advisor to the City of Toronto’s COVID 19 equity initiative and Chair of the Black Scientists’ Task Force on Vaccine Equity. He is an affiliate scientist with the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research (IMHPR) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and an assistant Professor with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH).

He has collaborated with Indigenous communities in Hidalgo, Mexico and Lima, Peru to strengthen mental health in primary health care and adapt Canadian health promotion strategies to their cultural contexts. Akwatu is formerly the Assistant Deputy Minister for Ontario’s Anti-Racism Directorate as well as CAMH’s Director of Transformative Global Health. He has a PhD in health policy and equity from York University and was appointed as a member of the Council of Canadian Academies’ (CCA) Expert Panel on Socio-Economic Impacts of Science and Health Misinformation (2021-22).

Angela Carter is the former Executive Director of Roots Community Services Inc. who now works to help develop the Black Health and Social Services Hub in Peel Region.

She actively advocates for the upliftment of Black, African and Caribbean people and works tirelessly to dismantle anti-racism, systemic discrimination and other barriers that negatively impact members of racialized and marginalized communities.

She Co-Chairs the Anti-Black Racism & Systemic Discrimination Collective, the BAC Community Health & Wellness Collaborative and the Mississauga OHT’s Mental Health and Addiction Planning Table. She is Board Chair of the Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) and Central Park Baptist Church, and a board director of FOCUS Accreditation.

Ashley is from Rainy River First Nations in Northwestern Ontario and currently resides in Toronto. Her role with IPHCC includes the facilitation of Indigenous Cultural Safety training, curriculum development and providing mental health support to Residential School Survivors. Ashley has a background in social work, psychology, and community development.

Heba is a public health professional committed to social justice and health equity, currently serving as NCCM’s Healthcare Relations Officer. Previously, she worked at the Public Health Agency of Canada as a Policy Analyst, contributing to international health efforts. She also has extensive research experience on access to medicines from a human rights and international law perspective, as well as in examining the impact of COVID-19 on health workers and students.

Beyond her professional work, Heba is actively involved in community service, volunteering with local organizations and leading student initiatives to foster inclusivity and promote mental and physical well-being.

She obtained a Master of Public Health from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, specializing in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences.

Josephine Pui-Hing Wong, RN, PhD, holds the roles of Professor and Research Chair in Urban Health in the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Toronto Metropolitan University.

She has extensive research and practice experience in advancing health equity. She specializes in community-centred action research and capacity building initiatives. Her areas of research include: social identities and health practices, migration, HIV, sexual health, and mental health in diasporic and transnational communities. She has led and is leading numerous intervention studies on stigma reduction in the Asian, Black and Latino diasporic communities in Canada as well as among university students in China. Her research is supported by the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN), the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), the Movember Foundation, and Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

Suzanne Jackson is Associate Professor Emerita at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in University of Toronto, Interim Program Director for MPH SBHS and Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre in Health Promotion.

From 2001 to 2009, she was the Director of the Centre for Health Promotion at the University of Toronto. She was Editor-in-Chief of Global Health Promotion from 2010 to 2019 and was Chair of the Canadian Public Health Association Board of Directors 2017-2018.

In her role as Program Director, she is currently working to decolonize the MPH curriculum in social and behavioural health sciences. Her most recent research has been on community resilience in the pandemic and in relation to climate change.

Dr. Timothy is an Assistant Professor, Black Health Lead, and is the inaugural Program Director and creator of the MPH Program in the field of Black Health at Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She is also an Adjunct Professor in Critical Disability studies at York University.

Dr. Timothy is also co-founder and consultant at Continuing Healing Consultants where she implements and teaches her intersectional mental health model “Anti-Oppression Psychotherapy”. She is an interdisciplinary scholar, health practitioner, and political scientist, who examines global health and ethics from a critical trauma-informed decolonizing framework. Her current research is entitled: “Black Health Matters: National and Transnational COVID-19 Impact, Resistance, and Intervention Strategies Project. Dr. Timothy utilizes a methodology entitled: ” Resistance Education” in all her work. She has been living with a visual disability for over 25 years.