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Our Health Matters
About BHM

Black Health Matters COVID-19:

Engages: African/Black community members in Canada and transnationally in emancipatory health research in response to the devastating impact of COVID-19, anti-Black racism, and intersectional violence has had on our lives.

Challenges: Anti-Black racism and intersectional violence in our health care systems by engaging in emancipatory, resistance-centred health research led by and for the community.

Facilitates: The creation of successful bilingual population health tools and interventions.

Our Objectives

Meet the Team

Our interdisciplinary research team is made up of experienced senior and emerging researchers in the areas of health promotion, education, disability studies, health policy and administration, sociology, political sciences, psychology, social work, law, history, business administration, quantitative/qualitative research methodologies, women and gender studies, medicine, and community health, among others.

Dr. Roberta Timothy

Dr. Roberta Timothy

Principal Investigator

Dr. Roberta Timothy is an Assistant professor in the Teaching Stream at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. She has over 30 years experience working in community health. She brings an intersectional, critical race framework to her research. Dr. Timothy is intrinsically linked to Black transnational (global) communities as she prioritizes a critical pan-African feminist health framework in all her research, teaching, and community endeavours.  Resistance education, a creative methodology developed and practiced by Dr. Timothy, ensures that all her research is led by and for Black communities from an empowerment-centred, emancipatory framework. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Timothy recently co-organized the first Canada-wide forum discussing COVID-19 impact on African/Black communities in Canada. Her insights in relation to the need for COVID-19 research and programs with African/Black communities in Canada and globally has been broadcasted across Canada on TV and in newspapers. Check out robertatimothy.com for more information on her work.

Dr. Pascal Djiadeu PhD

Assistant Professor (Part-Time) at McMaster University, Department of Health Research Methods Evidence and Impact

Pascal Djiadeu is the research analyst and methodologist consultant of the BHMCV19 project at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He is also a part-time assistant professor at McMaster University, in the department of health research methods evidence and impact, and a lecturer at Humber College/University of Guelph Humber where he teaches Applied Epidemiology in the BHScW program in the faculty of health sciences and wellness. His research focuses on HIV implementation sciences, research methodologies and, health inequities and disparities.

LinkedIn | Google Scholar | McMaster | ResearchGate | Twitter

Falan Bennett H.B.Sc.

June-August 2020
MPH Candidate, Class of 2021
Social and Behavioural Health Sciences

Falan Bennett

June-August 2020
MPH Candidate, Class of 2021
Social and Behavioural Health Sciences 
Dalla Lana School of Public Health | University of Toronto

Lydia Dagnachew B.Sc. Global Health (Honours)

MPH Candidate, Class of 2023Dalla Lana School of Public HealthUniversity of Toronto

Lydia Dagnachew

MPH Candidate, Class of 2023
Dalla Lana School of Public Health
University of Toronto

Mariam Farah B.A.Sc.

MPH Candidate, Class of 2023Social Behavioural Health SciencesDalla Lana School of Public Health | University of Toronto

Mariam Farah

MPH Candidate, Class of 2023
Social Behavioural Health Sciences
Dalla Lana School of Public Health | University of Toronto

Ayan Hashi BA Hon.

Pronouns: She/Her MPH Candidate, Class of 2022Social and Behavioural Health Sciences Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Ayan Hashi

Pronouns: She/Her

MPH Candidate, Class of 2022
Social and Behavioural Health Sciences 
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Asli Nur

Bachelor of Commerce, Class of 2022Healthcare ManagementHumber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

Asli Nur

Bachelor of Commerce, Class of 2022
Healthcare Management
Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

Samah Osman BHSc.

MPH Candidate, Class of 2023Social and Behavioural Health SciencesDalla Lana School of Public Health | University of Toronto

Samah Osman

MPH Candidate, Class of 2023
Social and Behavioural Health Sciences
Dalla Lana School of Public Health | University of Toronto

Robert Chin-See B.Sc.

Health Sciences, 2022Wilfrid Laurier University

Robert Chin-See

Health Sciences, 2022
Wilfrid Laurier University

Heba Roble H.B.Sc.

MI Candidate, Class of 2022Information Science/StudiesFaculty of Information | University of Toronto

Heba Roble

MI Candidate, Class of 2022
Information Science/Studies
Faculty of Information | University of Toronto

Muna Aden

Women’s Health in Women’s Hands CHC

Muna Aden

Women’s Health in Women’s Hands CHC
http://www.whiwh.com

Feben Aseffa RM, BHSc, MHM

Director, Healthcare Equity, Quality and Human Rights
Association of Ontario Midwives

Feben Aseffa

Director, Healthcare Equity, Quality and Human Rights
Association of Ontario Midwives
www.ontariomidwives.ca
https://www.linkedin.com/in/febenaseffa
feben.aseffa@aom.on.ca

Dr. Alana Butler

Assistant Professor,
Faculty of Education,
Queen’s University

Dr. Alana Butler

Assistant Professor,
Faculty of Education,
Queen’s University
https://educ.queensu.ca/alana-butler

Dr. Afua Cooper

Professor within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Dalhousie University

Dr. Afua Cooper

Professor within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Dalhousie University
Specializations: Canadian and Atlantic slavery; Abolition and Freedom; Legacies of slavery and Decolonization; Universities Studying Race and Slavery; Black Canadian history; African Diaspora Studies; Women and Gender. Co-ordinator of the Black and African Diaspora Studies Minor. https://afuacooper.com/ ; https://www.dal.ca/faculty/arts/sociology-social-anthropology/faculty-staff/our-faculty/afua-cooper.html ; Portia White Prize Winner (2020) https://www.dal.ca/news/2020/11/18/afua-cooper-wins-portia-white-prize.html

Keddone Dias BComm

MPPAL Executive Director,
LAMP Community Health Centre

Keddone Dias

MPPAL Executive Director,
LAMP Community Health Centre
www.LAMPCHC.org

Dr. Azza Eissa PhD., MD.

MD, PhD

Dr. Azza Eissa

MD, PhD. Clinician Scholar at the University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine.
A Freelance Journalist/ CIH trainee at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health Global Journalism Program. 

Manolli Ekra

Senior Coordinator,
Policy and Research / Coordonnatrice Principale, Politique et Recherche,
OCASI

Manolli Ekra

Senior Coordinator,
Policy and Research / Coordonnatrice Principale, Politique et Recherche,
OCASI
https://ocasi.org/

Esther Enyolu

Executive Director, WMRCC of Durham

Esther Enyolu

Executive Director, WMRCC of Durham
https://www.wmrcc.org

Dr. June Francis LLB; PhD

Co-Director -The Co-Laboratorio Project
Director Institute for Diaspora Research and Engagement

Dr. June Francis

Co-Director -The Co-Laboratorio Project
Director Institute for Diaspora Research and Engagement
Associate Professor, Beedie School of Business
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Dr., Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6
Twitter: Dr447

Raeanne Francis

Managing Director, BCRC.

Raeanne Francis

Managing Director, BCRC.
www.bcrcmontreal.com

Dr. George Frempong

Director of Research
Delmore “Buddy” Daye Learning Institute (DBDLI)

Dr. George Frempong

Director of Research
Delmore “Buddy” Daye Learning Institute (DBDLI)
http://dbdli.ca/our-organization/george-frempong/
george.frempong@dbdli.ca

Dr. Rachel Da Silveria Gorman

Graduate Program Director and Associate Professor
York University
315 Stong 165 Campus Walk

Dr. Rachel Da Silveria Gorman

Graduate Program Director and Associate Professor
York University
315 Stong 165 Campus Walk
Critical Disability Studies
Dance and curating archive

Kassandra Kernisan

Executive Director
DESTA Black Youth Network

Kassandra Kernisan

Executive Director
DESTA Black Youth Network
execdirector@destabyn.org
Office: 514-664-5042
1950 Rue Saint-Antoine O,
Montreal, Qc
H3J 1A5
http://www.destabyn.org

Dr. Fanta Ongoiba

Executive Director
Africans in Partnership Against AIDS (APAA)

Dr. Fanta Ongoiba

Executive Director
Africans in Partnership Against AIDS (APAA)
www.apaa.ca

Maureen Owino MES

Director Committee for Accessible Aids Treatment,
PhD Student, York University Faculty of Environment and Urban Change

Maureen Owino

Director Committee for Accessible Aids Treatment,
PhD Student, York University Faculty of Environment and Urban Change
www.hivimmigration.ca

Sylvia Parris-Drummonds

Chief Executive Director,
Delmore ‘Buddy” Daye Learning Institute (Nova Scotia)

Sylvia Parris-Drummonds

Chief Executive Director,
Delmore ‘Buddy” Daye Learning Institute (Nova Scotia)
www.dbdli.ca
Social media @dbdli @svparris

Dr. Rai Reece PhD.

Assistant Professor,
Department of Sociology
Ryerson University

Dr. Rai Reece

Assistant Professor,
Department of Sociology
Ryerson University
https://www.ryerson.ca/sociology/people/faculty/rai-reece/
https://www.twitter.com/rai_reece

Verlia Stephens

Mentorship And Peer Leadership Coordinator
Supporting Our Youth

Verlia Stephens

Mentorship And Peer Leadership Coordinator
Supporting Our Youth
Pronouns: She/Her
T: 416.324.4100 x 3303
F: 416.324.4188
E: vstephens@sherbourne.on.ca
Sherbourne Health
333 Sherbourne St.
Toronto, ON M5A 2S5
sherbourne.on.ca

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