Community Health Advisory
Josh Berman
Director, Research and Public Policy, BGC Canada
Research Interests / Specializations: Josh leads the research, government relations and policy team at BGC Canada (formerly Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada) where he drives new child, youth and family policy and program development. Josh I builds and implements municipal, provincial, and federal government relations and advocacy campaigns that lead to employment, food security, child care, non-profit sector and anti-racism policy and program wins. Josh has led efforts to secure significant federal funding during the COVID-19 pandemic to create innovative and responsive programming for children and youth. Over the last decade, Josh has engaged governments to strengthen research and public policy. As a member of the World Health Organization’s Evidence-Informed Policy Network, Josh has led the development of a national policy platform in Malawi, which brings together researchers, community members, practitioners and policymakers to bridge knowledge gaps and build locally-driven research and policy agendas that benefit underserved populations.
Maureen Fair
Executive Director, West Neighbourhood House
Research Interests / Specializations: Maureen lives and works in downtown west Toronto where she is the Executive Director of West Neighbourhood House. West Neighbourhood House works with diverse and less-advantaged children, youth, adults and seniors so they can gain control over their lives and their community. Her professional experience includes program design and management, community development, public policy development and advocacy strategies on root cause issues such as income security, income inequality, and neighbourhood change. She has a B.A. from Princeton University and a Master of Science in Planning from University of Toronto.
Michelle Halligan
Director, Prevention, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
Research Interests / Specializations: Michelle is the Director of Prevention at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. She currently leads work with partners on pan-Canadian system change initiatives related to the elimination of cervical cancer including improving immunization rates, smoking cessation within oncology settings, and evidence-informed healthy public policy for cancer prevention. She has worked on cancer and chronic disease prevention, injury prevention, organizational culture and evaluation at national, provincial and local levels. Prior to the Partnership, Michelle worked for Heart and Stroke, Western University, and Cancer Care Ontario (now Ontario Health). She holds a Master of Science in Health Sciences from Western University, and an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Integrative Biology from the University of Toronto.
Fei Tang
Manager, Resource Development and Communications, Access Alliance Multilingual Health and Community Services
Biography: Fei Tang is Manager, Resource Development and Communications at Access Alliance Multilingual Health and Community Services. Fei has considerable expertise in community development and health equity advocacy gained through her 20 years of work with diverse marginalized populations, many of whom are newcomers to Canada. She started many innovative programs for disadvantaged newcomers, including Nai Syrian Children’s Choir, Bike Host, Hijabs and Helmets, and the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ever produced by a Canadian non-profit organization.
Anjum Sultana
National Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications, YWCA Canada
Research Interests / Specializations: Anjum Sultana is the National Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications at YWCA Canada, the country’s largest and oldest gender equity organization. In her role, Anjum has authored several policy reports including A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada: Making the Economy Work for Everyone and Preventing a Lockdown Generation: A Plan to Support Canada’s youth in post-pandemic recovery. Anjum holds a Masters of Public Health from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and a Certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School. Anjum sits on several boards and advisory committees including for the Regent Park Community Health Centre, the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy’s Public Good Initiative.
Ebony Rempel
CEO, YWCA Banff
Biography: Ebony Rempel is the CEO at the YWCA Banff, and is passionate about creating inclusive communities and believes in working from a trauma-informed, harm-reduction approach with clients, community, and employees. Ebony has been working in the field of gender equality for the last ten years. Ebony has a bachelor’s degree in Health Science, a Master of Science degree specializing in Health Promotion, and currently a PhD candidate at Western University. Her doctorate work is focused on understanding the support, information, and service needs of women who access second-stage shelters. She was recently an informant on a national second-stage shelter research study and has presented at over 30 conferences across the globe, including most recently the Global Network of Women’s Shelters Conference in November 2019 in Taiwan. From 2016 to 2019, Ebony was the Executive Director of Odyssey House: a 42-bed emergency shelter and 14 apartment unit second stage shelter.
Michelle German
Vice President, Policy and Strategy, Woodgreen Community Health
Biography: Michelle German is the Vice President of Policy and Strategy at WoodGreen Community Services where she leads the organizational public affairs work and is working closely with colleagues to add an additional 2,000 new units of affordable housing to city of Toronto over the next ten years. Michelle has a history of working with broad coalitions to advance systems change both inside of government and outside on issues such as housing affordability, food security, regional transportation. She is dedicated to building a more equitable city and building the evidence and partnerships to make that happen.
Sonia Hsiung
Project Lead, Communications and Stakeholder Relations, Alliance for Healthier Communities (Ontario)
Pemma Muzumdar
Knowledge Translation Specialist, National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health
Sume Ndumbe-Eyoh
Executive Director, Black Health Education Collaborative, Dalhousie University
Jason Haug
Supervisor of Social Media and Engagement, Ottawa Public Health
Jessica Lue
Vice President, Government Relations & Advocacy, YMCA Canada
Dr. Kimberly Girling
Acting Manager, Science Policy Team Office of the Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
