Who We Are

ACCHO is a provincial coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to the response to HIV and AIDS in African, Caribbean and Black communities in Ontario, Canada.

Valérie Pierre-Pierre (MSc) is the Director of the African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO). She has worked in the non-profit sector for just over ten years. Her experience, at first in the field of education and later in HIV and AIDS, includes project management, monitoring and evaluation, communications, research, programmatic support and strategic planning. She played a key role in coordinating the monitoring and evaluation component and supporting project planning and implementation for a five-year ten-country community advocacy project to scale up prevention, while working at the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO). Her international experience includes having worked on a local community HIV prevention project in Cameroon. Her educational background is in urban planning, with a Master's degree in community and regional planning, with a focus on international development planning.

The AIDS Bureau provides funding to community-based prevention and support programs, research and research infrastructure, compensation for people infected with HCV through the blood system, outreach and harm reduction materials to injection drug users and a number of HIV testing initiatives including rapid HIV testing. As well, secretariat support is provided to two committees that provide advice to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care; the Ontario Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS and the Hepatitis C Task Force.

Frank McGee is the Manager of AIDS & Hepatitis C Programs. The two units oversee a range of programs that address both HIV and HCV prevention and support. Frank participates on a range of HIV/AIDS and HCV research projects and teams. He has presented at numerous international and Canadian conferences on HIV/AIDS.  Prior to his current position, he held a number of AIDS-related positions in the ministry starting in 1988.

ACT provides services and supports that help and empower men, women and youth living with and affected by HIV/AIDS to achieve self-determination, informed decision-making, independence, and overall well-being.

John Maxwell is the Director of Programs and Services, AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) where he oversees ACT’s HIV prevention and sexual health promotion programs for gay men, women and youth, support services for those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS as well as agency advocacy, government relations, and communications. He has been working in the community-based HIV/AIDS sector for over 18 years – first as a volunteer, then in a variety of front-line roles, and finally as a senior manager at ACT. He has extensive experience in the area of HIV prevention for gay and bisexual men, and has been an active participant in many community-based research projects. In addition to his work at ACT, he is a member of numerous local, provincial, national and international HIV/AIDS working groups. 

In 2007, John was honoured at the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) conference with the Red Ribbon Award, which was presented to him for “outstanding service to the cause of research in Canada that will lead to increased understanding of the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, while enhancing the quality of life for those living with this disease”, and in 2009 he was inducted into the Ontario AIDS Network (OAN) Honour Roll.

Dr Alex Jadad (MD, DPhil, FRCPC, FCAHS) is a physician, innovator, educator and public advocate whose mission is to optimize health and wellness for all, thorough the innovative use of information and communication technologies.

His research and innovation work focuses on virtual tools to support the encounter between the public and the health system; interactive tools to promote knowledge translation and mentorship of health professionals and the public; and online resources to support social networks, to respond to major public health, to support international collaboration, and to enable the public to shape the health system and society.

In 2000, Alex led the creation of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, a setting designed as a simulator of the future,to study and optimize the use of ICTs before their widespread introduction into the health system and society at large. He is also spearheading the development of the Global People-centred eHealth Innovation Network, a unique group of individuals, organizations, tools and facilities working in harmony to promote research, development, education, policy, funding, recognition and commercialization activities related to the uses of ICTs to promote optimal levels of health and wellness, worldwide.
He also leads the People, Health equity and Innovation (PHI) Group at the University of Toronto, which focuses on efforts to level the playing field for disadvantaged members of society, with emphasis on youth leadership development, supportive care,  and the promotion of a culture of multiculturalism, worldwide.

Alix Adrien is a (board certified) Community Medicine specialist at the Montreal Regional Public Health Department. He is also an Assistant professor at McGill University’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and at Université de Montréal’s Département de médecine sociale et préventive.

Dr. Adrien has led the development and undertaking of HIV-related behavioural research and surveillance projects in Canada, Haiti, Morocco, India, and Pakistan.  He emphasizes participatory approaches for the design and implementation of these projects.  Dr. Adrien is a founding member of Groupe d'action pour la prévention de la transmission du VIH et l'éradication du sida (GAP-VIES) a community based AIDS organization serving the Haitian community in Quebec.

CAAN is a not-for-profit coalition of individuals and organizations which provides leadership, support and advocacy for Aboriginal people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, regardless of where they reside.

Renée Masching is the Research and Policy Manager with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) and co-PI on several active research projects. She earned her degrees at McMaster University, finishing her undergraduate work in 1995 and a Masters in Social Work in 2003, with a research award from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Her research interests are focused on community-based research frameworks, indigenous knowledge and community health.

Renée is the author/co-author of several peer reviewed publications and has delivered numerous poster and oral presentations at local, regional, national and international conferences. Renée has dedicated her professional energies to working with Aboriginal Peoples in health related programs. She has worked in addictions programs, in community health education and held the position of Executive Director of Healing Our Nations, the Atlantic First Nations AIDS Network from 1997-2005. Renée began employment with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) as a Community-based Research Facilitator supporting a community response to HIV/AIDS through research.

The Canadian AIDS Society (CAS) is a national coalition of over 120 community-based AIDS organizations across Canada. The CAS is dedicated to strengthening the response to HIV/AIDS across all sectors of society, and to enriching the lives of people and communities living with HIV/AIDS.

Monique Doolittle-Romas is the Executive Director of the Canadian AIDS Society (CAS), a national coalition of over 120 community-based AIDS organizations dedicated to strengthening the response to HIV/AIDS across all sectors of society.  In this capacity, she was appointed to the Ministerial Advisory Council on the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada.

Monique embraces community values and exemplifies a strong commitment to serving others with the experience she has gained in community-building. Through her years of service she has been involved with multiple community-based organizations.  She has significant experience in the area of advocacy, having served as Regional Director with the Canadian Hearing Society prior to joining CAS, and firm knowledge in fundraising and working in a not-for-profit environment for a charitable organization, having also served as Director of Organizational Development for the United Way of Canada. Monique is skilled in building partnerships with government, corporations and non-profit organizations, which she considers critical to the task of raising awareness of HIV/AIDS in Canada and influencing relevant decision-making processes.  She is also a skilled communicator, with a wealth of experience in media and public relations gained during her tenure as Coordinator of Public Relations for Laurentian Hospital. She holds an Honours Bachelor Degree in Commerce from Laurentian University, as well as a Masters in Public Administration from Queen’s University.

CATIE is Canada’s source for up-to-date, unbiased information about HIV and hepatitis C. CATIE connects people living with HIV or hepatitis C, at-risk communities, healthcare providers and community organizations with the knowledge, resources and expertise to reduce transmission and improve quality of life.

Laurie Edmiston is the Executive Director of the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE). Laurie has guided CATIE through a period of rapid change and expansion to become the national HIV knowledge exchange broker for front-line organizations. She has supervised a number of research projects including the National Survey of Front-Line Organizations to Guide Strategic Directions for CATIE: The New National HIV/AIDS Knowledge Exchange Broker, as well as HIV in Canada: Trends and Issues.

Laurie completed her MA in Developing Human Resources and Adult Education from the University of Torontoin 1996. She has worked in the HIV/AIDS sector for more than 20 years. Currently, Laurie serves on the Ontario Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. She is co-author of a poster entitled, Acknowledging Community Knowledge: Frontline Perspectives on Effective HIV Knowledge Brokering, which was presented at the 2010 Canadian Public Health Association conference.

Dr. Catherine Worthington is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria. Her health services research focuses on quality of and access to community health and social services for vulnerable groups. She has conducted research with people living with HIV, street-involved youth, Aboriginal groups, and African immigrant communities on studies related to the development of HIV prevention and care services. She is a Co-Principal Investigator on the CIHR Social Research Centre (SRC) in HIV Prevention, Chair of the Universities Without Walls national training grant in HIV health research, and a member of REACH³ (the Research Alliance for Canadian Homelessness, Housing and Health). She is a former member of CHARAC (the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Advisory Committee) and CAHR (Canadian Association for HIV Research) Council.

Dan Allman (MSc, PhD), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. The work of Dr. Allman focuses on the social and structural production of risk and well-being, particularly for those considered marginal, vulnerable or peripheral to a society’s core. Interests include the sociology of health and medicine, social equity, global health and new techniques for public health research. Dr. Allman enjoys teaching, translating knowledge and building capacity within university and community settings.

Gaston Godin received his Ph.D. in Community Health, with an emphasis on behavioural sciences in 1983, from the University of Toronto. Since then, his research implications have included health promotion and disease prevention initiative, and the study of behaviours in the field of health (e.g., exercising). Dr Godin is the Canada Research Chair on Behaviour and Health (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Tier 1), 2004–2011. Between 1976 and 1985, Dr Godin was an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education (Department of Physical Education) at Laval University. In 1985, he became a Full Professor with the Faculty of Nursing Sciences at the same institution.

Grace Getty is a Professor at the Faculty of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick, focused on community and adolescent and sexual health issues.  Her research has involved studies with university students, nurses, and vulnerable populations, including MSM, IDUs and Aboriginal people. She has focused on community based participatory action research as well as evaluation and intervention studies. She has served on the National Advisory Committee on AIDS and the National Board of CATIE and has reviewed community-based research proposals for CIHR. 

Academic Website

Laura is Assistant Professor, Health Studies Department at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Prior to this she was a a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Biomedical Ethics Unit of McGill University, and a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Ontario Training Centre for Health Services and Policy Research held at York University’s Sociology Department and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network in Toronto. Her current program of research focuses critical attention Canadian immigration medical practices, application of policy and the law, social organization of knowledge, HIV and AIDS, and socio-legal studies. Laura uses critical, ethnographic, and qualitative approaches to provide an empirically informed dimension to policy and law making. She has previously served on the boards of AIDS Community Care Montreal, the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange, and the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development. Laura is fluent in English and French.

Dr. Liviana Calzavara is a tenured Professor (2000) at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and will assume the position of Head of the Social and Behavioural Health Sciences Division on July 1, 2013. She is a founding member and Deputy-Director of the HIV Social, Behavioural and Epidemiological Studies Unit, the first interdisciplinary HIV academic unit in Canada. She is also a founding member and Director of the CIHR Social Research Centre in HIV Prevention (SRC), a Canadian interdisciplinary network of social researchers, community leaders, public health practitioners and policy makers committed to advancing HIV prevention efforts through social science research, capacity building and knowledge transfer and exchange (http://srchiv.ca).

Dr. Calzavara has a doctoral degree (PhD) in Sociology from the University of Toronto. In 1984, she gave up her Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Post-Doctoral Fellowship to take on her first academic appointed in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto; where she directed one of the first HIV clinical and epidemiological cohort studies in Canada. During that time, she also co-developed and co-taught the first HIV/AIDS course to be offered at the University of Toronto. Dr. Calzavara later became an Associate and full Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, which has now evolved into the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. From 2002 to 2005, she served as Program Director for the Social and Behavioural Health Sciences MSc and PhD programs. Professor Calzavara supervises, mentors and teaches graduate students in the divisions of Epidemiology, and Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, undergraduate Health Studies students, and practitioners from Canada and elsewhere. In 2012, she co-developed and co-taught a new undergraduate course on HIV prevention research (PHS3000) in the Faculty of Arts and Science, and would like to develop a corresponding graduate level course. She has taught and continues to teach courses in survey design and public health research methods.

Dr. Calzavara has over 30 years of public health research experience and leadership.  She has led large, multi-disciplinary studies in Canada, Russia and China. Her research utilizes a social-structural framework to examine  examine predictors of risk and incident infections (i.e., HIV, STI, HCV), understand barriers faced by those living with and affected by infectious diseases, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in reducing risk and infections. She utilizes a community-engaged approach, working with vulnerable populations including thoseliving with HIV, drugs users, gay/bisexual/MSM, prisoners, migrant populations, Aboriginals and African-Caribbean and Black communities.

Most recently she completed a 5-year project in partnership with the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The Canada-China Collaborative Program of HIV/STI Research entitled, “Prevention, Care and Support for Vulnerable Populations at Risk for STI and HIV in Shanghai, China”, (2007-2012) was a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder initiative funded as part of the Teasdale-Corti program of the Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI). Reflective of a history of partnership between the Shanghai Centre for Disease Control (SCDC) and the University of Toronto (U of T), the Program was developed to conduct socio-behavioural and epidemiological research on the drivers of Shanghai’s STI/HIV epidemic with the aim to design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions targeting most at-risk populations, including migrant workers, female entertainment workers, men who have sex with men, and people living with HIV and their health care providers. This is now being followed by a new three-year study looking at the feasibility of and adaptation of  a controversial biomedical strategy of earlier treatment of infections to prevent transmission to sex partners (more commonly referred to as ‘treatment as prevention’).

Liviana has played a leadership role in national policy and planning, having served as Co-Chair to the Ministerial Council on AIDS, the first social scientist to serve as President of the Canadian Association for HIV Research,  Co-Chair of the Scientific Program Committee for the Toronto XVI International AIDS Conference, and member of the inaugural CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Advisory Committee.

In recognition of excellence in research and her contributions to teaching and service, Dr. Calzavara has received numerous academic awards including: the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Post-Doctoral Fellowship (1982-84), Health Canada National Health Research Scholar Award (1992-97), Robin F. Badgley Award for Excellence in Teaching (1999), Anthony B. Miller Research Excellence Award (2004), John Hastings Award for Excellence in Service (2007), and the Mark Wainberg Lecture (2013).

For additional information visit www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/faculty-profile/liviana-m-calzavara.

Dr. Mark Tyndall BSc, MD, ScD, FRCPC,  is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Ottawa Hospital. Prior to joining the University of Ottawa in November 2010, he was the head of the Infectious Diseases at Providence Health Care and the Program Director for Epidemiology at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. He has conducted numerous community-based research projects in Vancouver, including epidemiologic studies of HIV and Hepatitis C transmission, antiretroviral access among injection drug users, health care utilization among marginalized populations, and was the co-lead investigator for Vancouver’s supervised injection site. He is now developing new harm reduction strategies and research initiatives in the Ottawa region where HIV incidence among drug users remains unacceptably high. Mark has international research experience in a number of countries and resided in Kenya for 4 years as part of the WHO collaborative research group. He is an author on over 170 peer-reviewed publications, primarily around HIV prevention among injection drug users.

Dr. Mona Loutfy is a scientist at Women's College Research Institute, where she heads the Women and HIV Research Program. She is research director at the Maple Leaf Medical Clinic (MLMC) — the largest HIV practice in Canada with 10 physicians who manage more than 2,500 HIV-positive patients — where she oversees a research staff of seven with 20 active research projects. An associate professor in the department of medicine at the University of Toronto, Dr. Loutfy holds medical appointments at Women's College Hospital, North York General Hospital and St. Michael's Hospital, and a courtesy appointment at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. In addition to her medical specialties, Dr. Loutfy holds a master's degree in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health.

An expert in infectious disease, Dr. Loutfy's research interests focus on the clinical management of HIV infection, particularly in women. She is developing a multidimensional research program on women and HIV that will serve women across Ontario and have an impact on care across Canada. In particular, Dr. Loutfy is studying the use and toxicities of combination antiretroviral therapies (cART) used by HIV-positive women. The goal of this research is to identify strategies to improve quality of life for the women involved, and to increase the virological and immunological efficacy of drug therapies for HIV.

NCCID is one of six centres funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The NCCID identifies gaps in research and knowledge and brings it to the attention of researchers and their funding bodies. Our work ultimately informs public policy and better equips public health practitioners in their role of preventing and controlling emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

OAHAS provides culturally respectful and sensitive programs and strategies to respond to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic among Aboriginal people in Ontario through promotion, prevention, long term care, treatment and support initiatives consistent with harm reduction.

Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP) is an arm's-length government agency dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of all Ontarians and reducing inequities in health. As a hub organization, OAHPP links public health practitioners, front-line health workers and researchers to the best scientific intelligence and knowledge from around the world.

Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Millson is an Associate Professor and researcher in the HIV Social, Behavioural and Epidemiological Studies Unit in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the University of Toronto. She is a medical doctor with a Master of Health Science and medical specialty training in public health. Her current research interests include injection drug use, HIV/HCV prevention and harm reduction, social, behavioural and epidemiological aspects of HIV infection, especially among women and injection drug users, care, treatment and support for HIV positive persons, tuberculosis and HIV and epidemiology and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

PHO is an arm's-length government agency dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of all Ontarians and reducing inequities in health. As a hub organization, PHO links public health practitioners, front-line health workers and researchers to the best scientific intelligence and knowledge from around the world.

Dr. Remis has worked in the field of HIV surveillance and epidemiologic research for more than 25 years. Robert is a Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. He helps monitor the HIV epidemic in Ontario under a mandate of the AIDS Bureau, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. In this capacity, he has published over 15 technical and situation reports that have been used extensively for HIV prevention policy, program development and research. Dr. Remis has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles. He has worked extensively as a consultant for Health Canada, the Krever Commission and the Ontario Hepatitis C Secretariat, primarily on the modelling of HIV infection and viral hepatitis in Canada and has also consulted internationally in the field of HIV and communicable disease surveillance. He has been an active participant in the Canadian Association of HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR), the African-Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO) and the Research Advisory Committee of the OHTN.

San Patten completed an MSc in Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. She went on to work for AIDS Calgary and then the Alberta Community Council on HIV as one of Canada's first community-based research facilitators. San currently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia where she runs her own consulting practice, specializing in HIV/AIDS policy development, program evaluation and community-based research.

She has provided technical assistance in these areas in India, Mexico, Zambia, Kenya, Moldova, Serbia, Cambodia, Uganda and South Africa. San is an adjunct professor in Sociology at Mount Allison University and is a Field Representative for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

Sandra Bullock (BSc, MSc, PhD) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Studies and Gerontology at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

With a PhD in Public Health Science, she focuses primarily on understanding how social-structural factors increase the risk of sexual HIV transmission in vulnerable populations including street youth, seniors and recent immigrants.

Dr. Johnmark Opondo is the Deputy Medical Health Officer for the Saskatoon Health Region where he is in charge of the Communicable Disease Control and the Healthy Growth and Development departments which includes a regulatory role and various programs to control communicable diseases e.g., STIs and vaccine preventable diseases, and health promotion and protection in the early childhood years. Johnmark has diverse experience in public health-- from reducing the high rates of maternal mortality in three African countries, to a background in reproductive health.

Dr. Opondo has worked with several international health agencies including, Family Care International, the Norwegian People’s Aid, and the American Refugee Committee in program management and policy analysis. He also has policymaking experience as a member of the WHO AFRO Regional Reproductive Health Task Force, and has sat on the Kenya National STD Control Steering Committee, the Saskatchewan Ministerial Advisory Committee on Family Planning and the Saskatchewan Standing Committee on Immunization.

He received his Masters in Public Health from Atlanta’s Emory University, and worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, following a clinical career in Kenya as a medical doctor, where he also served as a District Medical Health Officer in the city of Mombasa.

Dr. Ted Myers is a Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Director of the HIV Social, Behavioural and Epidemiological Studies Unit at the University of Toronto. He has been and Council Member and President of the Canadian Association for HIV Research, and has been a member of the Scientific Review Committees and Rapporteur teams for several International Conferences on HIV/AIDS. Dr Myers has extensive experience in socio-behavioural and behavioural-epidemiological research with marginalised populations including aboriginals, gay and bisexual men and drug using populations. He has particular interests in geographic and cultural analyses and the determinants of sexual and risk behaviour. He has undertaken a number of province-wide and national studies of behaviour and service delivery as well as studies in other countries. He has undertaken research in HIV testing, needle exchange programmes, and other service delivery systems to help inform policy.

JCB is a partnership between the University of Toronto and affiliated healthcare organizations. The JCB studies important ethical, health-related topics through research and clinical activities. The JCB is a network of over 180 multidisciplinary professionals seeking to improve health care standards at both national and international levels. At the JCB, theory is put into practice.

Ross Upshur is currently the Director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB) and a staff physician at the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He is the Canada Research Chair in Primary Care Research. At the University of Toronto he is a Professor at the Department of Family and Community Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Adjunct Scientist at the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences, an affiliate of the Institute of the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology and a member of the Centre for Environment. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences and Associate Member of the Institute of Environment and Health at McMaster University.

His research interests include the concept of evidence in health care, medical epistemology, clinical reasoning, public health ethics, ethics and health information, empirical approaches in bioethics, primary care research methods, time series applications in health services research, communicable disease and environmental epidemiology. He has over 200 publications including more than 100 peer reviewed publications spanning these domains.

Wangari Tharao is The Program and Research Manager at Women’s Health in Women’s Hands CHC. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Health and Behavioural Sciences Program. She has sat on various boards, working groups, and advisory and review committees including the OHTN Scientific Review Committee, Ontario Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS, Ontario HIV Endemic Task Force and Ministerial Council of the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS. She is currently the Co-Chair of the African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO), Chair of the Governing Council of the African and Black Diaspora Global Network on HIV and AIDS, a member of the OHTN Community Network Advisory Committee. She is a recognized community based researcher and is involved in a number of local, provincial and national studies. She is a co-investigator on the Centre for HIV Prevention Social Research based at the University of Toronto.

Winston Husbands is Director of Research at ACT, and a member of ACCHO. His research focuses on improving the knowledge base for HIV prevention among gay and bisexual men, especially Black/African/Caribbean men, and community responses to HIV/AIDS among African and Caribbean communities. His interests also include knowledge translation, community engagement, and building capacity for community-based research. Dr Husbands is involved in ACCHO’s initiatives to improve service providers’ capacity to work with African and Caribbean communities. In 2006-2008, he chaired the team that developed ACCHO’s “Keep it alive” HIV prevention campaign for African and Caribbean communities in Ontario. He holds a PhD in Economic Geography from the University of Western Ontario.

WHIWH Community Centre provides Primary Healthcare to Black Women and Women of Colour from the Caribbean, African, Latin American and South Asian communities in Metropolitan Toronto and surrounding municipalities.

Notisha Massaquoi is currently the Executive Director of Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre (WHIWH).  Her research and publications have focused on Diasporic Black women and HIV /AIDS, access to primary healthcare for racialized women and health promotion /health education strategies for racialized communities in Canada.  Her work has appeared in journals such Canadian Woman Studies, Wagadu and Social Science and Medicine.  She holds an MSW from the University of Toronto and is completing a doctorate degree in Sociology and Equity Studies at OISE/University of Toronto.   She has been a lecturer for the faculties of social work at Ryerson University  and Dalhousie University.  Her latest book is entitled "Theorizing Empowerment: Canadian Perspectives on Black Feminist Thought".