Speakers
Ibukun Abejirinde
Scientist, Institute for Better Health, Trillium Health Partners
A trained physician, with a doctorate degree in global health, Dr. Abejirinde conducts implementation and evaluation research to understand and address complex problems in healthcare using a learning health system approach. Described as deeply curious, her research specifically focuses on the health and wellbeing of immigrants and refugees, older adults and racialised communities. She is the founder and Scientific lead of the Moonshot Collaborative for Translational Health Equity- a transdisciplinary group that uses participatory methods and theory-driven frameworks to address complex problems in healthcare by operationalising equity within systems of care. An Assistant Professor (Status) at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health and an adjunct Scientist at Women’s College Hospital, Dr. Abejirinde has extensive research experience in various regions, including Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and South Asia. Her research ethos is collaborative- working closely with policymakers, patients, community organizations, and researchers from diverse disciplines. She is the founder and program lead of Nurturing Black Excellence (NuBEx) – a bespoke initiative at Trillium Health Partners designed to support early career and emerging Black professionals with skills and exposure that will enrich their academic and professional journeys. She is co-lead of the digital health equity hub of the International Collaborative for Translational Digital Health- a trilateral partnership between the University of Toronto, University of Manchester and University of Melbourne.
Neil Arya
Family Physician
Dr. Neil Arya is a family physician in Kitchener Ontario. He is the Chair of the PEGASUS Institute and PEGASUS Global Health Conference (www.pegasusconference.ca). He is a Fellow at the Balsillie School for International Affairs and at the International Migration Research Centre. He is an Adjunct Professor in Health Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University where he was and Scholar in Residence from 2018-2020. He remains Assistant Clinical Professor in Family Medicine at McMaster University (part-time) and Adjunct Professor in Environment and Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo. He is a past Vice-President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize and of President of Physicians for Global Survival (PGS). He was the president of the Canadian Physicians for Research and Education in Peace (CPREP), which is now IPPNW Canada and has written and lectured around the world about Peace through Health. He was the founding Director of the Global Health Office at Western University and has conducted research around international experiences as well as the impact of overseas electives on host communities and students. Dr. Arya continues as founder Director of the Kitchener/Waterloo Refugee Health Clinic in collaboration with the Waterloo Region Reception House where he provides case-specific care to newcomers and those in need of specialized care and was lead physician developing the Psychiatric Outreach Project, providing mental health for those homeless or at risk in St. John’s Kitchen in Kitchener, tasks which led to him receiving the 2009 College of Family Physicians of Canada Geeta Gupta Award for Equity and Diversity.
Dale Bramley
Chief Executive Officer, Health New Zealand
Most recently the National Director for Planning, Funding and Outcomes for Health New Zealand, Dr Bramley was previously the Chief Executive of Waitematā District Health Board for 11 years – serving a population of around 625,000 people and a staff of 8,700. He is a public health medicine specialist and experienced senior leader within the New Zealand health sector. He has previously served as Chair of New Zealand’s Health Quality & Safety Commission. He has also served as a member of New Zealand’s National Health Committee, National Ethics Committee and the New Zealand Government’s COVID-19 independent review and advice group. He is a published scholar, an MBA graduate of the Henley Business School, and the recipient of several awards, including the Harkness international fellowship in Health Policy by the Commonwealth Fund.
Adriane Gear
President, BC Nurses Union
Adriane Gear was elected president of BC Nurses Union (BCNU) in 2023. As union president, Gear is committed to ensuring that health employers treat BC’s nurses with respect and provide patients with the care they deserve. Adriane has been an RN since 1993. She has worked in long-term care at Saanich Peninsula and general surgery at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General hospitals. Adriane first became active in BCNU in 2004, when she felt her employer had not taken her health and safety seriously after she received a needle stick injury while pregnant with her second child. She became a steward at VGH and was elected as the South Islands region occupational health and safety (OHS) representative in 2010. She later served as one of the region’s council members. In 2015 members elected Adriane as the union’s executive councillor for OHS and mental health. One of her proudest moments occurred in 2019 when, after an extended BCNU campaign, the province amended the Workers’ Compensation Act to make it easier for nurses diagnosed with a mental injury to access WorkSafeBC compensation. Adriane served as acting vice president from 2018 to 2019 and in 2022 was elected vice president following a special election. In that role, she served as BCNU’s provincial lobby coordinator, where she led campaigns to raise awareness of the province’s critical nursing shortage and pressure all levels of government to address nurses’ issues. More recently, she chaired the union’s Human Rights and Equity Committee and fostered BCNU’s renewed a relationship with other provincial nurses’ union and membership in the Canadian Federation of Nurses’ Unions. Adriane is committed to championing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within the union and the health-care system.
Hayley Hamilton
Co-Director and Senior Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Dr. Hayley Hamilton is a senior scientist and the Co-Director of the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). She is also an associate professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Hamilton’s research focuses primarily on population health and includes the public health monitoring of mental health and addictive behaviours, and the social determinants of health. She has led large population health surveys, including the CAMH population surveys of youth (Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey) and adults (CAMH Monitor) in Ontario. This research has involved collaborations with federal, provincial, and local institutions including governments, and extensive knowledge translation to diverse audiences including health and education professionals and policy-makers to facilitate prevention, health promotion, program and policy evaluation, and education activities. Dr. Hamilton also has a strong interest in the influence of individual, social and other factors on aspects of health and behaviour. She has conducted studies on the mental health needs of diverse populations including recent immigrants, racialized groups, and youth involved in the justice system. Another area of special interest is the study of stigma toward mental illness and addiction.
Stuart Kinner
Professor, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Australia
Stuart Kinner is Founding Head of the Justice Health Group spanning Curtin University and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Melbourne, and a Technical Advisor to the WHO Health in Prisons Programme. In 2019 he was a Peter Wall International Visiting Scholar and visiting Professor at UBC. Stuart has produced >350 publications (252 peer-reviewed) and attracted >$37 million in research funding. According to ExpertScape, he is the #1 expert globally on the topic of ‘prisoners’. Stuart serves on the WHO Health in Prisons Programme Steering Group, the Worldwide Prison Health Research and Engagement Network (WEPHREN) Steering Committee, Australia’s National Prisoner Health Information Committee, and Australia’s National Youth Justice Health Advisory Group. His work is highly cited and used in policy development in Australia and internationally.
Jean-Frédéric Levesque
Chief Executive, New South Wales Agency for Clinical Innovation, Australia
Dr Jean-Frédéric Levesque is the Chief Executive of the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation, and the Deputy Secretary, Clinical Innovation and Research at the New South Wales Ministry of Health. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity at the University of New South Wales. He has a Medical Degree, a Masters in Community Health and a Doctorate in Public Health from the Université de Montréal, Canada. Jean-Frédéric brings extensive senior leadership in healthcare systems analysis and improvement, combining experience in clinical practice in refugee health and tropical medicine, in clinical governance and in academic research. As part of his research portfolio, Jean-Frédéric has published more than 160 peer reviewed publications and his seminal research producing a conceptual framework on healthcare access and inequity has been cited more than 4,000 times. Originally from Canada, Jean-Frédéric has worked in diverse medical, research and public health roles in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Dan Levitt
BC Seniors Advocate
Dan Levitt has tirelessly championed the rights of seniors for 30 years at the local, provincial, national and international levels. Prior to his appointment as BC’s Seniors Advocate, Dan held leadership positions in senior-living and long-term care homes in the Lower Mainland for more than 10 years where he helped shape a dementia-friendly future for seniors and their loved ones. He was an adjunct professor of gerontology at Simon Fraser University and an instructor at the BC Institute of Technology. He has also been a surveyor with Accreditation Canada, reviewing quality improvement and person-centred care at long-term care homes and community-based service providers across Canada. He is a certified health executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders and achieved Fellowship status in the college in July 2024. He also received the Young Executive Award presented by the BC Lower Mainland Chapter Executive of the Canadian College of Health Leaders. On the global stage, Levitt recently served as a member of the board of directors of the Global Ageing Network and the International Federation on Ageing.
Steven Lewis
Health Policy Consultant
Steven Lewis is a health policy and health services research consultant, and Adjunct Professor of Health Policy at Simon Fraser University. He has worked with governments, health care organizations, pan-Canadian agencies, regulators, professional organizations, and quality improvement agencies. He led a health research granting agency, and created the first evidence-based system improvement organization in Saskatchewan. He served on the National Forum on Health, Romanow Commission, Health Council of Canada, Health Quality Council of Saskatchewan, and the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He has published widely in peer-reviewed and other journals, newsletters, and public media He is a board member and treasurer of a community health centre in Vancouver, and writes a monthly health policy column for the Saskatoon and Regina newspapers.
Amanda Slaunwhite
Assistant Professor, UBC School of Population and Public Health
Dr. Amanda Slaunwhite is an Assistant Professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health, and Scientific Director for Correctional Health Services at BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. She has expertise in substance use, mental health, and the health of incarcerated people. She has over a decade of experience working with linked administrative health data in BC. Dr. Slaunwhite holds a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar Award (2022-2027) and was the 2025 recipient of the INHSU Early-Mid Career Leadership Award. She holds a PhD in human geography from the University of Victoria (2015) and master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Queen’s University (2009). Dr. Slaunwhite completed post-doctoral training in the Department of Psychology at the University of New Brunswick (2015-2017). She has worked in applied health research and policy roles at the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR), and Parliamentary Information and Research Service (Parliament of Canada).
Walter Wodchis
Professor, University of Toronto
Walter Wodchis is a Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. He is also a Research Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. His main research interests are health economics and financing, health care policy evaluation, and long-term care. He is also the principal investigator for the Health System Performance Research Network. In this program, he leads a team focused on research projects that identify complex populations with chronic conditions who transition through multiple health care sectors and develop health system performance measurement for these populations.