Meet the Team

Jessica Ho

I'm so excited and honoured to welcome our attendees as one of the co-chairs for the Queen's HHRC 2020-2021. Originally from Vancouver, I completed my BSc in Biology at UBC before completing a MSc in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Along the way, I had the pleasure of interning at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva as well as working with Doctors without Borders (MSF) in both Montreal and Toronto. I have a passion for Global Health and am currently the Global Health Liaison Sr. as a 2nd year medical student at Queen's. I recognize that as a settler, I still have much to learn in regards to our history of colonization and ongoing anti-racism work. I hope you will join us for the 2020-2021 HHRC as we reflect together on these important topics.

Gillian Foster
 

Hello, I'm Gillian. I am currently in my second year of Medicine at Queen's and am very interested in the intersections between health and human rights. This is primarily because the social determinants of health and human rights violations that exist in Canada today have such a devastating impact on health. I am looking forward to hosting this year's HHRC with my team and hope that we can bring more awareness to the issues that impact the health of Black and Indigenous people in Canada. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, gardening and learning more about living sustainably.

Jessica Nguyen

Hi! My name is Jessica and I am a second year medical student. After attending HHRC for the past 3 years, I am thrilled to be part of the Content Team this year! I am excited to work with this team to organize a conference that addresses systemic racism in healthcare and how we can achieve equity for BIPOC. In my free time, I like to cook, exercise, and do puzzles.

Alexander Milanov-Diaz

Hi, my name is Alexander and I am a fifth year Biology major. In my spare time I enjoy playing tennis and working with children. I am happy to be part of the content team to help deliver another enlightening conference. Systemic racism and discrimination have no place in society particularly regarding the healthcare one receives. I hope this year's conference can be impactful and provide information that we can all use to positively make change in our society.

Lisa Wight

I’m a fourth-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts and a Certificate of Global Action and Engagement. I’m studying Global Development and Biology and am interested by how healthcare systems operate and how they may disadvantage certain populations, such as women, children, and the BIPOC community. This year, I am honoured to be the Content Director facilitating a large workshop, the art exhibition, and the research fair.

Sydney Vanderkooi

I am delighted to be returning to the executive team and am excited to engage with the Queen’s and Kingston community on current health and human rights issues as they relate to ongoing racial injustices. I am a graduate student here at Queen's and in my spare time I enjoy swimming, being outdoors and painting! Overall, the HHRC is such a special and rewarding conference and I cannot wait to see it all come together!

I am delighted to be returning to the executive team and am excited to engage with the Queen’s and Kingston community on current health and human rights issues as they relate to ongoing racial injustices. I am a graduate student here at Queen's and in my spare time I enjoy swimming, being outdoors and painting! Overall, the HHRC is such a special and rewarding conference and I cannot wait to see it all come together!

Meagan Wiederman
 

I am a second year Queen's medical student. Before medicine, I worked for the Canadian Mental Health Association as a suicide responder. There, I encountered many people struggling to access healthcare providers - this spurred my interest in global health and I continue to advocate for accessible health for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, Indigenous status, mental health conditions, or disability. I joined the Health and Human Rights Conference as the Finance Director, where I apply for grants and budget the event. It is rewarding to make this conference financially sustainable.

Jenna Nensi

Hi! My name is Jenna, and I am a first year medical student. I am one of the Logistics Directors, and I can’t wait for everyone to see what we have planned for this year’s conference! I attended HHRC for the past two years and have always left feeling moved by the speakers. I’m really excited to be on the team this year and help create meaningful experiences for the attendees!

Nikita Pasricha
 

Hello! My name is Nikita Pasricha and I am second year student pursuing a Health Studies Major. I am excited to be part of organizing the 2020 HHRC! I am passionate about this year's theme of the conference as I feel systemic racism within medicine is still a very relevant topic in today's society. Despite the changes due to COVID-19, I have really enjoyed working with the team and hope that the conference will leave you inspired!

Ana Constantin

Hi! I'm Ana, and this year I have the pleasure of being a part of the HHRC Executive Team as PR Director. I'm a first-year Master's student in the Anatomical Sciences Pattern II Program and I love to be involved in the greater Kingston community after having completed my undergrad here at Queen's. My interest in engaging with discussions about healthcare and its intersection with human rights issues is what drew me to first attend this conference in 2019. I am passionate about education and look forward to learning, and even unlearning, during our 20th annual HHRC conference in January! Hope to see you there.

Kiera Liblik
 

My name is Kiera and I am a second year medical student at Queen's University. I am incredibly excited to be part of the conference this year! As a future healthcare professional, I hope to not just to advocate for my individual patients, but to actively use my role to be a proponent of human rights. My role as the Graphics Director includes translating our theme this year into all of our visual content (advertisements, social media posts, conference materials). In my free time, I enjoy powerlifting, baking, and (of course) graphic design!

Shikha Patel
 

My name is Shikha and I am so excited to be apart of the HHRC team and help bring the hard work of so many dedicated student leaders to life! I am a third year medical student at Queens and am passionate about global health, social justice, and all things to do with medical humanities. I'm looking forward to listening and learning a lot during this years conference. Hope to see you there!

Julia Horowitz

Hi! My name is Julia and I am a fourth year Queen’s student majoring in psychology. I am so excited to be a part of the HHRC exec team this year as a faculty liaison, and help to promote this conference to Queen’s undergraduate students and others across Canada! I believe that this year's topic is particularly relevant in our current climate, and addressing systemic racism in society and the healthcare sector specifically is an on-going battle that is important for everyone in Canada. I cannot wait to see everyone at the conference in January!

Sabrina Rasna
 

I'm a third-year Biotechnology student and a settler on this land. I was intrigued by QHHRC because it intertwines the sectors of health and human rights, as many aren’t aware they go hand in hand. It is important to have conversations about how health and human rights are impacted together by environmental and socioeconomic issues, especially during these challenging times. I knew by joining this team, I would learn more about how the two sectors shape current news today.

Anchaleena Mandal
 

I was raised in Nunavut – a territory in Canada's Arctic where limited access to healthcare and other systemic challenges (i.e. food insecurity, housing crisis, poverty, colonialism, etc.) continue to have profound effects on the health and wellness of my Inuit community members. This motivated me to advocate for Northern/Indigenous health and rights. Currently as a second-year medical student, I spend my free time playing musical instruments and learning new languages.