About

Associate Professor at the School of Social Work, Laurentian University. She has over 17 years of experience conducting research and outreach with multicultural and hard-to-reach populations. Her other research interests include the role of community health worker programs in addressing health inequities among immigrant and refugee women in Canada as well as protective factors for children’s welfare, and how to prevent the entry-or re-entry of children from newcomer families into provincial care.  She is also Chair and Co-founder of the Community Health Workers Network of Canada. 

Learn more about Dr. Sara Torres

Dr. Sophie Yohani is a full professor and registered psychologist with background in counselling psychology, global mental health, elementary education and experience in community psychology, program development, and community-based research. Dr. Yohani maintains an interest in multicultural counselling, childhood and adult trauma, psychosocial adaptation, hope/resiliency, and community-based participatory approaches. Her professional affiliations include the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP), Canadian Psychology Association (CPA), Canadian Register of Health Service Psychologists (CRHSP), and The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). Dr. Yohani is originally from Tanzania and is an adjunct visiting professor in the Clinical Psychology Program, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Tanzania.

Dr. Yohani's research examines the mental health and psychosocial adaptation of refugee and immigrants influenced by pre- and post-migration experiences and program/policy implications in education, healthcare, and community settings.  Dr. Yohani’s focus on trauma and adaptation stems from over 20 years of clinical work in private practice and extensive community-based work with refugee and immigrant groups. Her work is integrative and resilience-focused, and guided by a number of theoretical orientations including ecological systems theory, theory (critical) of multicultural counselling and therapy (MCT), feminist and constructivist theories. Her current projects include exploring the mental health and adaptation of survivors of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi of Rwanda; a study examining the psychosocial adaptation and community-based mental health promotion within the Syrian community; and an examination of counselling practices and community-based cultural supports with refugees and immigrants. She is also part of a team of researchers studying the well-being of Africans in Alberta, including parenting practices, gender relations and family resilience. 

Learn more about Dr. Spohie Yohani

Henry Parada is a full professor, School of Social Work, Ryerson University. Prior to his academic appointment, Henry Parada spent nine years working as a child protection worker, conducting family counseling, and working as a sexual abuse specialist within Toronto’s social service sector. His academic experience includes working in the Caribbean, Central America, and other parts of Latin America on issues of child protection, human rights, and youth participation. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses at Ryerson University and has guest lectured in universities in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Honduras. 

Henry Parada’s combined research expertise includes the areas of social development, children’s and women’s social welfare, and violence prevention. He has also developed practical skills in the areas of counselling, development, and social work. As a committed action-oriented researcher, he has valuable national and international expertise facilitating the gathering of relevant knowledge as well as the transfer into the hands of the organizations and agencies that are equipped to implement the partnership’s research findings. 

His projects have received funds from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Global Affairs Canada (formerly the Canadian International Development Agency), Latin American and Caribbean Exchange Grant (LACREG), UNICEF-Santo Domingo, Italy International Cooperation, Ryerson International Initiative Funds and Network of European Foundations. His ongoing program of research – focused on child protection, family violence, and children’s rights in seven regional areas of concentration – was awarded the SSHRC Partnership Grant for a seven-year, international project titled The Rights for Children and Youth Partnership (RCYP).

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Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University. Ross’s research interests and projects include advocacy for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) aware and trauma informed educational,  health,  criminal justice and mental health and addiction systems. Ross’s work on childhood trauma and gender-based violence has advanced the field of trauma informed care and she will significantly contribute to this project by assisting in data analysis/coordination, and knowledge mobilization to implement and adapt the research to social systems of care. 

Learn more about Dr. Nancy Ross

Kathi Campbell is the Regional Director, Edmonton Region, Ministry of Children Services, Government of Alberta, Child and Family Services. 
Ms. Campbell is a BSW graduate of the University of Manitoba. She was responsible for the development of the Multi-Cultural Services Framework for Edmonton Region, in collaboration with community partners. She has been instrumental in the development of Collaboration between the Children’s Services and the Multicultural Health Brokers Coop.

Yvonne Chiu, Executive Director of the Multicultural Health Brokers
Coop. She has over 20 years of experience in community-based program and policy development, as well as working side by-side with immigrants and refugees. She has participated in multiple research projects in collaboration with academic institutions and has also been instrumental in publicizing the multicultural-health broker/community health broker model across Canada. She is a member of the Community Health Worker Network of Canada.

Monique Nutter has been practicing social work for more than 20 years. Her primary areas of practice have been research and evaluation, community organizing, and generalist practice with vulnerable populations, including immigrants, refugees and other newcomers. She is a consultant with Multicultural Health Brokers. She fosters collaboration between Children’s Services and MCHB. She believes in putting the voice of lived experience at the centre of decision-making and lifting these learnings into knowledge-driven policy development.

Stephanie Fernandez, Multicultural Liaison Broker, Medical Doctor (Philippines). Stephanie is originally from the Philippines and appreciates working with Multicultural Health Broker Cooperative (MCHB) where her personal values of social justice, equity and inclusive diversity are aligned with the coop's. She finds fulfillment in working with families with complex needs by giving holistic support and emphasizing the social determinants of health, family needs and strengths and connecting them with resources and services and building awareness to navigate health and social systems. She speaks Tagalog, Cebuano and English.

PhD (candidate) of Education-Counselling Psychology, University of Alberta. 
Jakkapan also has a Master/PhD of Education-Counselling Psychology.  He has worked  in Edmonton’s newcomer-serving community for several years, which has granted him the opportunity to work directly with immigrant and refugees, including non-status peoples. During this time, he has established strong relationships with service providers and many formal and informal community leaders of various communities.

Honours Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work, Laurentian University.
Harleen was interested in pursuing Indigenous Social Work after hearing some of the lived experiences from members of the Sto:lo Nation. Harleen is interested in researching evidence-based practices within social work. Her previous work allowed her to capture the immigration stories of South Asians across British Columbia, which she found great fulfilment in.