Speaking out
Advocacy is at the core of our mission. MPHA advocates for social justice, reconciliation, and equity through influencing policies and decision-making. We profile evidence and make visible the impact of issues and decisions on the health of people and communities in Manitoba. We work alongside and in partnership with communities and organizations seeking to close health gaps between population groups. Please see below for MPHA’s advocacy actions.
To solve big picture problems, we need to work together. The MPHA is an agent of such collaboration, with the ability to advocate in ways many of us could not through our jobs.
Driven by its core values and the collective awesomeness of its members, the MPHA has enormous potential to be a force for progress in Manitoba.
Who we are
About Us
The Manitoba Public Health Association is a volunteer run, non-profit, non-governmental organization. It was first established in 1952. We are affiliated with the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA)
Our Mission: The MPHA advocates for social justice, reconciliation and equity through influencing policies and decision-making. It makes visible the impact of issues on our collective health, and profiles evidence that connects issues, people and community. The MPHA aims to foster balance and restore collective health and wellbeing.
Our Vision: Communities rooted in equity, growing in balance
To review our organizational bylaws, click here.
Values
Our values are an expression of who we are and inform how we make decisions as an organization. Our values reflect our common convictions and beliefs at individual, organizational, partnership, and societal levels. They also provide us with a set of guiding statements that help us navigate conflict, change, growth, and reconciliation.
Colonial oppression has had, and continues to have, a devastating impact on the health of Indigenous peoples. Conversely, we recognize the healing and reconciliatory power that traditional, cultural, and community knowledge keepers bring to the sustainability of our work. We therefore are actively guided by both Indigenous ways of knowing and being, and Western ways. We acknowledge the Seven Sacred Teachings, as articulated by Traditional Knowledge Keepers, as our overarching values frame. This is done with the consent of the Indigenous board members at the time these values were drafted, and with respect towards our Indigenous partners, recognizing that we are a non-Indigenous organization.
These teachings, with roots in certain Indigenous communities, have universal applicability for all people.
“CLEAR” Values
Collaboration
Learning and evidence
Equity and social justice
Anti-racism
Reconciliation
We believe that applying the Seven Sacred Teachings and the CLEAR values in tandem demonstrates respect for the powerful contributions of Indigenous, racialized, and other populations alongside whom we work. It is particularly powerful when traditional teachings and other forms of evidence align when informing decisions on health. Our values inform the ethics, conceptual frameworks, and practices of our work and relationships. They are featured in our collaborations and trust-building activities, and guide all our relations with Creation and each other.
Demonstrating these values will guide us to a new way of living together.
Members
MPHA’s membership includes individuals from a wide variety of health backgrounds such as community health nurses, public health nurses, health educators, public health inspectors, medical officers of health, epidemiologists, educational psychologists, nutritionists, podiatrists, environmental health officers, health researchers, dentists, community program planners, project coordinators, health administrators and community health directors, as well as concerned citizens. We welcome all interested members.
Board Members
The MPHA has the capacity to nominate up to 15 board members and the membership votes on nominees annually at the spring AGM. At the AGM on June 1, 2022, the following members were elected to the MPHA Board for the 2023/24 year.
Sande retired in 2018 from her position as a Medical Officer of Health serving the population of the Winnipeg Health Region. She has a passion for public health and throughout her career she has worked in a variety of areas.
Nicole Herpai is pursuing a PhD in Community Health Sciences while working as a research assistant. She applies a feminist political economy lens to examine how broader social, political and economic factors shape public health issues and what can be done about it.
Geoffrey Thompson is an occupational health nurse and has worked the past 20 years at the intersection of cross-cultural health, community development and organizational change management. He specializes in promoting positive workplace mental health through joint worker and management training focused on how to identify and control on-the-job psychosocial hazards.
Lea has a Master of Nursing Degree from the University of Manitoba. Using Western and Indigenous ways of knowing, Lea’s focus is on improving the health and well being of Indigenous peoples.
Tara Campbell holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in Public Health. Being born and raised in Winnipeg, Tara is committed to Manitoba and working alongside its diverse population to address the social determinants of health utilizing community-led solutions.
Uyiosa has a master’s in public health, Peacebuilding and Collaborative Development, and business administration. She has passionately worked in the public health sector for over twenty years. She majorly worked with women and kids and is an advocate for building the health of a community.
Dr. Zeeshan Qadar is an Implementation Scientist/Knowledge Translation Specialist in Infectious Diseases Public Health with more than a decade experience. He has published over a dozen articles on various topics in public health, and evidence-based medicine. He has been a Winnipegger for more than a decade and loves fishing and hiking.
Julianne Sanguins is the Research Program Manager in the Health & Wellness Department at the Manitoba Métis Federation. Julianne is an RN and holds a PhD (Nursing). Having spent many years of her life in small towns and remote communities, she is especially interested in issues of equity, access, and the impact of the environment impact on people’s lives.
Joanna a Chinese settler who holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of Waterloo and is trained as a registered dietitian. She envisions a future where equity deserving groups achieve social liberation through anti-racist and anti-oppressive systems change.
Born and raised in Egypt, Muhammad moved to Winnipeg in 2019 to pursue an MSc degree in Physiology and Pathophysiology, where he studied some of the neuronal circuits controlling behaviour at the brain level. Muhammad worked as the Policy and Health Information Manager at the Manitoba Métis Federation, where he advocated for the health and well-being of Red River Métis Citizens. Presently, Muhammad is the System Performance Specialist at CancerCare Manitoba, working to measure and develop performance indicators to maximize the efficiency of care for all Manitobans. Muhammad is a dentist by training, an avid reader of health research publications, and a botany hobbyist!
Amanda Younka has worked in Winnipeg for the last 30 years in the field of Community Health & health promotion. She holds a Bachelor of Physical Education-University of Manitoba with a Speciality in Aging. Additionally, Amanda has a Master in Public Health- University of Liverpool, UK and dedicated her dissertation to the TRC calls to action #19 to address the inequities of health services for remote Indigenous communities. Amanda is passionate about health equity for all and is experienced in using the community development framework when engaging communities. She loves her family & dogs, running and peanut butter.
Affiliations
The MPHA is affiliated with the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA). CPHA’s mission is to enhance the health of people in Canada and to contribute to a healthier and more equitable world. You can find out more here.
The MPHA is part of a Canadian Network of Public Health Associations. A commentary by the Network in the Canadian Journal of Public Health (2019) described Public Health Associations as:
- uniquely positioned to champion the public health perspective;
- representing and connecting a diverse range of roles, professions, and stakeholders involved in public health; and
- positioned for advocacy at the provincial/territorial, national, and international levels.
JOIN us
Members give the MPHA credibility, direction, authority and share their expertise and human resources. As an association, we are in a period of renewal, growth, and re-focusing. Join us and shape the direction of the MPHA.
You can find the previous AGM minutes by following this link https://manitobapha.ca/agmminutes/.
MPHA MEMBERSHIP
Annual memberships are now available for purchase directly from our website. To join our community please select the appropriate membership option. Alternatively, you can purchase a conjoint Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) and MPHA membership through CPHA. Please contact us if fees are a barrier to your participation in our community.
Help create change
This past election season we called on our members and supporters to move the health debate beyond hospitals and emergency departments towards the underlying issues that make people unhealthy. Check out that campaign to see what it was all about and watch for ways to participate in future campaigns!
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