Public Health Association of BC
Board of Directors
2024-2025
Executive Members
Dr. Theresa Healy, PhD
President
Dr. Theresa Healy is an Assistant Professor with the School of Planning and Sustainability at the University of Northern BC. She also holds an appointment as Senior Lecturer. Currently, she is a co-lead on “Nature for all: A Barrier free Canada through Standards Based Practice” with Dr. Mark Groulx at UNBC and Nancy Harris of Spinal cord Injury of BC. She is also co lead on Lead “Rural Consultations on Rural Health” with Dr. Mark Harrison and Dr. Magda Aguilar from UBC. Her research and work interests include community development and capacity building, participatory and action research, facilitating community driven initiatives and designing workshops and other learning modules for community members and organizations. Her past research projects have utilized these skills and interests in the subject areas of HIV/AIDS; Youth and Sexual Health, Homelessness and sexually exploited youth and Marginalized Populations and Health Care Services, food security, and disability studies. She was a Co-Principal Investigator on the Men’s Healthy Eating and Active Living (M-HEAL) project, a member of the UBC Youth Sexual Health team under Dr. Jeannie Shoveller, and an advisor to the Prince George New Hope Society providing services to street involved girls and women. She has also worked for 10 years as a founding staff member of Northern Health’s Population Health program, including 4 years with the Indigenous health program.
Juan Solorzano, MSc
Past President
Born and raised in one of the largest metropolises in the world, in 2001 Juan decided to extend his two week holiday for an exciting nineteen-year love affair with Vancouver and its mountains.
Juan is the Executive Director, Population Health, responsible for the regional Population Health and a representative of VCH at provincial population health tables (www.vch.ca/pophealth). In this position, he oversees the public health surveillance, healthy public policy and health promotion teams. Juan is also a national and international surveyor with Accreditation Canada and has previously served as vice-president of PHABC.
He is a specialist in health planning and administration, evaluation and continuous quality improvement. With a solid background in medicine and planning, he brings together key specialized clinical and strategic planning skills, including program design, program management, research and evaluation, change management, physician, staff & community engagement, communications, facilitation, and partnership building. He has a solid experience working in population health promotion, as well as community and acute care settings.
Juan has a demonstrated ability to engage a variety of stakeholders in public consultation processes and participatory system design. he has proven expertise in community-based strategies, such as community-capacity building with vulnerable and at-risk groups, and specializes in working in intercultural and interdisciplinary settings. Juan’s contribution enhances the sustainability of quality improvement initiatives by building strategic alliances with key stakeholders, related organizations and funding agencies. He has strong management, research and networking skills, allowing him to develop successful, broadly supported programs. He has experienced working with physicians and clinical staff in primary care, community and acute settings, as well as community partners.
His educational background includes clinical training in medical school (Faculty of Medicine, UNAM), a baccalaureate in Geography (University of British Columbia) and a Masters in Science Planning (School of Community and Regional Planning, UBC). Juan is also certified in LEAN Six Sigma Green Belt and Cornell University’s High Performance Leadership.
Ihoghosa (Muyi) Iyamu, MD, MDICHA, PhD
Vice President
Muyi is an implementation scientist and health services researcher training and working with the Digital and Sexual Health Initiative (DISHI) of the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. Over the past 5 years, he has supported BCCDC’s clinical prevention services team to adapt the design and implementation of their digital interventions to promote equitable access to health services through GetCheckedOnline and SmartSexResource. He has led work to define the scope of digital public health, served on two digital public health strategy working groups within BC and leads research to understand digital competencies needed to support the public health workforce in contemporary practice.
Muyi received a doctorate in Medicine (MBBS – MD equivalent) from the University of Benin in Nigeria, a master’s in international cooperation and Humanitarian Aid from the HASC Proyecto Kalu in Spain and a PhD in population and public health from UBC. Over the past 12 years has worked in multiple clinical, non-governmental and research organizations focused on public health. These include FHI 360 (Family Health International), Achieving Health Nigeria Initiative (AHNI) and the Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes. Notably, he has led digital public health interventions seeking to empower people and communities to access health services and optimize their health outcomes. He co-authored the HIV surge strategy implemented in Akwa-Ibom Nigeria to improve access to HIV testing services, meeting global goals for HIV/AIDS control in local communities in southern Nigeria. He contributes to the developmental evaluation of long-term care initiatives including the transformation of Providence Living at The Views – Canada’s first public, non-profit long-term care village which is inspired by the dementia village concept.
Believing in the power of applied research, Muyi has authored over 40 peer-reviewed articles in notable scientific journals, 3 book chapters exploring various perspectives on public health and continues to consult with organizations around the world that are improving public health outcomes through digital interventions. He serves as associate editor for Biomed Central’s public health journal. Muyi is a member of the Global Burden of Disease Collaborator Network, the Pan African Research Consortium and the West Africa Network of Emerging Leaders for Health Policy and Systems research. He has received multiple awards including the Frederick Banting and Charles Best Doctoral Award, the Bill Meekison Memorial Scholarship in Public Health, the CIHR Canadian Trials Network Postdoctoral Fellowship Award and the CIHR Fellowship Award. More than anything, Muyi is a proud father who enjoys the gift of family. When he is not working, Muyi enjoys cooking and thinks food is a fantastic way to explore the many beautiful cultures here in BC.
Gordon Cote, MBA
Treasurer
Originally from Nelson, British Columbia and resident of Nanaimo since 1987, Gordon provides leadership, governance, and management for a multi-service agency focusing on delivering health and counselling programs within Nanaimo and funded by the Ministry of Children and Family Development and Island Health. The agency has initiated ground-breaking programming to address substance use and homelessness while providing a reputable and high-quality service for referred children, youth and families.
Having completed an MBA in Executive Management, Gordon initiated a consulting practice using his functional skills in leadership, change management and quality assurance to assist organizational development for business and strategic planning, human resource management, change facilitation, governance and quality improvement. His consulting work has been on a part time, project basis mainly being provided to government and non-profit organizations. As a consultant these skills and competencies have been used to assist organizations and leaders manage complex change within a systems perspective. Gordon also provides admin and program quality assurance surveys for the internationally recognized accrediting body, CARF (2005).
Heather Ouellette, MSc
Secretary
Heather has a strong passion in the areas of public health and health promotion. She has held formal and informal leadership roles in health promotion, preventive public health care, undergraduate nursing education and direct patient care services both in acute care and community settings. She has continuously upgraded my education and has a Master of Science degree in health promotion. She has completed a number of PHAC Skills Online modules to maintain up to date practice and skills. More recently, Heather has acted as a co-chair of a committee that planned and executed the first Summer of Wellness public health campaign, including writing blog posts for our public web site. She is taking the lead on evaluation of the campaign.
In the past, Heather used a population health promotion framework and community development perspective to plan, coordinate, participate in and evaluate a community screening project for preschoolers in collaboration with an Intersectoral group of professionals. As a university instructor in a nursing program, she endeavored to always include information about the determinants of health, their impacts on health, and the importance of an upstream approach to health.
She maintains up to date membership in a number of professional associations: Canadian Public Health Association, Public Health Association of BC, and Community Health Nurses Association of Canada. These memberships enable her to maintain current awareness of public health literature and evidence-informed practices as they pertain to her professional roles.
Heather is a long-time citizen of the North and is dedicated to improving the health of northern citizens. She is committed to leading by example by engaging in 30-60 minutes of daily physical activity – in her spare time Heather can be found outside in her garden, running the local trails with friends and cross-country skiing.
Directors-at-Large
Dr. Gord Miller, BSPE, MA, PhD
Gord is an Adjunct Professor within School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria. He was a former Research Officer and Senior Policy Analyst with the Ministry of Health, and Ministry for Children and Family Development. He has been involved in the provincial development and implementation of: Healthy Workplaces; Healthy Schools; Healthy Communities; Health Impact Assessment (HIA); Provincial Health Goals; Youth Agreements; Agreements with Youth Adults; Youth Safe House Standards; Child, Family and Community Services Act; and, Youth Policy Framework. As an international consultant, he has been involved in the country-wide development and evaluation of “Healthy Schools Initiatives” and “Health Impact Assessment” within Sweden, Australia, and the Bahamas. Gord is founding chair of the “Community Youth Development Coalition of British Columbia”.
He received an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. from the University of Victoria, and is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Research Fellow. His research centers on understanding how programs, institutions, and communities affect children and youth health, well-being and development. Gord is the principal investigator and co-researcher for Surrey’s Community Youth Mapping Research Project; SD 62’s Staying in School Research Project; and, the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s Youth Engagement Project.
He is actively involved in teaching both undergraduate and graduate level courses and is the recipient of the 2013 Faculty of Human and Social Development Teaching Excellence Award, UVic. Gord is also a recipient of the 2014 ‘Premier’s Award for Innovation’ for his work in the area of Youth Engagement and Collaborative Action Research within the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Gord works as a private consultant (Miller and Mitic Research and Evaluation Consulting) and is currently involved with the BC Observatory for Population and Public Health (BCOPPH) supporting the development of provincial and regional surveillance capacity, as well as being involved with the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development in a provincial evaluation of their long-standing Afterschool Sport/Physical Activity and Arts Initiative (ASSAI).
Scholarly & Professional Interests:
- Community Youth Development
- Youth Engagement
- School as a Setting for Health Promotion
- Intersectoral Action for Health
- Health Impact Assessment
- Policy Development
- Adolescent Health and Development
- Youth Services
- Collaborative Action Research
- Research Methodology
Lena Hozaima, BSN, MSc, CCRP
(Biography to come)
Quwam Kelani
Quwam is a dynamic and goal-oriented professional who brings a unique international perspective to his work. Originally from Nigeria, he pursued his education in Europe before relocating to Vancouver, Canada, for work, study, and leisure. His academic journey includes a bachelor’s degree in public health, a master’s degree in epidemiology, and three postgraduate diplomas in health supply chain, project management, and digital marketing.
With his diverse skill set, Quwam has several years of experience spearheading projects from inception to completion. He has collaborated with esteemed organizations such as the Global Fund, Irish Global Health Forum, Health Canada, BC Centre for Disease Control, and BC Children’s Hospital under the Provincial Health Services Authority of British Columbia, Canada, and the creative and technology industry.
Among his professional achievements, Quwam played a crucial role in managing projects under the COVID-19 Testing Innovation Projects. This included overseeing the Clinical Prevention Services Project (DBS), FNHA GeneXpert, Self-collection Sample Project, Chee Mamuk STBBI Project, and the BC PHL Self-registration Project. At the federal level, he successfully coordinated the Tox-LRN and Toxicovigilance projects, fostering collaboration across sectors and jurisdictions in Canada to facilitate the timely detection, evaluation, and intervention of health risks posed by drug and chemical exposures through leading data collection, analysis, and visualization efforts. Currently, he is managing the renovation of the Cardiology Department at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.
His professional interests include health research, health policy, community health, health promotion, and digital health technology.
Allysha Ram, MPH
Allysha lives on the traditional and unceded territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen, Qayqayt and Tsawwassen First Nations. She holds a Master of Public Health with a specialization in Indigenous and Northern Health, Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and a certificate in Digital Marketing Management.
Allysha has several years of experience working in the non-profit, health care, and social service sectors where she brings experience in research, project management, program planning and implementation, community engagement, and administration.
Allysha is a Policy Analyst at Fraser Health Authority where she leads equity-focused public health initiatives aiming to improve health outcomes of marginalized populations. Alongside this, Allysha is a Program Manager at Engaged Communities Canada Society, where she oversees the design and delivery of a variety of health and social programming supporting underserved communities using low barrier, culturally appropriate, and harm reduction approaches.
Allysha is an avid volunteer both locally and abroad, with a special interest in supporting vulnerable populations through community-based outreach projects, public health education, and mentorship. As part of PHABC’s Board of Directors, Allysha hopes to promote health equity and social justice to mobilize change advancing the positive health and well-being of communities across BC.
Want to join our board and support public health initiatives across BC? Nominations open each August for a 2-year term. Click here to see last year’s nomination form
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