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.
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 5, 2025, the following members were elected to the MPHA Board for the 2025/26 year.

Uyiosa Chukwuka has a Master’s in public health from Western Illinois University, USA. She also holds a MA in Peacebuilding and Collaborative Development from Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, and an MBA from National Open University of Nigeria. She has passionately worked in the public health sector for over twenty years. She has majorly worked with women and kids and is an advocate for building the health of a community. Uyiosa finds happiness in playing with her family.

From her humble beginnings as a Public Health Nurse working with Winnipeg’s inner-city communities, to Program and Policy development with the Manitoba government and finally Program Management in the Winnipeg Health Region (plus a few other gigs in between), Darlene’s 35 year career has afforded her a breadth and depth of public health knowledge and experience. Social justice and health equity are nestled deeply in Darlene’s heart along side her love of family, gardening, her bike, and more recently fermented foods!

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.


Oluwanifemi is a dedicated health educator with a strong background in community health promotion and communicable disease management. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Studies, with a focus on health promotion and education. Her work emphasizes the importance of addressing social determinants of health and fostering equitable access to healthcare resources. She has worked extensively to improve health outcomes among diverse populations.

Margaret Fast is a retired public health physician with several decades of experience in public health and healthcare. She has a specific interest in child health and infectious diseases. Margaret looks forward to being part of MPHA’s advocacy work, focusing on being strategic and opportunistic about the question: What matters most now? Margaret enjoys travel and writing and dabbles in genealogy.

Sande Harlos is a retired public health physician who served the Winnipeg public for over 25 years working in a variety of public health areas. She is most passionate about promoting health equity and climate justice. As a white, older, female settler she is eager to participate in uncomfortable conversations to become a better ally to structurally oppressed groups. She is a delighted grandmother and happiest when outside with family.

Margaret Haworth-Brockman is the Senior Program Manager at the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases, which provides knowledge brokering on infectious diseases for public health. She has more than 25 years of experience in knowledge translation, research and policy development related to population health, public health, and health services. She was the Executive Director at Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence and before that was the first Registrar at the College of Midwives of Manitoba. She is co-investigator on several CIHR grants aimed at improving public health planning and care for populations that are not served by the current systems. Her work has included numerous projects in Canada and internationally on sex- and gender-based analysis, gender and health indicators, HIV/AIDS, and health equity.
Margaret is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Winnipeg.

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.

Aynslie has a PhD in Community Health Sciences. At the University of Winnipeg, she coordinates the Certificate in Applied Psychology (CiAP) program and teaches several courses. She also supports community organizations and academics with their research and evaluation needs. She is passionate about housing and homelessness related issues.


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.

Julianne Sanguins practiced for many years with indigenous peoples and communities, most recently for almost 20 years in the Health and Wellness Department at the Manitoba Métis Federation. She holds a nil appointment as an Assistant Professor in the University of Manitoba’s Department of Community Health Sciences and is an Adjunct Scientist with the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. Having graduated from the University of Toronto 40 years ago with her BScN., Julianne is an RN and holds a PhD (Nursing) which she obtained from the University of Calgary. 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 on people’s lives.

Joanna is 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.
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.
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