Upcoming Events
Save the date!
The MPHA will host its next AGM on the evening of October 2, 2019.
More information forthcoming.
Public Health 2020
Hosted by the CPHA
April 28-30, 2020
Winnipeg, MB
Speaking out
Advocacy is at the core of our mission. On September 1, 2020 the MPHA sent a letter to Premier Pallister expressing our concern about the request for proposals (RFP) to provide COVID-19 contact tracing and case investigation services for the province. The letter identifies how Manitoba public health expertise and services were under resourced prior to this pandemic and describes how it is essential that public health be sufficiently resourced to continue effectively responding to COVID-19 in Manitoba. We asked the government to reconsider outsourcing COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing services and first invest in our public health system.
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
In October 2019, to support the renewal of the Manitoba Public Health Association (MPHA), a group of dynamic public health leaders was nominated to guide the Association through a one year transition. Board member nominations for the 2019-2020 are now open and elections will be held at the October 2019 AGM.
Stephanie is a Métis woman from Winnipeg who has been a practicing Registered Nurse since 2003. Stephanie is the Program Development Officer of the Manitoba HIV Program and is working towards her Masters of Nursing with the University of Manitoba.
Hannah has a Master of Public Health from Simon Fraser University. She believes we need to work upstream and involve community members to alter the institutions, policies, and practices that cause health inequities.
Sarah has a Masters of Public Health from the University of Waterloo. She has worked in the community and in public health for 15 years in the areas of physical activity, nutrition, oral health and healthy public policy. She is passionate about closing gaps in health and addressing the systemic barriers to good health.
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.
Pat has a degree in nursing and 36 years of experience in the field of public health practice. In her retirement, Pat serves on a number of community committees and boards that serve marginalized populations.
Known to many as Grandmother Of Four Directions and Walks With Wolves. Renowned in Canada and many parts of the world as a spiritual teacher, Spirit Walker, and Healer Mary’s gentle presence has touched many lives over the past forty years helping people heal, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Jan is the Research Chair for the School of Health Sciences and Community Services at Red River College. Over her career she has held positions with the Province of Manitoba, spanning a range of progressive assignments and was previously the CEO of Healthy Child Manitoba, an integrated, evidence-driven initiative, reporting to the Healthy Child Committee of Cabinet.
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.
Sarah is a Health Policy Analyst and Advocate with a background in Communications. For the past ten years she has been working in the non-profit sector to promote policy change at all levels of government that would prevent chronic disease and keep people healthy.
Tatenda has a Master of Public Health from East Tennessee State University and Master of Development Practice focusing on Indigenous community development from the University of Winnipeg. Tatenda is a community volunteer and has served in various leadership capacities within the Black community. Tatenda is passionate about addressing racism and health inequities within the Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) community.
Pamela is a passionate Métis communicator and engagement specialist. She have worked nationwide gathering testimony for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She currently works in communications for the Canadian chapter of the largest conservation organization in the world.
Deb is an Associate Professor in Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Her work is primarily in the area of marginalized people’s experiences within the healthcare system, focussing in particular on 2SLGBTQ+ communities and fat women and/or women who have been designated as “obese.”
Clive’s 40 year career in the private, public and not-for-profit sector has primarily been in the areas of community development and finance. He was a CPA for 29 years and the Director of the City of Winnipeg’s Community Services Department for over a decade.
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.
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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