Reimagining the Future of Child and Youth Health from the Individual to the Community

Dr. Armstrong is an emeritus professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia and Aga Khan University He is a developmental pediatrician and former Head of Pediatrics at UBC and Chief of Pediatrics, BC Children’s Hospital. He was the Foundation Dean of the Medical College, Aga Khan University in East Africa. His specialty clinical practice and academic interest is related to child disability, child health care services and population health.

Magdalena Janus, Ph.D., Sunny Hill BC Leadership Chair in Child Development, is a professor at the Department of Pediatrics and Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at UBC Vancouver, and a former Ontario Chair in Early Childhood Development at the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University. She is one of the core scientists with the WHO Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) project on measurement and indicators of development for children under three. Together with the late Dr. Dan Offord, Magdalena developed a measure of children’s developmental health at school entry, the Early Development Instrument (EDI), which is used by communities to monitor the state of early childhood development, in Canada and internationally. Magdalena’s research broadly focuses on social determinants of children’s health, with a special focus on children with neurodisabilities.

Carmen Tait (wii halayt) is a Gitxsan and Nisga'a pediatrician. She is from the Wilp of Wosim Laxha, a member of the Gisk'aast clan. Carmen is the Indigenous Health Lead for the Social Pediatrics program at BC Children's Hospital. She is passionate about partnering with Indigenous children, youth, and their families in the communities where they live to deliver the health care that is important to them, honoring the spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and social elements of health.

Dr. Shazeen Suleman is an Associate Professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine and Social Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia and BC Children's Hospital. She holds the Professorship in Pediatric Hospital Medicine. She is an international expert in caring for children with special healthcare needs who are impacted by migration and forced displacement. She uses participatory methods to co-design and test social and behavioral interventions with newcomer families to improve health outcomes in her lab, the Compass Lab.

Matt Carwana (he/him) is a general pediatrician and clinician-investigator based at BC Children’s Hospital on the unceded and stolen territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. His research interests sit at the intersection of pediatrics, public health, and health equity. Specifically, his clinical and scholarly work aims to advance health for children, youth and families impacted by the toxic drug crisis and child welfare system. Matt is the Medical Lead for the Social Pediatrics Program at BC Children's Hospital and a Clinical Associate Professor at UBC. He leads several community-based research projects, and is the Co-Lead of the Youth Overdose Prevention Research Cluster at UBC.

Sabrina Gill is the Nurse Clinician for the BCCH Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine and an Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Nursing. She brings over 20 years of experience working with the adolescent population and multidisciplinary pediatric teams. Sabrina supports adolescents with chronic illness facing psychological distress and adversities. She developed the BCCH Youth Advisory Committee, where she led youth engagement strategies and facilitated ongoing collaboration between young people and healthcare. The committee guides healthcare professionals in creating inclusive, youth-friendly spaces and responsive care.

Having worked at community health centres for 20+ years, Dr. Li has seen how cultivating the seemingly intractable upstream health determinants such as civil institutions, rights-based care, family supports can foster flourishing communities. He is currently the Providence Health Care Head of the Department of Family Medicine. He has a strong interest in building collective impact to strengthen Newcomer's health and social medicine apparatus to transition youth from pediatric to family medicine circle of care.

Christine Loock MD FRCPC DABP
UBC Developmental and Social Paediatrician focused on healthy starts and equitable transitions for children and youth facing health complexity and systemic barriers. Canadian leader in establishing Social Paediatrics programs and community-university partnerships, and co-creator of Sheway and RICHER with public health and nursing leaders. Over 40 years teaching and mentoring health professionals while advancing Indigenous self-determination and advocacy for women's, girls', and family well-being.

Jerry Nussbaum is President of the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada, an organization which promotes Dr. Janusz Korczak’s legacy through educational programs, publications, lectures, and international collaboration. He is closely involved in developing and carrying out the Association’s initiatives and works with child advocates and Korczakians worldwide. His main goal is to promote children’s well-being, dignity and fundamental rights in Canada, guided by Korczak’s educational philosophy, integrating his holistic interdisciplinary vision into programs and approaches that meet the children’s rights challenges of the current moment.