Rx: Advocacy

Dr. Maya Goldenberg, Associate Professor in the University of Guelph's Department of Philosophy, speaks to us about pre-pandemic and pandemic factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy.

Dr. Beyhan Farhadi is a secondary school teacher in the Toronto District School Board and is 2020/2021 postdoctoral researcher at York University. She has expertise in virtual learning and education policy & politics.

Kelly Iggers is an elementary school teacher and education advocate in Toronto.

Birgit Umaigba lived in a shelter, pregnant, when she arrived in Canada. Now she is an ICU nurse in Durham, Ontario, preparing to start a PhD. She talks to us about the toll of the pandemic and precarious employment on the mental health of healthcare “heroes.”

We’ve spoken at length about the importance of standing up against sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism. For International Women’s Day 2021, we speak with Fae Johnstone about trans women’s experiences of gender-based discrimination.

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We speak about how the pandemic is affecting the mental health of nurses, how we stand up to silencing and bullying in the healthcare profession, and the need for doctors and nurses to work together.

In our first episode of 2021, Ariel and Nili talk about widespread issues with Covid-19 vaccine rollout, healthcare worker and educator exhaustion, the latest provincial lockdown measures, and the global need for community advocacy.

Amanda Jetté Knox is a vocal advocate for LGTBQ+ rights and mental health. She's the author of the bestselling memoir "Love Lives Here."

Zena Sharman, PhD, is a writer, speaker, strategist, and LGTBQ+ health advocate. She's the editor of the award-winning anthology "The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care" and is currently the Director of Strategy for the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research in British Columbia.

Dr. Jessi Gold is a psychiatrist and an Assistant Professor at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. She's the Director of Wellness, Engagement, and Outreach for the Department of Psychiatry in the university's School of Medicine. She writes frequently about mental health and stigma for publications including Forbes, Time, Newsweek, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.