Our Research Team

Noah Adams

Noah lives and works in Toronto and the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunne, and Wendat peoples. He is a researcher, advocate, and student at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, where he is completing a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development. Noah’s PhD work expands on a recently published book (Trans and Autistic: Stories from Life at the Intersection) and explores the development of transgender/autistic community groups. Noah works with the City of Toronto’s shelter system providing support to homeless seniors and mothers and families. He also volunteers extensively and is currently working with the Transgender Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Greta Bauer, PhD, MPH

Principal Investigator, Steering Committee Member

Greta is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. Her research interests are in social marginalization and the broader health of sexual and gender minority communities, and in quantitative research methodology for studying communities that experience marginalization. Greta has served as an academic lead for the Ontario-based Trans PULSE Project and Trans Youth CAN!, a national study of medical, family and social outcomes for trans youth undergoing gender-affirming medical care. She also conducts ongoing research in how to incorporate intersectionality and multidimensionality frameworks into population health research methodology.

Dominic Beaulieu-Prévost, PhD

Dominic is a social researcher who works on the social and health inequalities of sexual and gender minorities and the factors associated with resilience. He also works on topics such as digital intimacy, victimization, and social identity and belonging. Dominic is an Associate Professor in the department of sexology at Université du Québec à Montréal. He volunteered as an active board member of the GRIP-Montréal from 2010 to 2016, a drug prevention organization using a harm-reduction approach with recreational users. His research projects are mainly quantitative and they use various methods such as population surveys, community-based studies, and clinical trials.

Drew Burchell, MA

Drew is a queer, non-binary and trans researcher from Halifax, NS. Drew obtained their Master of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier, where they co-ordinated a qualitative study on the experiences of trans individuals in Waterloo Region. Their thesis focused on non-binary individuals and their healthcare experiences. They are now a research assistant at Mount Saint Vincent University, conducting studies on LGBTQ+  and Black individuals’ experiences in STEM in Canada. They are a passionate activist and advocate for trans rights, labour rights, and mental health, among other issues.

ChrŸs Tei

ChrŸs Tei is the Executive Director of the Rainbow Health Cooperative, BC’s largest trans, Two-Spirit, non-binary community organization.  After a 40-year career as a business executive directing global, multi-disciplinary teams through a variety of multi-million-dollar projects, she now focuses on the role of gender wellness in everyone’s health care services.  She was a community representative on the 2014-15 TransHealth Steering Recommendations Committee for TransCare BC, and now the Community Lead in the Our Community Health Initiative. She is currently a member of the Trans Pulse Canada steering committee and active in several authorship groups in that project that focus on eldership, neurodiversity, and women’s health.

Siobhan Churchill, MS

Siobhan is an epidemiologist at Lambton Public Health. Siobhan completed her MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. As a student, Siobhan’s work has included community-engaged survey development, data analysis, and knowledge translation in partnership with the Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study, and the Trans Youth CAN! project. She is a recipient of CIHR’s Trainee Award for Innovative Thinking to Support LGBTQI2S Health and Wellness, and co-producer of “Out at Home”, an upcoming educational tool to support home care workers in providing person-centred care to LGBTQI2S older adults.

Sophia Ciavarella

Sophia is a queer white trans woman who lives and works on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen speaking peoples now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. She currently works at Peers Victoria Resources Society, a local peer-based grassroots organization that supports local sex workers, where she serves as the Operations Manager and runs support programs for trans, non-binary, and Two Spirit sex workers. She is also currently completing her Master of Social Work at the University of Victoria. With years of experience leading peer support programs, Sophia has dedicated her life to providing community care guided by the lived and living experiences of those she serves.

Todd Coleman, PhD

Steering Committee Member

Todd is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Prior to his starting at Wilfrid Laurier University (2017), he worked as a Public Health Epidemiologist with the Middlesex-London Health Unit in London, Ontario. His interdisciplinary approach to research has him focusing on population and community determinants of health for sexual and gender minority populations, with an emphasis on community-based research processes. Dr. Coleman’s specific research topics include access to healthcare for sexual and gender minorities, health care service delivery, chronic conditions and infectious conditions such as HIV, and other sexually-transmitted infections.

Kusha Dadui

Marcella Daye

Aaron Devor, PhD

Aaron Devor has been studying and teaching about transgender topics since the early 1980s. He established and holds the world’s first Chair in Transgender Studies; initiated and hosts the international, interdisciplinary Moving Trans History Forward conferences; and founded and is the subject matter expert for the world’s largest Transgender Archives; all at the University of Victoria, BC, Canada. He has published numerous articles, and is an author of four books and editor of another, all on transgender topics. Devor has delivered lectures to audiences around the world, including more than 35 keynote and plenary addresses. He is a 3M national-award-winning teacher, a Fellow of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, and an elected member of the International Academy of Sex Research.

Sharp Dopler

Sharp is a non-binary, niizh-manitowag person of Sauk/Fox/Cherokee and Irish ancestry. They live and work in the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people, commonly known as Ottawa. Sharp is a Helper in the Indigenous and other communities and she has been involved in community service through both employment and volunteer work. Sharp is a drummer/singer, pow wow dancer who uses ALL the prounouns in every context and he has a wicked sense of humour which is skillfully applied to put people at ease. Sharp is also a military veteran, martial artist, trained as a social service worker and has been self-employed as a consultant since early 2016.

Adrian Edgar, MD

Dr Adrian Eoin Edgar is a co-founder of the New Brunswick Transgender Health Network and Medical Director of “Clinic 554“, providing gender and sexual health care to patients from across the Maritime Provinces. He has been an advisor on transgender health to provincial health departments in New Brunswick, PEI, and Saskatchewan, and is Past-President of the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH). He is active in teaching medical learners as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at Memorial and Dalhousie Universities, and was recognized with the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s “Early Career Development Award” for his dedication to primary care for the LGBTQ2+ community in 2015. Adrian was particularly honoured to be named one of New Brunswick’s “Pride Heroes” in 2018 and excited to be a part of Trans PULSE Canada.

Tatiana Ferguson, BBA

Tatiana B Ferguson is a leader in Equity and Inclusion and a co-founder of the Black Queer Youth Collective; a grassroots group dedicated to providing opportunities and support to Black Queer and Trans individuals in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. In her private practice, Tatiana coordinates and facilitates capacity building activities for organizational and systemic change. Her work is informed by an anti-oppression framework with critical consideration to how intersections of Race, Gender, and Class interplay to create barriers for marginalized communities. Tatiana provides comprehensive training on LGBTQ+ issues through webinars, panel discussions, and lectures. As a subject matter expert on Gender Diversity and Inclusion, Tatiana has worked with several community organizations and all three levels of government to inform public policy. Notably, she spearheaded the Toronto for All campaign to raise awareness about Racism and Transphobia and consulted on the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black racism and several other health and social development service plans. Beyond her public policy and community work, Tatiana has contributed to the design and implementation of multiple community-based research projects. She was also part of the inaugural Queer and Trans Research Lab housed at the Mark S Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies where she created the TRANScending Love: Rings and Tingz. As a renowned advocate, educator, and community leader, Tatiana has made multiple television appearances to discuss her work and received numerous awards for her leadership and contributions to LGBTQ+ activism. Furthermore, Tatiana continues to provide management and administrative support to the Black Queer Youth Collective and is an active member of several committees working to advance social justice for all Canadians.

Rosalyn Forrester

Rosalyn is a queer woman of colour, a mother, a grandmother, a person living with chronic pain, an activist, an educator, and a caregiver. Rosalyn created changes in both Family Law and in Police Policy, as it pertains to people in the greater trans communities, and has spoken at conferences across Canada on the rights and needs of people from the greater trans communities. Rosalyn presently works at Embrave an agency to end violence as a Counsellor/Advocate, and at East Mississauga Community Health Centre working with people in the greater trans communities.

Fin Gareau, MSN

My name is Fin, I am a trans and Two-Spirit nurse practitioner working at a busy Indigenous health and wellness clinic in Surrey, BC, where I also provide primary care to trans community in the Fraser Health region. I am originally from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and moved to Vancouver over 20 years ago to explore BC and find community. I have been working with trans, gender diverse and questioning adults, youth, and their families for over 15 years. I have many years of experience working with people living with severe mental health and substance use problems in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side (DTES), working in in supported housing programs and on various outreach teams as a registered nurse (RN). Recognizing the need to create more accessible and inclusive health care services, I was one of the founding members of the Catherine White Holman Wellness Centre, an all-volunteer health and wellness organization for trans and gender diverse people. I strongly embrace the importance of community, social justice, harm reduction and trauma informed care and work hard to incorporate these concepts into all areas of my work. Outside of work, I love dogs, camping and chocolate! I spend as much time in nature as possible to find my peace and refuel my spirit.

Monica Ghabrial, PhD

Monica (she/her) is a postdoctoral fellow working on Trans PULSE Canada and Trans Youth CAN!. Monica obtained her MA and PhD in Psychology at the University of Toronto. In her dissertation work, Monica examined experiences of plurisexual people of Colour, developed and validated the first measure of identity affirmation for queer people of Colour (the Queer People of Color Identity Affirmation Scale), and examined the relationship between stress, identity affirmation, and cardiovascular activity/reactivity among queer and trans people of Colour. She is committed to developing strengths-based health research with queer and trans people, with a particular interest in experiences of newcomer and refugee people.

Angel Glady

Angel Glady is a queer, Tamil, Trans woman who has been a fierce advocate for queer and trans people of colour all her life. As a multi-disciplinary artist, she uses theatre as a platform to promote the greater inclusion and recognition of trans, nonbinary, and gender diverse people. Angel is co presenting workshops, she had developed for cis-people on how to be strong allies in workplace cultures.

Alisa Grigorovich

Alisa Grigorovich is an assistant scientist at KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network. By training she is an interdisciplinary health services and policy researcher who studies the role of stigma and other social factors driving health inequity in institutional and home care settings. A key focus of her research concerns the development of initiatives to improve the quality of life and quality of care for marginalized older people.

Rebecca Hammond, RN, MSc, BScN, BA(Hons)

Rebecca is a nurse and health researcher with particular expertise with diverse queer & trans communities, communities which she is also a part of. Fresh out of (her first) undergrad, she was one of the founding members of the first Trans PULSE Project (now referred to as Trans PULSE Ontario) and was on its Steering Committee for its entire duration. Rebecca is now excited to be working with Trans PULSE Canada, to produce data that is clinically and politically relevant so as to improve health and health care for trans communities across Canada. After a brief hiatus, Rebecca is also currently also looking for part-time clinical work, building on her wide body of experience in primary care, sexual health and women’s health.

Shaz Neel Islam

Shaz Islam currently works at the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP) as the CHAMPs-in-Action Project Coordinator. Prior to their roles in HIV and AIDS service work and research, Shaz taught English as a Second Language for over a decade and spent a number of years teaching in Japan. Shaz’s academic credentials include a B.A. in Political Science from the University of British Columbia and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from Humber College. Neutrois – under the nonbinary umbrella – is the word that best describes Shaz’s gender identity. Neutral or even null, genderlessness.

Randy Jackson, PhD

Randy is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at McMaster University with a joint-appointment in the Department of Health, Aging and Society. Originally from Kettle and Stony Point First Nation (Anishinaabe), Jackson explores lived experience among Indigenous peoples living with HIV and AIDS (IPHAs) using Indigenous knowledge, perspectives and values. His research has explored diverse topics, including for example, experiences of depression, resilience, and leadership. Randy is the recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) for his research work in the area of HIV among Indigenous peoples.

Kai Jacobsen

Steering Committee Member

Kai Jacobsen (they/them) is an MA Student in Sociology at Carleton University in Ottawa. They hold a BA with Honours in Sociology from the University of Victoria, where they worked closely with Dr. Aaron Devor and Dr. Nathan Lachowsky. They are interested in how normative discourses about queer and trans identities impact queer and trans people’s lives, health, and well-being. More specifically, their research areas include gender euphoria, transnormativity, improving access to gender-affirming care, and trans autistic people’s experiences of health care systems.

Fae Johnstone, MSW

Fae Johnstone (she/they) is a Principal Consultant with Wisdom2Action, and an experienced 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion educator, writer and organizer. Over her past three years with Wisdom2Action, Fae has led numerous local and national initiatives focused on 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion, combating gender-based violence and strengthening mental health services. As a trans educator and activist, Fae has trained thousands of service providers on 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion, and supported community organizing efforts related to trans rights, ending slut-shaming, improving sex-ed for Ontario students, and more. Outside of work, Fae can be found drinking too much coffee, hanging out with her 4 ferrets, or causing problems on Twitter @FaeJohnstone. 

Moomtaz Khatoon

Steering Committee Member

Moomtaz is a non-binary, South Asian Muslim born in Tanzania. They live and work in the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples – specifically the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations, commonly known as Vancouver. They are a therapeutic counsellor working in public health with the South Asian Health Institute (SAHI) with Fraser Health Authority and coordinate Salaam Queer Muslim Community in the Vancouver region.

Tony Kourie, MIS

Nathan Lachowsky, PhD

Nathan is a social and behavioural epidemiologist who conducts community-based research on health equity and HIV/AIDS. He is an Assistant Professor and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar in the School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria. He is also the Research Director for the national Community-Based Research Centre. He conducts interdisciplinary research within a social justice framework in order to achieve health equity for marginalized communities. Nathan is a cisgender gay man who has volunteered with HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ community organizations for over a decade, and he currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Health Initiative for Men.

Eva Legare-Tremblay

Eva Legare-Tremblay is deeply honoured to be a part of Trans PULSE Canada, both as someone with a trans identity, and someone who is passionate about trans, non-binary, and two-spirit health and research. Her home is in Calgary, Mohkinstsis, Treaty 7 Land, Metis Region 3.  Eva has finished a bachelor of nursing program and is now a registered nurse. Her work and passion in the community includes educating healthcare providers on trans and non-binary healthcare, as well as promoting the health and wellness of people with trans, non-binary, and two-spirit identities.  Eva loves her queer community and hopes to do more advocacy and capacity building soon!

Reann Legge

My name is Reann Legge and I use the pronouns she/her. After spending many years in denial about my gender, gender identity, and sexuality I came out to the prof who taught the psychology of human sexualities class I took in 2012. The movie A Soldiers Girl was shown and it helped me see Trans folk as more than porn fetishizes, had I known at the time that it was a cis man playing the role of Calpernia Addams I would have just been broken. Struggling for another year I finally came out to stay out in 2014. As an activist I became involved with the Saskatchewan Trans Health Coalition, were I found out about Trans PULSE Canada, I hope that it is obvious that I am loud and proud about my flavour of queer and that I try my hardest to help others in the Trans community.

Bridget Liang

Bridget Liang is a mixed race, queer, transfeminine, neurodiverse, disabled, fat fangirl. They’re a PhD candidate in the Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies Program at York University, a community researcher, workshop and group facilitator, performance artist, and fiction writer. Their research revolves around the intersection of autistic trans people and/or racialized autistics.

Carol Lopez Ricote, MSW

Carol is Trans PULSE Canada’s project coordinator at Western University, and a MSW graduate from McMaster University. As a student, Carol’s work focused on judicial, structural, and gender-based violence against women living with HIV in Canada and was a recipient of SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship Masters Level. Carol is passionate about community-based research and knowledge mobilization and exchange.

Carlie Lukasik

Carlie Lukasik is the Research Assistant for the Indigenous Leadership Group. Carlie is an undergraduate student at McMaster University working towards obtaining her honours degree in Health & Society with a specialization in Mental Health and Addiction. Carlie was awarded McMaster University’s Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) to complete her research on the mental health impacts of sex trafficking across Canada. Her studies focus primarily on providing accessible mental health services to Canadians, especially for Canada’s Indigenous population. Carlie hopes to become a physician in the near future and open a medical practice that offers inclusive and accessible mental health care for all.

Lux Li, PhD

Steering Committee Member

Lux (he/him) is a researcher and student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. His research interests include transgender and non-binary health, gender euphoria, neurodiversity, social determinants of health, quantitative research methodology for studying mental health, and Bayesian statistics. Before joining Trans PULSE Canada, Lux was an experimental psychologist. He obtained his PhD in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster University and then worked as a postdoc at the University of Hamburg, studying human sensory perception. A career goal of Lux is to combine science, statistics, and community-engaged research to improve the health and well-being of marginalized populations, especially trans, non-binary, and neurodivergent communities. He aspires to work with community partners to generate data-driven insight that is not only scientifically rigorous but also truly relevant and beneficial to the very communities affected.

Renée Masching, MSW

Renée is a First Nation woman from Southern Ontario and presently the Director of Research and Policy with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network. She has dedicated her professional energies to Indigenous health and earned her Master in Social Work degree in 2003. She has contributed to Indigenous HIV/AIDS work with dedication and determination from 1995. Renée’s research interests focus on community-based research frameworks, Indigenous knowledge and community health with an emphasis on HIV and AIDS.

Renu

Renu (they/them) is a Queer South Asian living in Winnipeg, Treaty One territory. Renu is founder of the Two Spirit, Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (2sQTBIPOC) library project, organizer and performer with GenderPlay Cabaret and a contributor to local Queer People of Colour (QPOC) initiatives. Renu is working in Manitoba’s health care system while pursuing their bachelor’s degree for Social Work through the University of Manitoba’s Inner City Social Work Program. Although not keen about operating within the confines of an academic system that was not made for them, they intend to use this degree as a means to increase clout for their work in patient advocacy and challenging detrimental institutional policy that mainly affects the most marginalized and ignored peoples. Renu is dedicated to navigating, creating and utilizing more inclusive and safer spaces that celebrate 2sQTBIPOC identities and growth as a community.

Connie Merasty

Connie Merasty is a two spirited woman from Opaskwayak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba. Connie is currently pursuing a teaching certificate to teach the Cree language. In the past few years, Connie has worked on several documentaries based on the history of two spirit people on Turtle Island. Connie has volunteered on many boards including Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, Two Spirit People of Manitoba and Like That with Sunshine House in Winnipeg. Connie is a trained actor and drag performer and has performed in live theatre productions, and is a sometimes writer.

Milo

Kelendria Nation

Kelendria is a Black woman of Trans experience of Caribbean descent who uses her perspective and unique experience to bring awareness to the various issues surrounding trans people; especially trans women of colour. She has dedicated herself to using her voice to impact change and bridge understanding across all communities. Through her work in community space through advocacy, she strives to allow folks to see that Trans, Non binary, and 2spirit identified folks because of their multiple intersections are often times left out in conversations. With collaboration and standing in solidarity with other community members she has been given the tools of being able to communicate her experience which has allowed her to tell her own story in her own voice. It is her hope that in time there will be more opportunities to empower other BIMPOC identified folks in the same which she has been.

Jose Navarro

Jose is an undergraduate student at Western University in the Medical Sciences program. He is interested in both population health and clinical science, particularly with consideration of the experiences of marginalized communities. Outside of work, Jose spends his time singing in the a cappella scene at Western.

Peetanacoot Nenakawekapo

Peetanacoot Nenakawekapo (Winnie Sunshine) is an Indigenous Two-Spirit Trans woman from Skownan, MB. She works with diverse populations including 2SLGBTQI community in Winnipeg, She’s an Indigenous Cultural Support Worker, she is recognized as an Elder in the community. When she’s asked do Indigenous ceremonies she is honored to do it. Peetanacoot is dedicated and supports the HIV/AIDS movement. She advocates for anyone who needs it. Peetanacoot also sits on other boards and committees. She does everything wholeheartedly in a Good way.

Naja

Yasmeen Persad

Yasmeen Persad works at The 519 as an Education and Training Facilitator, delivering training on access for LGBTQS people. She is also a Research Coordinator at Women’s College Hospital working with the Trans Women HIV Research Initiative.

Nik Redman

Steering Committee Member

Nik Redman is a dad to a wonderful almost 10-year-old. As an artist and activist he has found and embraced many communities in Toronto. He is proud of his Bajan roots and is a black queer trans man. Nik was one of the creators of “Primed: A Back Pocket Guide for Trans Guys and the Guys Who Dig ‘Em”. Nik has been co-investigator for the Trans MSM project and the Trans PULSE Ontario Project, a community-based research (CBR) project within Ontario’s Trans Community. Nik was one of the online facilitators for the province-wide HIV/AIDS-themed Stigma campaign. He currently works as a Grievance Officer with Local 1998 United Steelworkers Union who represent staff at the University of Toronto. In addition, Nik is a programmer for the Inside Out LGBTQ Film and Video Festival. As a member of Blackness Yes! he has been instrumental in programming Blockorama, the longest-running stage at Pride Toronto. He was a founding member of the Transparent-cy Working Group at The 519 Community Centre that helped to initiate the Trans-Fathers 2B course- the first course for trans men considering parenting in North America. He is also an award-winning DJ and writer.

Leo Rutherford

Steering Committee Member

Leo Rutherford is a queer, trans activist, scholar, and artist. He is a PhD student at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. He is a recipient of one of the B.C. SUPPORT Unit Patient-Oriented Research fellowships. His interests include transgender health, sexual health, sexuality studies, gender-affirming health care, and transgender surgical interventions. Leo’s dissertation will be focused on trans men’s sexual health after gender-affirming genital surgery, which he hopes will provide much-needed information to the trans community.

Maura

Jack Saddleback

Jack Saddleback is a Cree, Two-Spirit, transgender, gay man from the Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis, Alberta. As the Co-Interim Executive Director with OUTSaskatoon and the Board Co-Chair with 2 Spirits in Motion Society, he works closely within the Queer community and the Indigenous community to address reconciliation and decolonization work that incorporates an intersectional lens. Mr. Saddleback has sat on the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Youth Council as the Saskatchewan representative, a role he held for six years. Along with his fellow council members, Mr. Saddleback has lobbied political figures, policy makers, and community members alike to bring youth mental health to the forefront. On top of his mental health activism, he also advocates for Indigenous engagement, gender and sexual diversity issues, Two-Spirit issues, sexual health, and HIV & AIDS awareness. As the former President for the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU), Mr. Saddleback was the third Aboriginal person and the first transgender person to hold the role. As the recipient of numerous awards, most recently being the 2018 SK Young Humanitarian of the Year from Red Cross, Mr. Saddleback brings a number of marginalized voices to the forefront.

Heather Santos

Heather is a Master of Public Health student at Drexel University studying epidemiology. She hopes to pursue her PhD in epidemiology upon completion of her master’s degree. Before graduate school, Heather received her BS in physics, and worked in infectious disease modeling of measles at Penn State. Heather aspires to continue research in the realm of mental health and psychiatric epidemiology.

Ayden Scheim, PhD

Principal Investigator, Steering Committee Member

Ayden is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Drexel University (Philadelphia), and an Affiliate Scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital (Toronto). Ayden conducts community-engaged research with trans communities, people who use drugs, and other marginalized populations in Canada and internationally. His research is informed by academic training in social epidemiology and 17 years working within trans communities.

j wallace skelton

j wallace skelton in a Ph.D. candidate at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and part of collaboratives in Sexual Diversity Studies and Woman and Gender Studies. j’s work for over 15 years has been in schools increasing the support and possibilities for 2SLGBTQ people. Based in a commitment that research needs to engage the people most impacted, j’s research celebrates what young learners would like education to be like to meet the needs of 2SLGBTQ children and families. j’s also one of the creators of Flamingo Rampant, a writer, and a parent. j’s white, queer, trans, and Jewish and committed to working with individuals and communities in coalition, and engaging in acts of allyship.

Skylar

Skylar is a non-binary, queer, community organizer, activist, researcher, and an aspiring digital storyteller. They are currently working as a graduate student in Family Relations and Human Development program at the University of Guelph. Skylar’s research is dedicated to understanding the experiences of trans and non-binary people navigating the healthcare system in Canada. They are passionately driven by the lack of resources and support for those who experience ongoing systemic violence and harm. Through the intersectionality framework, Skylar is finding ways to do meaningful community-based research that would help us move forward in creating transformative changes.

Meghan Smith, MSc

Meghan is a methodologist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and was previously the data analyst for Trans PULSE Canada. In her MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University, Meghan’s research focused on social determinants of psychiatric hospitalization and readmissions using Canadian linked survey and administrative data. She is passionate about working towards better collection of social measures within current health systems to further explore social determinants of health and their intersections.

Julie Temple, PhD

Julie Temple (she/her) is a cis queer researcher, advocate, and single parent of three in St. John’s, Ktaqmkuk (island of Newfoundland). She is a director of Trans Support NL and runs a peer support group for parents of trans, Two-spirit, and gender diverse children, youth, and adults.

Sara Todorovic, BSc

Sara Todorovic is a second year Master’s student in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department at Western University. She completed her undergraduate degree in Medical Sciences at Brock University. Some of her research interests include marginalized populations, social determinants of health and mental health. Sara is also very passionate about health equity and global health. As a student at Western University, she has also been working as a research assistant on the Trans Youth CAN! project. 

Tran Minh Gioi, MD, MPH

Tran Minh Gioi is a PhD student in Social Dimensions of Health at University of Victoria. He has many years working in the HIV/STI field and is experienced in working with people living with HIV, sex workers, people who use drugs, and sexual minority groups. He was co-founder and coordinated the MSM working group in Vietnam for the first two years after its establishment in 2005. He worked as the founding director of the Center for Community Health Promotion (a local NGO in Vietnam) from 2006 to 2018, before he started studying at Western University. His primary research interests are in HIV and drug related issues, community health, and disadvantaged populations.

Robb Travers, PhD

Dr. Robb Travers is an interdisciplinary social scientist with degrees in psychology and public health sciences.  Robb is a Professor of Health Sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University.  He maintains an active community-based research program that investigates the impact of discrimination/marginalization on health and well-being of gender and sexual minorities.  He is an advocate for community-based research approaches as a tool of community empowerment and social change.

Caleb Valorozo-Jones

Project Coordinator

Caleb is an inclusive designer / researcher, and accidental rubber duck collector. Caleb has a Master of Design degree in Inclusive Design from OCADU and completed his Major Research Project on the affordances of Dungeons & Dragons for neurodivergent adults. His research interests include 2SLGBTQ+ studies, Disability and Autism studies, and accessibility. An aspiring lifelong learner, he strives to further research accessibility—not only in terms of assistive technologies and open access to research results, but also how research products are written and shared with communities. Caleb avidly believes in community-based research, and community ownership and translation of research, so he is an eager member of the Trans PULSE Canada team.

Jaimie Veale, PhD

Jaimie is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Her research focuses on social determinants of health and wellbeing of trans people. Jaimie is an Associate Editor of International Journal of Transgenderism and is on the Global Board of Directors of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Jaimie is also the Principal Investigator of Counting Ourselves – the Aotearoa New Zealand Trans and Non-binary Health Survey. She lived in Canada from 2012-2016 where she worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow on the 2014 Canadian Trans Youth Health Survey and she is also a Co-Investigator of the 2018 version of the survey.

Jelena Vermilion

Jelena Vermilion (she/her) is a trans-femme full-service sex worker, porn performer, and activist of almost a decade, who lives with disabilities; she is the Executive Director of SWAP Hamilton and the Co-Chair of SWAN Waterloo. As of March 30, 2021, both groups have joined 23 other (sex worker’s rights) member groups from all over Canada along with the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform — to launch another Charter Challenge to the majority of the sex work laws (Bill C-36) currently in place. Jelena advocates for the decriminalization of sex work, and provides professional trainings and public speaking engagements for organizations and agencies who wish to affirm the rights and dignity of sex workers. Notably, Jelena has spoken at McMaster University’s School of Labour Studies and the University of Guelph’s School of Social Work. In 2018, she was subpoenaed as an expert witness in the R v. Boodhoo case, a Constitutional Challenge to certain sex work laws in Canada.

Jordan Zaitzow

Jordan Zaitzow is an Ashkenazi Jewish settler, queer, trans, an educator, facilitator, and a parent. Their experiences include supporting community health teams across Ontario to offer respectful and informed services to 2 spirit, trans, and gender diverse people, in their own communities. They connected hundreds of clinicians through mentorship opportunities, where they regularly talked together and got clinical support from each other around how to offer gender-inclusive care in a way that recognizes the dignity of trans people. Jordan also co-hosted the TransForming Rounds Podcast, a CIHR-funded project looking at topical trans health issues from intersectional, clinical, and community perspectives, featuring a wealth of community voices and knowledge from across Canada. Jordan has been working in and for trans communities for over 12 years.