About Me
...a being ever becoming
Life-long learning and networking are at my core. Tenacity and focus aid the achievement of my goals. I approach my work with practicality, open-mindedness, and with a growth mindset. Take a tour of my portfolio and connect if you have questions or just want to have a conversation.
I graduated with a Bachelors of Health Sciences Honours from the University of Calgary in 2019. My research background was predominantly in wet lab biomedical science research. However, in my undergraduate journey, I developed a stronger interest in health systems research, innovation, and health solutions implementation. With this interest came a critical pivot point in my career journey. I began participating actively in innovation events through innovation4health (i4h), and Techstars. My initial exposure to innovation was quite rewarding. My interest in health systems optimization was immensely reinforced. Our team emerged winners of the i4h health hack competition and went on to further develop solutions to emergency care delivery. I seized more opportunities involving innovation in following years.
My exposure to these innovation events fuelled my desire to be involved in health systems optimization. I enrolled in the Masters of Health Studies (MHS) program through Athabasca University because this program equips me with the needed knowledge and experience for achieving my long-term career goal to be involved in health systems optimization through research and implementation. My journey so far has narrowed down my health research interest to mental health systems and emergency health care delivery. However, I like to keep an open mind regarding where the MHS path will lead.
I currently work as a community disability practitioner supporting and implementing initiatives for persons with developmental disabilities. My profession is not unionized or centrally regulated. However, some organizations that hold me accountable include my organization, the Alberta Council of Disability Services, Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD), the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT), Alberta Health Services, to mention but a few. I interact with multiple professions in my line of work including social workers, addictions counsellors, psychologists, police officers, lawyers, judges, PDD case workers, nurses, and so on. The profile of individuals on my caseload influences the professions I interact with more frequently. Most of my interactions with these listed professions typically involves meetings and discussions advocating for individuals with developmental disabilities assigned to my caseload. Pre-Covid-19, most of these interactions happened in person. Recently, these interactions have been over zoom meetings, phone calls, messenger, and emails. Check out some relevant organizations influencing my role as a community disability practitioner.