Everybody Hates Me: Let's Talk About Stigma

Professor Voisin has served as Dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work since 2019 . He holds the Sandra Rotman Chair in Social Work. Prior to his appointment at the University of Toronto, he was Professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago for two decades where he was a Faculty Affiliate at the Center for the Study of Race, Culture, and Politics...

Dr. Kaitlin Schwan is Lead Researcher for the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing, and Director of Research for The Shift . Kaitlin teaches social policy at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Social Work, where she is appointed Assistant Professor, Status Only. She is also a Senior Researcher at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (York University). Since completing her PhD in S...

Dr. Gillian Einstein is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto where she leads the Einstein Lab on Cognitive Neuroscience, Gender & Health . She is also the Founder of the Collaborative Specialization in Women’s Health at the University of Toronto, The Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair of Women’s Brain Health and Aging , and Guest Professor of Neuroscience and G...

Dr. Ramona Alaggia is a Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto where she is deeply engaged in examining gender based violence issues from the standpoint of survivors of child sexual abuse, sexual violence and intimate partner violence. She is an international speaker and her research contributes to developing anti-discriminatory policies and practices for p...

Dr. Nadine Nakamura is a Professor of Psychology at the University of LaVerne and a licensed psychologist. She is committed to understanding the unique needs of multiple minorities, LGBT immigrants and asylum seekers, as well as LGBT international issues. Dr. Nakamura co-edited a book recently, alongside myself, published by the American Psychological Association on LGBTQ Mental Health: Internatio...

Dr. Stefan Baral is a physician epidemiologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) . He is the Key Populations Program Director at the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at JHSPH. Stefan has also been involved in HIV epidemiology, prevention, and implementation research focused on the epidemiology, human...

Dr. Alex Abramovich is an Independent Scientist with the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research at CAMH . He is an internationally recognized leader in the area of LGBTQ2S youth homelessness. Learn more about Alex's work here and read some of his work here . We talk about the role of stigma in contributing to homelessness and mental health challenges among LGBTQ2S youth. Alex discusses t...

Yasmeen Persad is a trans activist who has been providing education and training around LGBT related issues for the past 10 years. Her experience ranges from working with trans youth, women living with HIV, sex workers and many diverse populations. She provides training to service providers around Trans community inclusion and support. Yasmeen has presented at many conferences across North America...

Tonia Poteat, PhD, PA-C, MPH, is Assistant Professor of Social Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as core faculty in the UNC Center for Health Equity Research. Dr. Poteat’s research, teaching, and practice have focused on HIV and LGBT health disparities with particular attention to the health and well-being of transgender communities. Find more about Dr. Poteat here   And find more of her work h...

Dr. Travis Salway is a social worker and social epidemiologist who tries to understand how and why queer people experience higher rates of mental distress (including suicide and anxiety) as compared with heterosexual people. He is an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, where he is supported by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. He works in collaboratio...

Dr. Notisha Massaquoi is a highly respected expert in designing programs and services which aim to increase access to primary healthcare for racialized communities. During her lengthy career she has facilitated the development of several health organizations for Black communities in Canada including Africans in Partnership Against AIDS and the African Resource Centre. She is the Principal Consulta...

Dr. Anne Stangl is a social and behavioral scientist and President of Hera Solutions, an independent firm providing research and advisory services to organizations, companies and governments to strengthen health equity. Anne is also Associate Faculty with the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has 18 years of international public health e...

Dr. Rosemary Morgan is an Assistant Scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of International Health, with a joint position in the School of Nursing. She has expertise in gender, gender analysis, and intersectionality. She currently leads the Sex and Gender Analysis Core for the NIH funded Sex and Age Differences in Immunity to Influenza (SADII) Center. In add...

Muluba Habanyama is an experienced communications specialist who was born with HIV. She has written for Flare magazine, Huffington Post and more. She works with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) as a Social Media Specialist and is a Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) Youth Ambassador. She also works with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) HIV Clinical Trials Netwo...

Bergen Cooper, M.P.H., is the Director of Policy Research at the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE). She develops and evaluates research and builds CHANGE’s institutional knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights. She leads forums, webinars, and workshops for global health advocates that focus on translating research into policy. Bergen also works with the World Health Organ...

Prof. LaRon E. Nelson is the Independence Foundation Associate Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean of Global Health & Equity at Yale University. He serves on the Yale Institute of Global Health’s Leadership Advisory Committee. Dr. Nelson is also a scientist with MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. He is the inau...

Dr. Alexander McClelland is a sociolegal researcher and Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Ottawa in the Department of Criminology. He is currently examining issues of confidentiality for research with criminalized people. His work focuses on the intersections of life, law and disease, where he has developed a range of collaborative and interdisciplinary writing, academic, activist,...

The inaugural episode involves an interview with Dr. Valerie Earnshaw, Assistant Professor at Delaware University's College of Education and Human Development. She is world renowned stigma researcher focused on understanding and addressing associations between stigma and health inequities across the lifespan. Dr. Earnshaw's work has looked at many kinds of stigma--from HIV, to Ebola, to...

Dr. Charmaine Williams is a Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. She is also Vice-Dean, Students, School of Graduate Studies. Her research bridges practice and access and equity issues that affect various populations including racial minority women, LGBTQ individuals in local and international contexts, and individuals and families affected by serious an...