Ziauddin Yousafzai is a Pakistani educator and human rights activist known for his advocacy for girls’ education. A teacher and school administrator in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, he resisted Taliban attempts to shut down schools and encouraged his daughter Malala Yousafzai in her activism. Together, they co‑founded the Malala Fund, which works to ensure that girls worldwide have access to quality education. Yousafzai has served as a United Nations special adviser on global education and as education attaché at Pakistan’s consulate in Birmingham, United Kingdom. He continues to campaign globally for education, equality and peace.

Clare Pain MD, MSc., FRCPC., D.Sc (Hons) Addis Ababa University (AAU), Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto (UofT), and psychoanalyst. Staff psychiatrist at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto and with the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA) Team providing mental health services to the six Cree Nations on the west of James Bay. Psychiatrist for the Canadian Center for Victims of Torture for refugee mental health and with Wanasah a black youth and trauma agency in Regent Park.

She is co-founder and senior strategist of the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration (TAAAC), an educational partnership between AAU and the UofT working to strengthen educational capacity and sustainability in graduate training at AAU. In 2014 she was awarded an honorary doctorate for assisting the development of psychiatry in Ethiopia.

Her clinical focus is the assessment and treatment of individuals including refugees, who continue to suffer from the complex effects of psychological trauma. She has lectured and taught on various aspects of psychological trauma and global mental health. She has published a number of articles and three books

Dr.Apostolos Veizis is a physician and humanitarian leader who currently serves as the Εxecutive Director of INTERSOS HELLAS, a non‑governmental organization that provides relief to refugees and displaced people with the aim of providing equal opportunities and durable solutions . With more than three decades of experience in humanitarian assistance, he has held leadership roles with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and has served as Head of Mission and Medical Coordinator for MSF and Médecins du Monde across Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Russian Federation, Albania, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Turkey.and has participated in assessments, emergency assignments and evaluations in Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Zambia, Malawi, Uzbekistan, North Macedonia, Cyprus ,Jordan, Moldova, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechia, Uganda and Tajikistan. Dr. Veizis is a consultant to the World Health Organization and the International Organization for Migration, a member of governing board of the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (CCHN), Taskforce member of the Lancet Migration European Regional Hub and Advisory Team Migrant Health Dermatology Working Group (MHDWG) of the International Foundation for Dermatology member, member of the Task Force on Migration and Mental Health of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) and Permanent Expert of INTERSOS Board of Directors.

Dr. Veizis has guest lectured at many universities on topics of humanitarian aid and migration and health and presented widely on a global stage and participated in international and national medical congresses, for which he has published related scholarly articles.

Dr. Bernadette Nirmal Kumar is a physician and a leading voice in migration health. She serves as president of the Global Society on Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Health and co‑chairs the Lancet Migration project. Kumar earned her medical degree from St John’s Medical College in Bangalore and a PhD in epidemiology and public health from the University of Oslo. She has worked on programmes with UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the World Bank and Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs across Asia and Africa. As director of the Norwegian Centre for Migration and Minority Health (NAKMI), she promoted equitable health policies for migrants. Kumar is a professor of global health at the Empower School of Health and at the Christian Medical College in Vellore in India and at Kathmandu University and serves on numerous advisory boards, focusing her research on migrants’ health and equity.

Dr. Bree Akesson is the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Global Adversity and Wellbeing, Associate Director of the Centre for Research on Security Practices, and Full Professor of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is also affiliated with several academic centers, including Columbia University’s Program on Forced Migration and Health and McGill University’s Centre for Research on Children and Families. For 25 years, her work has focused on the intersections of adversity, displacement, and wellbeing, with a particular emphasis on children and families affected by conflict, migration, and climate change in settings such as Kenya, Chechnya, Northern Uganda, Palestine, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. Ongoing research projects include the perinatal experiences of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, the impact of climate change on families displaced by war, and integrated service access for refugee families in Canada. Her 2022 book From Bureaucracy to Bullets: Extreme Domicide and the Right to Home explores the impact of home loss for displaced populations and was the inspiration for a United Nations report calling for the classification of home demolition as a war crime. In addition to her research, Dr. Akesson has 15 years of experience working directly with children and families as the Clinical Treatment Facilitator with the Global Psychiatric Epidemiology Group, based at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University.

Dr. Fawad Akbari is an expert in pediatric medicine, global health, and humanitarian response. In his role as Senior Director, Innovation Advisory at Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), he leads a team of technical experts that enable other functions within GCC to deliver their main mandate of getting money in the hands of innovators and supporting them to scale for impact. Fawad has previously held other leadership positions at GCC and other organizations, including the Aga Khan Foundation in Canada, the USA and Afghanistan. He has medical and public health degrees from Kabul Medical University and the University of Liverpool, respectively, and is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa. He has been a fellow, coach, mentor, and instructor with the Unites Nations Institute for Training and Research fellowship programs for Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt since 2009.

He is also a member of the WHO Collaborating Center for Knowledge Translation and Technology Assessment for Health Equity at the University of Ottawa; a member of NASA Lifelines Global Advisory Committee, and a Director on the Board of Directors of Right to Learn Afghanistan

Dr. Yara Asi is an assistant professor in the School of Global Health Management and Informatics at the University of Central Florida and a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s FXB Center for Health and Human Rights. She is a senior fellow in the Raphaël Lemkin Genocide Prevention Program at George Mason University, a non‑resident fellow at the Arab Center, Washington, DC and DAWN MENA, and a 2020–2021 Fulbright Scholar to the West Bank. Asi’s research explores health, human rights and development in conflict‑affected and fragile contexts, and she publishes widely in academic journals and mainstream media. Her book “How War Kills” (2024) examines how violence shapes health systems and outcomes. She co‑chairs the Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights and advocates for equitable health policies in Palestine and other conflict zones.

Dr. Martin is a physician who, since September 2012, has served as the founding Executive Director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH). Between 1993-2011, Dr. Martin served as a Member of Parliament in Canada’s House of Commons. He held portfolios in foreign affairs, health, the environment, defense  and international development. He has been on many diplomatic missions in areas in crisis around the world but particularly across Africa and worked as a physician on the Mozambique border during their civil war. He has spent many years volunteering on conservation efforts in  South Africa and is a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.

Jim Estill has received many awards for his entrepreneurship and philanthropy including Order of Canada, Order of Ontario, EY Entrepreneur of the Year, King Charles Coronation Medal, U of Waterloo Alumni Achievement Metal and honorary degrees from U of Waterloo, Humber College and U of Guelph.

Doug is a former farmer who volunteers as Chair of the Waterloo Region Community Garden Network (WRCGN).  WRCGN has established a 20 acre peri-urban farm where some 80 families (mostly newcomers) grow food for their families and communities.  Insights about the importance of farming to produce one’s own food are grounded in an intergenerational Family Systems Theory lens.  Understanding the importance of agency – the ability to provide for ourselves is evident in this work. Food security for many who are used to growing their own food comes from agency – having the opportunity to grow the food people want and need. That means having access to land.  In addition, being able to grow the food the farmers want is also contributing to community building a sense of belonging and good health in many ways. “Food is life and food is culture”. The opportunity to increase local food production that is ethnically suitable, nutritious, and available is enhanced with what we call the Petersburg Model. 

Dr. Melissa Lem is a Vancouver family physician who also works in rural and northern communities within Canada. President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and Co-Founder of PaRx, Canada’s national nature prescription program, she is an internationally recognized leader in the field of nature and health. As a widely published writer, climate change panellist on CBC Radio’s Early Edition, in-house medical columnist for CBC TV Vancouver, and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, one of her major priorities is knowledge translation. She is currently a co-investigator and advisor on two international nature prescription research projects (PANDA and RESONATE) with total funding of $10M+.

 Dr. Lem was named to Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 List in 2025, recipient of the 2024 Canadian Eco-Hero Award, a 2024 YWCA Women of Distinction Award and 2022 Nature Inspiration Award from the Canadian Museum of Nature, and also sits on the Advisory Committee of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Health and Well-being Specialist Group.

Dr. Courtney Howard is an emergency physician practising in Yellowknife, on the traditional territory of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and a leading advocate for planetary health. She serves as a clinical associate professor at the University of Calgary and community research fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. Howard is vice‑chair of the Global Climate & Health Alliance, was the first woman president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and sits on the board of the Canadian Medical Association. She led the 2017–2019 Lancet Countdown briefings for Canadian policymakers on health and climate change and is a member of the World Health Organization Civil Society Working Group on Climate Change and Health. Howard completed a master’s degree in public policy at the University of Oxford and serves on editorial advisory boards for The Lancet Planetary Health and the Journal of Climate Change and Health. Her book “Living Well in a Feverish World” is slated for publication in 2025.

James Achuli is a South Sudanese peace advocate and emerging leader. Selected as a 2025 McCall MacBain Scholar at McGill University, he is pursuing an MA in Political Science (Development Studies). Achuli completed his BA in International Relations at UBC Okanagan, where he volunteered with Kelowna Community Resources, supported newcomers, mentored fellow students and served on the African and Caribbean Student Club and the student union. An avid cross‑country runner, he also founded the Kiryandongo Peace Ambassadors in Uganda to promote dialogue and understanding between refugees and host communities. Achuli aims to contribute to development and reconciliation in South Sudan.

Dr. Robert (Rob) Gordon is an environmental scientist and academic leader. Born in Hanover, Ontario and raised in Nova Scotia, he has focused his teaching and research on environmental resource management for agriculture. Gordon has supervised more than 70 graduate students and post‑doctoral fellows and authored over 165 peer-reviewed publications. He previously held a Canada Research Chair in Agricultural Resource Management and served as dean of the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph. He went on to become vice-president (research) and subsequently provost and vice-president (academic) at Wilfrid Laurier University. In September 2019, he assumed the role of president and vice-chancellor of the University of Windsor which he finished in September 2025.

Dr. Abdel‑Rahman Lawendy is an orthopedic trauma surgeon and the J.C. Kennedy Professor and Chair of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Western Ontario. After earning his medical degree at Western University in 2003, he completed an orthopedic surgery residency in 2008 and fellowships in orthopedic trauma and arthroscopy; he later earned a PhD in medical biophysics in 2014. Lawendy leads orthopedic divisions at London Health Sciences Centre and St Joseph’s Hospital, established the Master of Science in Surgery programme and served as Graduate Chair and assistant dean at Western University. He founded and directs the Nazem Kadri Ambulatory Surgical Centre. An award‑winning educator, he has provided humanitarian surgical care in conflict zones (including several stints in Gaza with organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières) and is recognized internationally for his expertise in compartment syndrome and complex lower‑extremity reconstruction.

Prof. Nurit Peled-Elhanan is a lecturer in Language Education, Social Semiotics and Multimodality in the Hebrew University (retired) and in the David Yellin Academic College in Jerusalem, Israel. She has studied the various aspects of Israeli discourse of education and has published, edited and wrote several books and many articles about classroom dialogue, oral and written language development at school, second language instruction and racism in the Israeli class and in Israeli schoolbooks. She is the author of  

Palestine in Israeli school books. Ideology and propaganda in education I.B. Tauris, London. 2012.

Her 2023 book, Holocaust Education and the Semiotics of Othering in Israeli Schoolbooks,  published by Common Ground Publishers, USA. (https://cgnetworks.org) received the publishers prize.

Prof. Peled-Elhanan is an outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

She received several awards for her advocacy of human rights, among which is the Sakharov Prize for Human Rights and the Freedom of Thought, awarded by the European Parliament.

She was the Co-initiator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine 2009-2014.

An occupational therapist who holds a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in psychology, Rachel was for nearly three decades a professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Ottawa, Canada. She has developed expertise in psychological resilience, Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) and peer support in complex situations such as conflict and post-conflict areas, and has worked worldwide as a clinician, researcher and trainer. In recognition of her contributions, she has received the title of Officer of the Order of Canada and Honorary Degrees. Now a consultant, she provides training and support to a broad range of agencies, from medical bodies and governmental organizations to corporations and NGOs. Since 2022, she mainly supports war survivors and healthcare providers in Ukraine.

Professor Thierno Baldé leads the World Health Organization’s Regional Emergency Hub in Dakar, coordinating emergency preparedness and response across 27 West and Central African countries. He previously managed operational partnerships within the WHO Regional Emergency Programme and helped implement global initiatives such as the Emergency Medical Teams network, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) and the Health Cluster system. Baldé began his career in Canadian academic and research institutions and later served in government roles in Quebec before working with the Canadian Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He has led responses to cholera, Ebola, Lassa fever and COVID‑19. In addition to his WHO role, Baldé is a professor of global public health at the University of Montreal and holds a medical degree, a master’s degree in health services management and a PhD in health-care organization.

José Pablo Baraybar is a Peruvian forensic anthropologist renowned for his work identifying victims of political violence. He directs the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF) and applies forensic science to help prosecute human‑rights abusers from Peru’s internal armed conflict to the Balkans and Rwanda. Baraybar has served as an expert witness before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and other courts and has led exhumations and investigations to determine the fate of missing persons. In 2011, he received the Judith Lee Stronach Human Rights Award. Baraybar has also worked with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, including as forensic coordinator for the ICRC in Mexico and Central America, where he helps identify the remains of migrants lost during their journeys.