Career Education and Development

Shareef Hadid graduated from the Global Health program at York University in 2018 after completing his practicum with an NGO providing health aid to refugees in Jordan. He started his career with the federal public service soon after, working for Indigenous Service Canada for a little over 2 years. Finally, he pivoted to a career in software development and is currently the CTO of a small tech start up.

Chelsie Johnson received her honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto. She earned her Master of Public Health from the University of British Columbia (focusing on community engagement, epidemiology, and communicable diseases), and her Master of Disaster and Emergency Management from York University (focusing on public health disasters and building resilient communities). She also has a certificate in Infection Prevention and Control, a certificate in Strategic Foresight, and her Associate Business Continuity Professional designation. Chelsie sits on the inaugural Youth Council for Canada’s Chief Science Advisor, and serves as an executive on the Board of Directors for TAIBU Community Health Centre (a centre serving culturally affirming care to Black communities). She works as a Health Emergency Management Specialist for a local public health unit.

Nasra Smith is the senior lead, Policy and System Initiatives at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network. Previously she worked at the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health at the Hospital for Sick Children as a senior program manager. She has also worked at New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as a program planner, defining services for un- and underinsured people living with HIV. Nasra obtained her a master of public health degree from New York University.

Mame Antwi holds a BSc in Global Health from York University. Mame works as a health researcher to promote awareness, educate, and address the health concerns of racialized women in our communities. Mame works on various projects focusing on the mental health and sexual health of minorities across the gta. She effectively strives to make a difference in her community each day.

Shobika Shanthakumar is a passionate leader in advocating for belonging. Shobika holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology from York University and a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with a specialization in Human Resource Management.  Through her role as a DEI Specialist at WildBrain and her entrepreneurial endeavors of organizational development, Shobika continues to strive towards belonging in the workplace. With over 5 years of experience in trainings, strategic planning, and change management, Shobika focuses her efforts on improving employee engagement and motivation to better serve our communities.

Michael Tracey is the Director of Behavioural Science at Scotiabank. In this role, he leads the enterprise behavioural science program to support global compliance by ensuring business strategies, risk appetite, risk culture and appropriate employee behaviours are executed in accordance with Scotiabank’s values, policies and ‘doing it right’ culture. Throughout his career, he has provided strategic thought leadership on behavioural science, implemented behavioural science tools and built out organizational capacity to conduct behavioural science research. Prior to joining Scotiabank, he led the Investor Research and Behavioural Insights team at the Ontario Securities Commission. He has an MSc in behavioural science from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Ronnie O’Connor (he/him) is a recent international psychology graduate at York University from the London Borough of Hackney in the UK. During his time at York, Ronnie served as the President of Calumet College and sat on the Undergraduate Psychology Studies Committee. In 2022, he received the Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Award for his work within the York community. Upon leaving York, Ronnie remains a connected alumnus volunteering as part of the Young Alumni Ambassador Program, but has focused his sights on the sports industry. Through his work with the Toronto Blue Jays and MLSE, he is committed to social justice and anti-racism in sport and believes in breaking down barriers to achieve diversity on and off the field. In addition to his role as an intern at the Jays Care Foundation, he is a coach as part of the Home Ice Hockey program with the Toronto Maple Leafs and MLSE Foundation. When not on the ice, Ronnie is a mentee in the BIPOC Hockey Coach Mentorship Program (BHCMP) powered by the Black Canadian Coaches Association (BCCA) and NHL, and also the current Co-Chair of the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) at the MLSE LaunchPad and hopes to apply his diverse experiences to ‘Change the Game’ and help today’s youth reach their potential through sport.