Meet the REDEFINE Core Team
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Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Beth Murray-Davis (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Midwifery Education Program and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Scientific Director of the McMaster Midwifery Research Centre. Her qualifications include a BA in Sociology (Guelph), a BHSc in Midwifery (McMaster), a MA in Health Profession Education (University of Toronto), and a PhD in Primary Health Care (University of Sheffield).
Dr. Murray-Davis has worked as a midwife with the Community Midwives of Hamilton since 2003. She is a recognized leader in research, education, and practice within the midwifery profession. She has contributed to the growth of the profession of midwifery through research capacity building, mentoring midwives, conducting and disseminating research, and she has led interprofessional teams of health care providers in various research and educational innovations such as the writing of the first Canadian midwifery textbook.
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Co-Principal InvestigatorAbi Kirubarajan (she/her) is a fifth-year obstetrics and gynecology resident and PhD student at McMaster University. Her interests are reproductive justice, epidemiology, and social determinants of health
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Post Doc Fellow
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Jen is a critical 2SLGBTQAI+ health and midwifery scholar, registered midwife, and postdoctoral research fellow at the McMaster Midwifery Research Centre in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McMaster University, funded through a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship. Jen’s research program takes a critical, interdisciplinary approach to investigating 2SLGBTQAI health, drawing from public health, critical theory, midwifery, science and technology studies, and critical qualitative methodologies. Jen completed their PhD in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, funded through a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, where they also completed their MPH in Family and Community Medicine. Jen’s research has examined Ontario midwives’ attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities, and how queer, trans, and nonbinary midwifery service-users experience cisheteronormativity. They are co-investigator of a global study developing Caring in Pride, a gamified mobile app that educates nursing and midwifery students in Canada, South Africa, and the UK on LGBTQIA+ health care.
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Research Coordinator
O.G Thorne (they/them) is a fat disabled white nonbinary settler living on Algonquin Anishinaabe land, colonially known as “Ottawa”. Thorne’s educational background centres on Indigenous and Canadian studies, focusing on trans youth healthcare within Canadian gender clinics. Thorne is a trans community organizer and researcher who specializes in gender-inclusive intersectional practices, trans and gender affirming care, and children’s human rights.
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LGBTQ+ Consultant
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Jenna Bly is a midwife and founding co-lead of the Midwifery and Toronto Community Health (MATCH) Program at South Riverdale Community Health Centre. The MATCH Program provides complete perinatal care, including abortion (both management of spontaneous loss and planned terminations) in the East End of Toronto in primary care community and hospital based settings with a focus on uninsured and underinsured Ontarians.
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2-Spirit Consultant
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Former LGBT+ Consultant
Riley is currently working in pediatrics after completing medical school. Prior to this Riley completed a Master of Science degree in Family Relations and Human Development and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Health. Riley has experience working in primarily qualitative research across areas of health and social sciences including in relation to midwifery care, sexual health education, health service navigation, young people’s first jobs, poverty and healthcare, and quality improvement in healthcare.
2-Spirit Advisory Committee
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They/Them/Iel
Dill is a two-spirit, Red-River Métis musician, composer, and beadwork artist currently living in Montréal. Coming from a small indigenous community in rural Manitoba, Dill aims to bring attention to the disconnect between city life and rural life, in our connectedness with nature and community, food systems, health care and cultural traditions. Having an education in classical music, a space where so few Indigenous people have been able express their talents, Dill aims to not only represent indigenous people, but gender-diverse and LGBTQI+ people in the classical arts in Canada.
You can hear my music here: https://www.youtube.com/@Windandthereeds
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Nissan Gordon is Writer and comic as well as an arts administrator with a passion for helping the community.
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He/Him/His
Tansi! I am a First Nations Transman from Treaty 8 territory. I parent 3 wonderful children, and advocate for Trans/IndigiQueer rights and inclusive midwifery/ OB/reproductive care. I work within the Friendship Centre Movement and volunteer for the Edmonton 2 Spirit Society!
Community Advisory Committee
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(they/she)
Sophia Dhrolia (they/she) is a DEI leader at Interac Corp. who is passionate about building a culture that values diversity, champions inclusion, and promotes collaboration to drive business results. They are committed to developing environments where differences are valued and where people are empowered to bring their authentic selves to the workplace. They focus on breaking down systemic barriers, driving positive change in organizations, and on improving experiences.
Sophia speaks regularly on the importance of using data to drive strategy, advocacy, inclusive language and creating cultures of belonging. They are a keynote speaker and a guest on podcasts including the most recent one where they discuss trust, data, and building inclusive workplaces on the Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing podcast. They are also a founding member of the Employee Wellbeing Council and HERizon Project with Women in Communications and Tech. They are also the proud recipient of the 2022 Women in IT ‘Diversity Lead of the Year’ award the 2024 Women in Payments advocate for Diversity & Inclusion award.
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Katie Clarke is a theatremaker, director, poet, and drag artist.
Their work as an artist currently explores the idea of trans and chronically ill time and intimacy. With support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Katie is (slowly) adapting their play Women’s Issues into a web series, and workshopping the second draft of their play WHEN WILL YOU BE WELL AGAIN?. They recently wrapped production on their first narrative short film. Katie’s poetry has been published widely in literary journals and their poem “other people’s clothes” was longlisted for the 2023 CBC Poetry Prize.
Katie has kwored in both corporate and non-profit settings in marketing, communications, and project management, and they are currently the Marketing Manager at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto.
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Marie-Pierre has been practicing as a midwife in Hamilton, Ontario since 2013. Marie-Pierre is a fluent French speaker and focuses their clinical practice on French speakers, newcomers to Hamilton, as well as those who are unhoused or precariously housed. Marie-Pierre has been a preceptor for the Midwifery Education Program since 2014 and a contract lecturer at TMU since 2020. Outside of midwifery, Marie-Pierre has a house full of cats along with one kiddo and one dog.
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Victoria F. Legault is the Executive Director of Aide aux Trans du Québec (ATQ), a frontline community organization that supports, guides, and empowers trans, non-binary, and questioning individuals while advocating for gender diversity in Quebec. She is also a member of the Union des artistes and currently holds the “Under 30” seat on the Board of Directors of Égides, an international Francophone alliance for equality and diversity. Passionate about the community sector, she has been actively involved in defending and promoting LGBTQI+ rights for several years.
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Namitha is a (gender)queer Tamil artist living in Tkaronto/Toronto.
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They/She
Lara is someone who has a passion for individual, family and community issues. As an educator and therapist in private practice, and as a retired full-spectrum doula, they feel grateful to be involved in work that facilitates empowerment. She believes that the personal is the professional is the political, and that liberation for all is an imperative.
Lara has a deep love of Nature, enjoys the arts and being active in a myriad of ways. She’s always up for a good laugh to balance out the seriousness, and simple joys keep them going.