People Directory

Our team is the heartbeat of our collaborative efforts, comprising diverse experts from various fields. Each member brings unique skills and perspectives, uniting to drive innovation and impact in the health sector. Together, we are more than just a team; we are a community committed to transforming healthcare across Africa.

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People Directory

Photo of Rhoda Akuol Philip (On leave)

, MPP, BCom

Regional Lead (Health Entrepreneurship), International Research Officer

University of Toronto, Office of the Vice-President International

Photo of Willie Ngumi

, MBA

Deputy Digital Learning Director

Amref International University

Photo of Christine Arsenault

Managing Director

African Impact Challenge, University of Toronto Scarborough, The BRIDGE

Photo of Marci Rose

, MScOT, OT Reg. (Ont.)

TAAAC Toronto Director University of Toronto

University of Toronto, Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration

Photo of Emmanuel Evo Ocran

Finance Manager, Africa Health Collaborative

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

, MSc, MBA, PhD Candidate

Program Manager, Africa Health Collaborative

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Photo of Gwen Burrows

Assistant Vice-President, International Engagement & Impact

University of Toronto, Office of the Vice-President International

Photo of David Palmer

Vice President, Advancement

University of Toronto

Photo of Isambi Mbalawata

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Photo of Winnie Nakiyingi

Research Assistant

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Profile

Rhoda Akuol Philip (On leave), MPP, BCom

Regional Lead (Health Entrepreneurship), International Research Officer

University of Toronto

Rhoda Akuol currently serves as a Africa Regional Lead Research Officer, supporting partnership engagement, and research collaboration, as well as monitoring, evaluation, learning and adaptation. She is a central liaison for the Health Entrepreneurship (HENT) Pillar of the Africa Health Collaborative. HENT seeks to co-create and sustain entrepreneurial ecosystems, and launch scalable, impactful, and contextually relevant health start-ups that offer sustainable healthcare solutions. 

Rhoda Akuol has previously held various research, entrepreneurship, and business analyst roles within different work environments and cultures, including at start-up companies, non-profit organizations, and academic departments. She is passionate about community advocacy and sits on various advisory boards, including the Pan-Canadian Voice for Women’s Housing (PCVWH).

Rhoda Akuol received the African Scholars’ Social Innovation Award 2021, and the EYOB G. NAIZGHI Female Refugee Leadership Award 2019.

Email Address
rhoda.philip@utoronto.ca
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Canada
Program
Africa Secretariat
Governance
HENT Pillar Advisory Committee
Profile

Willie Ngumi, MBA

Deputy Digital Learning Director

Amref International University

Willie has a strong technology and business development background spanning private sector and the development sector.

He has over 11 years of experience in ICT4D space implementing solutions in Digital health, health system strengthening, behavior change communication, Human Centered Design and Digital Identities targeting underserved communities. Willie previously worked with the GSM Association, a global association for mobile network operators, CDC Foundation / mHealth Kenya, providing technical support for the conceptualization, design and deployment of mHealth applications through Public Private Partnerships. Willie also previously worked at the Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy Nairobi, and in the Internet Service Provision industry as a web developer.  Willie has an MBA in Strategic Management from the University of Nairobi and a BSc. in Computer Science from Africa Nazarene University, trained in Human Centered Design and a Certified Development Project Manager.

Email Address
willie.ngumi@amref.org
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Kenya
Governance
HECO Pillar Advisory Committee
Profile

Christine Arsenault

Managing Director

African Impact Challenge

Christine Arsenault is the Managing Director for the University of Toronto Scarborough’s Management Department, which houses all of the University’s business co-op programs and The BRIDGE; the department’s commitment to Work-Integrate Learning and Entrepreneurship. 

She has been involved in co-operative education nationally and internationally for 20 years including leading Co-op and Work-Integrated Learning Canada as President in 2012/13, as a board member of the World Association for Co-operative Education and previously chairing the Canadian co-op research committee.  In 2018, she received the U of T Scarborough Principal’s Accomplished Leader Award.

While completing her M.A. she led award-winning research that compared English Language Learners and native English speakers and their success in job searching and recent published research on work-integrated learning’s influence on entrepreneurship. Under her leadership, U of T’s innovative Management and International Business Program was designed and implemented and the department has fulfilled its commitment that ever graduate should have a work-integrated learning experience.

Email Address
christine.arsenault@utoronto.ca
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Canada
Program
African Impact Challenge
Profile

Marci Rose, MScOT, OT Reg. (Ont.)

TAAAC Toronto Director University of Toronto

University of Toronto

Marci Rose completed a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy at The Ohio State University and her master’s at the University of Toronto. She began her OT career at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in 1990 where she worked for 15 years.

In 2002, she became the OT in Chief, and then assumed a variety of different management positions at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  In 2005, Marci became the Administrative Director for the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital, a role she held until 2012.  In 2012, she started the Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where she worked as the Administrative Director until formally joining TAAAC.

Her professional passion is for global health work in Ethiopia.  She has been an active participant in TAAAC since 2010, first as the TAAAC-OT co-lead, then as the Program Manager and now as the Toronto Director for TAAAC. She has been to Ethiopia on many occasions including as a consultant in the Biaber Project, a 3-year Grand Challenge Canada grant. Marci is a Lecturer in the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto and is the Ethiopian Lead for the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation at UofT.

Email Address
marci.rose@uhn.ca
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Canada
Program
Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration
Profile

Emmanuel Evo Ocran

Finance Manager, Africa Health Collaborative

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Emmanuel Ebo Ocran is the Finance Manager of the Health Collaborative.

He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana and an alumnus of KNUST. He is currently a Senior Accountant and Head of the University Central Payroll. He has over 16 years of experience in programming of accounting information systems and internet of things (IOT), budgeting and financial management. Emmanuel has served as Head of University Budget. Emmanuel has been engaged (proposal writing, budgeting through to implementation) in all Mastercard Foundation programs at KNUST since 2013 (Scholars Program, Advancing health care in Africa and the E-learning initiatives) as the Finance Manager.

Email Address
ocranwhiter@gmail.com
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Ghana
Program
All KNUST Programs
Profile

Eva Boakye-Yiadom, MSc, MBA, PhD Candidate

Program Manager, Africa Health Collaborative

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Eva Boakye-Yiadom, Project Manager of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Health Collaborative, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Eva has great expertise in administration, audit, accounting, and project management. Eva is a PhD candidate at the KNUST School of Business. She holds an MSc in Accounting and Finance from Christian Service University, Kumasi Ghana, Masters in Business Administration, from the Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom and Bachelor of Management Studies from KNUST.

Email Address
evadd2000@gmail.com
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Ghana
Program
All KNUST Programs
Profile

Gwen Burrows

Assistant Vice-President, International Engagement & Impact

University of Toronto

Gwen Burrows is Assistant Vice-President, International Engagement & Impact at the University of Toronto.

The Assistant Vice-President, International Engagement and Impact (AVP IEI) collaborates with colleagues across the university and internationally to advance the University of Toronto’s global excellence and impact in research, its translation, and in teaching and learning. The Assistant Vice-President leads and executes the University’s integrated international strategy across multiple dimensions, with a particular focus on region-specific engagement strategies and the development of partnerships to maximize global impact.

Gwen was Executive Director in the Office of the Vice President International for five years before becoming AVP IEI and in that role, supported the creation and implementation of the University’s first international strategic plan, and led the development of key international partnerships in a number of regions around the world. Gwen came to the University from The Hospital for Sick Children, where she held a number of leadership positions, including Executive Director, Public Affairs and Child Health Advocacy. As Director, Strategic Projects for the SickKids Research Institute from 2006-2013, amongst other accomplishments Gwen co-led a successful $227 million Canada Foundation for Innovation grant proposal and its implementation to support the vision guiding the development of the Peter Gilligan Centre for Research and Learning. Gwen holds a Master’s in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins and a BA from McGill University.

Email Address
gwen.burrows@utoronto.ca
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Canada
Governance
Executive Steering Committee
Profile

David Palmer

Vice President, Advancement

University of Toronto

Since 2007, David has served as Vice-President, Advancement for the University of Toronto.  Under David’s leadership, U of T launched Boundless which concluded in 2018 as the largest campaign in Canadian history with $2.64 billion raised.   

David is a Senior Fellow of Massey College, a Council for Advancement and Support of Education Laureate and former trustee, an executive committee member of the National Council of Foundation Executives, and a director of the Earth Rangers Foundation. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in musicology from Princeton University and began his career as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Music at Western University, his undergraduate alma mater.

From 1999 to 2007, David served as President and Executive Director of the Royal Ontario Museum Board of Governors. From 1993 to 1999, David led a ground-breaking campaign for the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University, ushering in a new era in professional-faculty fundraising in Canada.

David was recognized in 2011 with the Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In 2016 he was recognized with the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education.

Email Address
davidnpalmer@utoronto.ca
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Canada
Governance
Executive Steering Committee
Profile

Isambi Mbalawata

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Email Address
imbalawata@nexteinstein.org
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Rwanda
Governance
HECO Pillar Advisory Committee
Profile

Winnie Nakiyingi

Research Assistant

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Winnie Nakiyingi is a master at research and report writing with a specialization in mathematical and statistical processes.

She is an alumna of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), where she currently works as a Research Assistant (Data & Quantum) at the Research and Innovation Center in Kigali, Rwanda. Winnie brings a wealth of experience through data collection, analysis, and report writing plus her passion to contribute to the Standard Development Goals (SDGs). She is a certified researcher through the TRREE Training program in Research Ethics Evaluation. She has also been engaged in humanitarian work through Axiom-DK as a Statistics consultant. Winnie is one of the Science Diplomacy alumni at the United Nations Institute and Training and Research (UNITAR), and the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) in Switzerland. More recently, she has been selected as one of the prestigious Women In Africa (WIA) Young Leaders 2023 laureates.

Email Address
wnakiyingi@quantumleapafrica.org
Profile Type
Staff
Country
Rwanda
Governance
HECO Pillar Advisory Committee