Africa Higher Education
Health Collaborative
Last October, over 170 policymakers, health experts, academics, and youth innovators from 14 countries came together for the Africa Health Collaborative’s (AHC) 2025 Annual Convening, hosted by the African Leadership University (ALU) in Kigali, Rwanda.
Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Society; Founder & Director, Black Health Equity Lab
University of Toronto Scarborough
Program and Business Development Manager
Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto
Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Society; Founder & Director, Black Health Equity Lab
University of Toronto Scarborough
Notisha Massaquoi is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto, Scarborough with a graduate appointment in the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
She is also the founder and director of the Black Health Equity Lab (The BHEL) which conducts community-based health research and works with Black communities to develop advocacy tools, strategies and programs to improve health outcomes, wellbeing and success in Canadian systems. She holds a BA in Psychology from Western University, a Masters in Social Work and PhD in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto. Her early health leadership career established several health service organizations which serve Black communities in Canada and she developed and served for two decades as the Executive Director of Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre in Toronto – the only Community Health Centre in North America specializing in primary healthcare for Black and racialized women.
Program and Business Development Manager
Institute for Management & Innovation
Canada
Saima Zulqarnain is the Program and Business Development Manager for IMIx Executive Programs, a department housed at the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI).
With over 16 years of experience in executive education, she excels in program management, strategic marketing initiatives, and fostering collaborative partnerships across a diverse group of faculty, administrators, students, and stakeholders. Within her current role, Saima oversees a comprehensive portfolio of certificate programs, including the Mastercard Foundation-funded Certificate of Effective Healthcare Management.
Before joining the University of Toronto in 2008, Saima worked at LUMS University’s executive education department in Lahore, Pakistan. During her time there, she was at the helm of several large-scale international programs offered by LUMS with partners including INSEAD, the Darden School of Business, the World Bank, and the International Human Resource Development Corporation (IHRDC). Saima holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (BA). She currently lives in Oakville, Ontario with her husband and son.