Knowledge Broker, Community Liaison

Riverside South – Leitrim

David Hole is the community liaison and knowledge broker for the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study. He has been involved with ONS since shortly after its inception in 2005, initially as a representative of the Coalition of Community Health & Resource Centres but more recently as a consultant. A social worker by profession, throughout his career David has been committed to social change through community development. His interest is finding ways and means for research to be both relevant and empowering to local residents committed to improving their quality of life and the health of their community. David is a graduate of the University of Southampton UK (Politics/Sociology) and Carleton University (Social Work) and worked in England and Jamaica before coming to Canada. He has experience in child welfare, family counselling, services for children with special needs, and within the education sector. After 24 years as Executive Director of South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre he “retired” in 2008 to work as a consultant, play with the grandkids, and travel (mostly in that order).

Lead Investigator

Glen Cairn – Kanata South Business Park

Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Kristjansson is a full Professor in the School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She is a health measurement expert whose place-based research focuses on the socio-economic determinants of health. Her primary research interest is in systematic reviews on nutrition and food security interventions. Dr. Kristjansson is passionate about working, and sharing the results of her research, with others so that the knowledge can be applied to make a difference in the community. Dr. Kristjansson leads the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (ONS), a strong intersectoral partnership that has produced one of the world’s largest datasets on contextual and compositional determinants of health, health behaviour, and health outcomes. She is also the lead university investigator on Food for All, a productive community-university research partnership with a focus on Community Food Security. Elizabeth is dedicated to her family. She is also a passionate cyclist, cross-country skier, and nature-lover.

Program Manager

Stittsville

On the ONS team since 2012.  MBA from Telfer School of Management (2021), with certification in Management Consulting and Business Analytics. Has 9 years of experience supporting evidence-based decision making through research and the generation of data insights. Manages ONS projects, working groups and meeting. Facilitates the use of ONS data to community partners and stakeholders. Analyzes neighbourhood level data and publishes to the ONS dynamic maps and profile pages. Manages website development and social media relations. Delivers presentations and workshops in the community on data literacy and the use of ONS data as a tool for neighbourhood needs assessments. Interested in: data science, health equity, social determinants of health, geographical information system (GIS) mapping, data-driven decision making,  mindfulness. Contact

 

Principal Investigator

Orleans, North West

Michael Sawada is a full Professor in the Department of Geography and directs the Laboratory for Applied Geomatics and GIS Science (LAGGIS) at the University of Ottawa (www.geomatics.uottawa.ca). In 2005 he received the Julian M. Sciecz award from the Canadian Association of Geographers in recognition of early career accomplishments and the Young Researcher of the Year in 2007 from the Faculty of Arts. Prof. Sawada is a recognized expert in geomatics applications. His research encompasses spatial analysis and GIS applications and has over 15 years of research experience using GIS and optical remote sensing applied to a wide variety of urban, geomorphologic and agricultural questions. He also has considerable experience in development of GIS and spatial statistical software and mobile location-based services. Professor Sawada is member of the Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Management Research Center of the University of Ottawa and his transdisciplinary work has led to the development of new spatial analytical methods that address pressing social and environmental policy issues such as soil erosion and contaminant modeling and transport, disaster mitigation technologies, air quality and population health.

Centretown

Anzo Nguyen is a Master of Public Health student in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He is completing his practicum term with the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study. He has experience with a wide variety of research methods involving statistical analysis, interviews, and data visualization from his undergraduate studies in neuroscience. He aims to apply those skills to better understand the determinants of health in Ottawa. Anzo is particularly interested in the roles that housing, transportation, and the built environment play on human health.

Yingjia Dou is a second-year graduate student at the University of Ottawa in sociology who has conducted and participated in several qualitative and quantitative social research projects through interviews, questionnaire design and analysis. She is a Research Assistant in Ottawa Neighbourhood Study and hopes to contribute to the outcomes of the health and well-being of Ottawa citizens. She is interested in a variety of research topics, including racial inequality and the sociology of health.

 

Ghada Abid is a multilingual fourth-year student at the University of Ottawa in International Development and Globalization with a minor in Economics. She will be working as a Research Assistant at the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study for her last co-op placement. She is eager to contribute analysis, research, and writing skills to further develop knowledge in the field of social determinants of health. Ghada is passionate about racial justice and gender equity.

Celine is the Research Assistant with Ottawa Neighborhood Survey. Her professional interests include machine learning, data mining, and anything related to using data for analysis. Celine has a bachelor’s degree in Statistics and right now is the first-year Master’s student majoring in Statistics at the University of Ottawa. Celine has previously worked in the Department of Health Promotion and Education at the National Taiwan Normal University and was experienced with the data analysis for health screening results.

Research Assistant 

Elyse Varney is a student at the University of Ottawa in the International Development and Globalization Program in the French Immersion stream. As a research assistant with the ONS, she collects and organizes raw data from neighbourhoods across Ottawa. Her work focuses primarily on food and nutrition availability and accessibility within Ottawa. Elyse is passionate about social and environmental issues as well as continuous learning about diverse cultures and the arts.

Champlain LHIN

Chelsea

Allison Lampi is the Senior Performance Specialist at the Champlain LHIN. She is the co-Chair of the Champlain Decision Support Network. Allison’s professional interests include the determinants of health, health equity, community health, program evaluation, quality improvement and anything related to using data for planning and driving performance. Allison has a bachelors’ degree in Health Studies and a Masters in Health Administration. Allison worked for many years in one of Ottawa’s Community Health Centres, and has lived in Sandy Hill and Old Ottawa East. A bicycle advocate and former bike racer, she now lives in Chelsea but still frequently rides her bike to work.

Ottawa Police Service

Hintonburg – Mechanicsville

Cameron Hopgood is business performance and analytics manager with the Ottawa Police Service. He is the Ottawa Police representative on the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Police Information and Statistics Committee (POLIS). Cameron has participated in the Ottawa Neighbourhood study since 2006 in the areas of crime and social disorder. Professionally his interests include supporting community based problem solving with evidence based research. Cameron is a fitness enthusiast and loves spending time outdoors with his family. Cameron holds a graduate degree in Spatial Analysis from the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, and professional certifications in Project Management (PMP) and Change Management (CMP).

Knowledge Broker, Community Liaison

Riverside South – Leitrim

David Hole is the community liaison and knowledge broker for the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study. He has been involved with ONS since shortly after its inception in 2005, initially as a representative of the Coalition of Community Health & Resource Centres but more recently as a consultant. A social worker by profession, throughout his career David has been committed to social change through community development. His interest is finding ways and means for research to be both relevant and empowering to local residents committed to improving their quality of life and the health of their community. David is a graduate of the University of Southampton UK (Politics/Sociology) and Carleton University (Social Work) and worked in England and Jamaica before coming to Canada. He has experience in child welfare, family counselling, services for children with special needs, and within the education sector. After 24 years as Executive Director of South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre he “retired” in 2008 to work as a consultant, play with the grandkids, and travel (mostly in that order).

Lead Investigator

Glen Cairn – Kanata South Business Park

Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Kristjansson is a full Professor in the School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She is a health measurement expert whose place-based research focuses on the socio-economic determinants of health. Her primary research interest is in systematic reviews on nutrition and food security interventions. Dr. Kristjansson is passionate about working, and sharing the results of her research, with others so that the knowledge can be applied to make a difference in the community. Dr. Kristjansson leads the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (ONS), a strong intersectoral partnership that has produced one of the world’s largest datasets on contextual and compositional determinants of health, health behaviour, and health outcomes. She is also the lead university investigator on Food for All, a productive community-university research partnership with a focus on Community Food Security. Elizabeth is dedicated to her family. She is also a passionate cyclist, cross-country skier, and nature-lover.

Program Manager

Stittsville

On the ONS team since 2012.  MBA from Telfer School of Management (2021), with certification in Management Consulting and Business Analytics. Has 9 years of experience supporting evidence-based decision making through research and the generation of data insights. Manages ONS projects, working groups and meeting. Facilitates the use of ONS data to community partners and stakeholders. Analyzes neighbourhood level data and publishes to the ONS dynamic maps and profile pages. Manages website development and social media relations. Delivers presentations and workshops in the community on data literacy and the use of ONS data as a tool for neighbourhood needs assessments. Interested in: data science, health equity, social determinants of health, geographical information system (GIS) mapping, data-driven decision making,  mindfulness. Contact

 

Coalition of Community Health and Resource Centres of Ottawa

Orléans Avalon-Notting Gate-Fallingbrook-Gardenway South

Nathalie Lafrenière is the Executive Director of the Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre. As a member of the Coalition of Community and Health Centres of Ottawa (CHRC), she represents this Coalition at the ONS Steering Committee. She has been working in the community resource sector for the past 17 years more prevalently in the areas of gender based violence and community supports to seniors and people with a physical disability. As a new member of the ONS Steering Committee, she has a particular interest in the social determinants of health and health equity in an effort that will help better understand local priorities and mobilize resources that will make a difference in the wellbeing of individuals and neighbourhoods.

Ottawa Insights – Ottawa Community Foundation

Rebecca Aird is the Ottawa Community Foundation’s Director of Grants and Community Knowledge. Rebecca manages the Foundation’s community grantmaking program and the New Leaf Community Challenge, as well as other community initiatives. She was the director responsible for the development of Ottawa Insights (the Foundation’s online community knowledge centre), and has an ongoing role in working with other players to strengthen the data ecosystem for Ottawa’s social profit sector. Prior to joining the Foundation in February 2015, Rebecca’s career was focused on advancing environmental sustainability. She has worked across the private, public and social-profit sectors, and at local, national and international levels on policy development and analysis, project management and evaluation, performance auditing, facilitation, and communications. As a volunteer, she has played a founding role in numerous organizations and projects, establishing partnerships and attracting funding to implement tangible projects to advance community sustainability.

Federation of Citizens’ Associations

Roland Dorsay is a board member of the Federation of Citizens’ Association of Ottawa and the Champlain Park Community Association. As a former federal civil servant, private sector CEO and industry lobbyist and current community volunteer advocate he has extensive experience in executive leadership, community relations, corporate governance, strategic planning, economic and regulatory policy development, international negotiations, issue advocacy, and government affairs

Centretown Community Health Centre

Centretown

Alex Mayer is the Health Analyst for the Centretown Community Health Centre, where he leads Centre-wide planning activities, informs healthcare quality improvement initiatives, and builds capacity for the collection, analysis, and use of community data to ensure that our Centre is ever responsive to the community’s needs. His background includes teaching Canadian Health Policy at Queen’s University and working in public health to promote ‘active travel to school’ strategies in Northeastern Ontario. He is an active volunteer who has served as Board Member for the Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA), Low Income People Involvement of Nipissing (LIPI), and who currently serves as a staff rep on Centretown CHC’s board. What inspires him: OPO’s harm reduction work, 8-80 cities, truth & reconciliation, vegan entrepreneurship, and helping mission-driven organizations use data and technology for the public good.

Ottawa Public Health

Carlingwood West – Glabar Park – McKellar Heights

Cameron McDermaid is an epidemiologist with Ottawa Public Health. Professionally his interests include health-related behaviours, social determinants of health, built environment and environmental health and surveillance systems. He is co-chair of the Social Determinants of Health indicator working group of the Association of Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario (APHEO). Cameron has participated in the Ottawa Neighbourhood study since 2009 in the area of measures of population health. Cameron and his wife Susan live a car-free, conserver lifestyle and enjoy Ottawa’s art, culture, and outdoor offerings.

Principal Investigator

Orleans, North West

Michael Sawada is a full Professor in the Department of Geography and directs the Laboratory for Applied Geomatics and GIS Science (LAGGIS) at the University of Ottawa (www.geomatics.uottawa.ca). In 2005 he received the Julian M. Sciecz award from the Canadian Association of Geographers in recognition of early career accomplishments and the Young Researcher of the Year in 2007 from the Faculty of Arts. Prof. Sawada is a recognized expert in geomatics applications. His research encompasses spatial analysis and GIS applications and has over 15 years of research experience using GIS and optical remote sensing applied to a wide variety of urban, geomorphologic and agricultural questions. He also has considerable experience in development of GIS and spatial statistical software and mobile location-based services. Professor Sawada is member of the Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Management Research Center of the University of Ottawa and his transdisciplinary work has led to the development of new spatial analytical methods that address pressing social and environmental policy issues such as soil erosion and contaminant modeling and transport, disaster mitigation technologies, air quality and population health.

Ottawa Police Service

Hintonburg – Mechanicsville

Cameron Hopgood is business performance and analytics manager with the Ottawa Police Service. He is the Ottawa Police representative on the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Police Information and Statistics Committee (POLIS). Cameron has participated in the Ottawa Neighbourhood study since 2006 in the areas of crime and social disorder. Professionally his interests include supporting community based problem solving with evidence based research. Cameron is a fitness enthusiast and loves spending time outdoors with his family. Cameron holds a graduate degree in Spatial Analysis from the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, and professional certifications in Project Management (PMP) and Change Management (CMP).

Ottawa Public Health

Carlingwood West – Glabar Park – McKellar Heights

Cameron McDermaid is an epidemiologist with Ottawa Public Health. Professionally his interests include health-related behaviours, social determinants of health, built environment and environmental health and surveillance systems. He is co-chair of the Social Determinants of Health indicator working group of the Association of Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario (APHEO). Cameron has participated in the Ottawa Neighbourhood study since 2009 in the area of measures of population health. Cameron and his wife Susan live a car-free, conserver lifestyle and enjoy Ottawa’s art, culture, and outdoor offerings.

Knowledge Broker, Community Liaison

Riverside South – Leitrim

David Hole is the community liaison and knowledge broker for the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study. He has been involved with ONS since shortly after its inception in 2005, initially as a representative of the Coalition of Community Health & Resource Centres but more recently as a consultant. A social worker by profession, throughout his career David has been committed to social change through community development. His interest is finding ways and means for research to be both relevant and empowering to local residents committed to improving their quality of life and the health of their community. David is a graduate of the University of Southampton UK (Politics/Sociology) and Carleton University (Social Work) and worked in England and Jamaica before coming to Canada. He has experience in child welfare, family counselling, services for children with special needs, and within the education sector. After 24 years as Executive Director of South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre he “retired” in 2008 to work as a consultant, play with the grandkids, and travel (mostly in that order).

Lead Investigator

Glen Cairn – Kanata South Business Park

Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Kristjansson is a full Professor in the School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She is a health measurement expert whose place-based research focuses on the socio-economic determinants of health. Her primary research interest is in systematic reviews on nutrition and food security interventions. Dr. Kristjansson is passionate about working, and sharing the results of her research, with others so that the knowledge can be applied to make a difference in the community. Dr. Kristjansson leads the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (ONS), a strong intersectoral partnership that has produced one of the world’s largest datasets on contextual and compositional determinants of health, health behaviour, and health outcomes. She is also the lead university investigator on Food for All, a productive community-university research partnership with a focus on Community Food Security. Elizabeth is dedicated to her family. She is also a passionate cyclist, cross-country skier, and nature-lover.

Program Manager

Stittsville

On the ONS team since 2012.  MBA from Telfer School of Management (2021), with certification in Management Consulting and Business Analytics. Has 9 years of experience supporting evidence-based decision making through research and the generation of data insights. Manages ONS projects, working groups and meeting. Facilitates the use of ONS data to community partners and stakeholders. Analyzes neighbourhood level data and publishes to the ONS dynamic maps and profile pages. Manages website development and social media relations. Delivers presentations and workshops in the community on data literacy and the use of ONS data as a tool for neighbourhood needs assessments. Interested in: data science, health equity, social determinants of health, geographical information system (GIS) mapping, data-driven decision making,  mindfulness. Contact

 

Principal Investigator

Orleans, North West

Michael Sawada is a full Professor in the Department of Geography and directs the Laboratory for Applied Geomatics and GIS Science (LAGGIS) at the University of Ottawa (www.geomatics.uottawa.ca). In 2005 he received the Julian M. Sciecz award from the Canadian Association of Geographers in recognition of early career accomplishments and the Young Researcher of the Year in 2007 from the Faculty of Arts. Prof. Sawada is a recognized expert in geomatics applications. His research encompasses spatial analysis and GIS applications and has over 15 years of research experience using GIS and optical remote sensing applied to a wide variety of urban, geomorphologic and agricultural questions. He also has considerable experience in development of GIS and spatial statistical software and mobile location-based services. Professor Sawada is member of the Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Management Research Center of the University of Ottawa and his transdisciplinary work has led to the development of new spatial analytical methods that address pressing social and environmental policy issues such as soil erosion and contaminant modeling and transport, disaster mitigation technologies, air quality and population health.