These pre-vetted diverse sources have indicated a willingness to comment on issues relating to the COVID-19 crisis. You can reach them directly through the contact buttons on their profiles. 

**Bookmark this page and check back regularly as we update it through this crisis.**

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BIOLOGY, EPIDEMIOLOGY, INFECTIOUS DISEASES & IMMUNOLOGY

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

CAREGIVING, CHILDREN, PARENTING & CHILD CARE

COMMUNITY RESPONSE, CHARITY & PHILANTHROPY, VOLUNTEERS

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE/VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN & CHILDREN

EDUCATION/HOMESCHOOLING

EMPLOYMENT, LABOUR & REMOTE WORK

END OF LIFE

FINANCE

FOOD, FOOD SECURITY & FOOD SYSTEMS

GENDER EQUITY

HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE

HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

INFORMATION/MISINFORMATION, COMMUNICATION & SOCIAL MEDIA

INFRASTRUCTURE

INTERNATIONAL

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

ANIMAL

CIVIL LIBERTIES

CONSTITUTION

EMERGENCIES

EMPLOYMENT

FAMILY

HEALTH

IMMIGRATION

INTERNATIONAL

JUSTICE

POLICY

PRIVACY

WILLS & POWER OF ATTORNEY

LONG TERM CARE

MENTAL HEALTH

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

RACISM

REFUGEES, MIGRANTS & IMMIGRATION

SENIORS & ELDERCARE

SPORTS

TECH

WAR & CONFLICT COUNTRIES

VACCINES

COVID-19: A RESOURCE PAGE FOR JOURNALISTS BY THE COALITION FOR WOMEN IN JOURNALISM

 

BIOLOGY, EPIDEMIOLOGY, INFECTIOUS DISEASES & IMMUNOLOGY

Cynthia Carr – Epidemiologist and Health Policy Expert, EPI Research Inc.

  • COVID-19, coronavirus, epidemiology, health policy, community health assessment, social determinants of health, evidence-based decision making, data and leadership

Claire Cupples – Former Dean of Science and Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University

  • Human-microbe interactions, vaccination

Eleanor Fish – Director, Arthritis & Autoimmunity Research Centre Canada Research Chair in Women’s Health & Immunobiology Senior Scientist, Division of Advanced Diagnostics, Toronto General Research Institute, University Health Network Associate Chair, International Collaborations & Initiatives and Professor, Department of Immunology, University of Toronto

  • Immunology, infectious diseases

Jen Gommerman – Professor, University of Toronto, Department of Immunology

  • Immunology, COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine

Amy Greer – Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor, University of Guelph

  • Infectious diseases, transmission of infectious diseases, epidemiology, pandemics, disease dynamics, public health, emerging diseases, intervention, COVID-19

Farah Mawani – CIHR Health System Impact Fellow, Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health Toronto & School of Public Health, University of Alberta

  • Infectious disease epidemiology, social and psychiatric epidemiology

Priyanka Mishra – Postdoctoral Research Associate, Simon Fraser University

  • Immunology, innate immunity

 

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Jenifer Bartman – Founder & Principal, Jenifer Bartman Business Advisory Services

  • Business/economic aspects of COVID-19, business development, trade, current affairs

Briana Brownell – Founder and CEO, Pure Strategy Inc.

  • Stock market, global financial crisis, NYSE trading

Chantal Fry – Owner, Glisse on Ice and C Rosé and Co-founder, Savourez Fine Foods

  • COVID-19 impact on event and food and wine industries, events, food, wine, travel, women in business

Diana Goodwin – Founder & CEO, MarketBox

  • Entrepreneurship, marketplaces, small business, starting and growing a business, mobile workforce, B2B sales, SaaS

Sherena Hussain – Lawyer and Assistant Professor, Schulich School of Business, York University

  • Business, real estate, international relations 

Lisa Kramer – Professor of Finance, University of Toronto

  • Financial markets, empirical finance, behavioral economics, behavioral finance, investments

Parisa Mahboubi – Senior Policy Analyst, C.D. Howe Institute

  • Skills and labour market policy, human capital

Paula Minnikin – Chief Technology Officer, Minnikin Resources Inc.

  • COVID-19 impact on Board of Directors and operations

Gillian Petit – Research Associate, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary

  • economics, basic income, personal taxes and tax benefits, transition from CERB to EI, income and social supports, provincial welfare programs, vulnerable and marginalized groups, intersectionality and income support programs

Rikia Saddy – Business Strategist/CEO Advisor

  • Market strategy, brick and mortar, influencers, manufacturing, biotech

Agata Soroko – PhD Candidate, University of Ottawa

  • Recession consequences of COVID-19, social and economic structures, poverty and inequality

Janice Sousa – Vice President, Business Development, Merit Travel

  • Travel, sales, women in sales, women in tech, strategy

Lindsay Tedds – Associate Professor and Scientific Director, Fiscal and Economic Policy, University of Calgary

  • Economic impacts of COVID-19, public policy responses

Tatiana Teevens – Director, Adventure With Purpose & Purpose Business Group

  • Travel and tourism, responsible travel and tourism, international development and tourism

 

 

CAREGIVING, CHILDREN, PARENTING & CHILD CARE

Julia Anderson – Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH)

  • Childcare

Katherine Arnup – Keynote & Presentation Speaker, Author, Professor, Carleton University (Retired), Life Changes Coaching

  • Seniors, caregiving

Kate Bezanson – Associate Professor of Sociology, Associate Dean Social Sciences, Brock University

  • Family policy, childcare, social policy, maternity/parental leaves, work-life balance

Michelle Pensa Branco – Co-founder, SafelyFed Canada

  • Breastfeeding, lactation, public health, infant health, infant feeding in emergency preparedness, pregnancy, reproductive rights and issues

Dr. Ayisha Kurji – Pedatrician and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Saskatchewan

  • Pediatrics, COVID-19, COVID-19 and impact on kids, COVID-19 and impact on healthcare

Elena Merenda – Assistant Program Head, Early Childhood Studies, University of Guelph-Humber

  • Children, child care, children’s grief

Sarah Molyneaux – Lawyer, Molyneaux Law

  • Child care issues at work due to COVID-19 school closures

Jenna Morton – Writer and Digital Media Company Owner, Pickle Planet Moncton

  • Parenting, practical ways parents can deal with educational slide, social media and children, teaching children importance of knowing source of information and when it needs to be shared, strategies for being home with elementary school-age children

Diana Sarosi – Manager, Policy, Oxfam Canada

  • COVID-19 and care

Natasha Sharma – Relationship & Parenting Expert, Author, Co-Founder “Intelligent Mindset”, Doctor of Psychology Candidate, NKS Therapy and Intelligent Mindset

  • Parenting and COVID-19 response for children, depression, family, relationships, marriage

Anjum Sultana – Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications, YWCA Canada

  • COVID-19 and child care

Laura Tamblyn Watts – President and CEO of CanAge and Acting Policy Director of the National Initiative for Care of the Elderly

  • Caregiving, intergenerational issues

Donna Thomson – Care Activist

  • Caregiving, family caregiving, role of family caregivers during COVID-19 pandemic

Suzanne Tough – Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

  • Maternal and family well being, child care, at risk families

 

COMMUNITY RESPONSE, CHARITY & PHILANTHROPY, VOLUNTEERS

Amara Possian – Professor (Seneca College), Canada Campaigns Director (350.org)

  • COVID-19 community response, advocacy and public affairs, democracy and civic participation

Ann Rosenfield – Principal, Charitably Speaking

    • COVID-19 impact on charitable sector, giving, charity boards
    • Volunteering, volunteer leadership

Rikia Saddy – Business Strategist/CEO Advisor

  • Foreign aid, domestic philanthropy

Zoe Share – CEO, Schmooz Media LTD

  • Grassroots campaign to find, match and meet the needs of front line workers

 

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE/VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN & CHILDREN

Kim Hawkins – Executive Director, Rise Women’s Legal Centre

  • COVID-19’s impact on domestic violence, impact of closing of the courts

Haley Hrymak – Lawyer, Rise Women’s Legal Centre

  • family law, family violence, gender-based violence

Petra Molnar – Acting Director, International Human Rights Program, University of Toronto Faculty of Law

  • COVID-19’s impact on women escaping domestic violence

Kharoll-Ann Souffrant – Ph.D. student in Social Work and Vanier scholar, University of Ottawa

  • Gender-based violence, violence against women and children, COVID-19 pandemic and women’s issues

Anjum Sultana – Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications, YWCA Canada

  • COVID-19 and gender-based violence

 

EDUCATION/HOMESCHOOLING

Andréa Coutu – Consultant, Consultant Journal

  • Home learning

Ann-Louise Davidson – Associate Professor, Education and Concordia University Research Chair, Maker Culture, Tier 2, Concordia University

  • Online learning, innovative pedagogy

Jennifer Fane – Faculty, Capilano University

  • Educational outcomes following school closures, early childhood education, public health and education research on young children’s wellbeing and intersection with learning and educational environments

Elena Merenda – Assistant Program Head, Early Childhood Studies, University of Guelph-Humber

  • Education, post-secondary education, early childhood education, inclusive education

Shana MacDonald – Assistant Professor, Communication Arts, University of Waterloo

  • Homeschooling and technology

Diana MacKay – Special Advisor to the Provost, Aga Khan University

  • Higher education, education policy

Parisa Mahboubi – Senior Policy Analyst, C.D. Howe Institute

  • Education, skills and labour market policy

Nobina Robinson – Chief Executive Officer (retired), Polytechnics Canada

  • Impact of coronavirus on higher education, industry innovation, future of work

Rikia Saddy – Business Strategist/CEO Advisor

  • Education, educational technology

Lee Skallerup Bessette – Learning Design Specialist, Georgetown University

  • Distance delivery for university courses, academic technology

Prachi Srivastava – Associate Professor, Western University

  • Effect of COVID-19/coronavirus on global education, mass disruption of education

Valerie Walker – Chief Executive Officer, Business + Higher Education Roundtable

  • online learning, education

 

EMPLOYMENT, LABOUR & REMOTE WORK

Julia Anderson – Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH)

  • Organizational management, virtual organizational management

Lakshmi Baskaran – Vice-President of Engineering, Leonardo Worldwide Corporation

  • Tech employment, remote work, work-life balance

Marianne Bulger – Founder and CEO, Prospect

  • Hiring, future of work, database for job seekers affected by COVID, career, talent

Andréa Coutu – Consultant, Consultant Journal

  • COVID-19/coronavirus impact on working from home, remote work

Hilda Gan – President and Chief People Officer, People Bright Consulting Inc.

  • human resources, COVID-19 and human resources strategies, legislative supports and subsidies

Katrina German – CEO, KatrinaGerman.com

  • Videoconferencing and tech for working from home

Diana Goodwin – Founder & CEO, MarketBox

  • Mobile workforce, technology, innovation

Susan Hodkinson – Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Crowe Soberman LLP

  • Human resources, staff, people and culture, corporate culture, organizational culture

Christine Laperriere – President, Leader In Motion & Executive Director, Women of Influence Advancement Centre

  • Work-life balance

Shana MacDonald – Assistant Professor, Communication Arts, University of Waterloo

  • COVID-19 and work-life balance

Parisa Mahboubi – Senior Policy Analyst, C.D. Howe Institute

  • Skills and labour market policy, human capital

Krysten Merriman – Co-founder, Admin Slayer

  • COVID-19/coronavirus impact on remote work, decentralized workforce, managing a remote workforce, cloud-based business operations and software, using digital media to replace in-person interactions

Paula Minnikin – Chief Technology Officer, Minnikin Resources Inc.

  • Working from home, employee engagement while working remotely

Bobbie Racette – CEO, Virtual Gurus

  • Remote work, virtual work, virtual assistance

Rehana Rajwani – Director, Agile Catalyst, Bank of Montreal

  • Leadership, organization psychology, digital and workplace transformation

Isabelle Perreault – CEO and Founder, Differly Inc.

  • Necessity of shifting to digital and virtual operations during COVID-19 outbreak and beyond

Ruth Sirman – Organizational Conflict Consultant, Internationally Certified Mediator, CanMediate International

  • Working during a crisis and the impact on employees, managers, colleagues, families and clients, managing conflict, stress and relationships during self-isolation, understanding human interactions and why people do what they do

Anjum Sultana – Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications, YWCA Canada

  • COVID-19 and employment and labour conditions

Lisa Taylor – President, Challenge Factory

  • Careers, employment, remote work, employee engagement, generational differences, future of work predictions

Valerie Walker – Chief Executive Officer, Business + Higher Education Roundtable

  • Workforce, remote work, talent and training

 

END OF LIFE

Mallory Greene – CEO & Co-Founder, Eirene

  • end-of-life, funerals, cremation, social responsibility, technology

 

FINANCE

Tracey Bissett – President and Chief Financial Fitness Trainer, Bissett Financial Fitness Inc.

  • Financial services, financial education, financial literacy, banking, risk management

Julia Chung – CEO & Financial Planner, Spring Financial Planning & Admin Slayer Services

  • Personal finances, financial planning, managing cash flow, what can be controlled and what cannot in cash flow, investment

Lisa Kramer – Professor of Finance, University of Toronto

  • Financial markets, empirical finance, behavioral finance, investments

Jackie Porter – Canada’s Financial Confidante, Carte Wealth Management

  • Financial planning, financial resilience and transition

Rikia Saddy – Business Strategist/CEO Advisor

  • Finance, fintech

 

FOOD & FOOD SECURITY

Sarah Berger Richardson – Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law (Civil Law section), University of Ottawa

  • food safety, food security, food policy, food and agricultural law, agrifood policy, meat industry

Jennifer Black – Associate Professor, University of British Columbia

  • food security, food systems, social determinants of health

Jane Hayes – Director & Designer: Healthy Food Programs, Urban Gardens & Permaculture, Garden Jane

  • food systems, permaculture, urban agriculture, community development

Jane Rabinowicz – Executive Director, USC Canada

  • COVID-19 impact on food security and seed security

Steffanie Scott – Associate Professor, Department of Geography & Environmental Management, University of Waterloo

  • Food, food security, food supply, local food

 

GENDER EQUITY

Julia Anderson – Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH)

  • Gender equality, human rights, gender equality as social movement, workplace pay equity, domestic experience of Canadian women

Kate Bezanson – Associate Professor of Sociology, Associate Dean Social Sciences, Brock University

  • Gender equality, social policy, family policy, childcare

Kelly Cooper – Founder and President, Centre for Social Intelligence

  • Gender equality and COVID-19

Rachel Kohut – Project Director, Feminist Law Reform Advocacy, National Association of Women and the Law

  • Gender, law, public health, global health, GBA+ analysis of outbreaks

Diana Sarosi – Manager, Policy, Oxfam Canada

  • COVID-19 and gender issues, COVID-19 and care, COVID-19 and humanitarian impacts

Rebecca Sullivan – Professor, Department of English, University of Calgary

  • Gender-based analysis

Anjum Sultana – Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications, YWCA Canada

  • COVID-19 and gender equity, care work, care economy, economic justice

 

HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE

Julia Anderson – Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH)

  • Global health, global health rights for women and children, global health issues, multilateral organizations global health advocacy, World Health Organization (WHO)

Dr. Lesley Barron – General Surgeon, Halton Healthcare

  • Health care, health care policy, surgery

Edith Bernier – Author, Public Speaker, Activist & Blogger, Grossophobie.ca – Infos & référence and The Plus-Size Backpacker

  • Weight stigma, fat-shaming, fat-phobia, body positivity, body diversity

Susan Cadell – Professor, Renison University College, University of Waterloo

  • Grief, public health model of bereavement support, dying and bereavement

Dr. Michelle Cohen – Physician, Dept of Family Medicine, Queen’s University

  • family medicine, primary care, rural health, health policy, women’s health, equity in health care

Dr. Sarah Cook – Doctor, Integra Health Centre

  • Front-line family physician, family medicine

Claire Cupples – Former Dean of Science and Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Simon Fraser University

  • Human-microbe interactions, vaccination, healthcare

Dr. Monika Dutt – Public health specialist and family physician

  • Public health, healthcare, healthcare policy, Canadian healthcare system, social determinants of health, advocacy, population health, influenza, climate change and health

Josephine Etowa – Full Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa; OHTN Chair in Black Women’s HIV Prevention and Care, Lead Investigator, Collaborative Critical Research for Equity & Transformation in Health (CO-CREATH) Lab; Affiliate Professor, School of International Development and Global Studies; Affiliate Professor, Institute for Science, Society and Policy

  • health and healthcare, inequities in health and healthcare, healthcare for Black Canadians, COVID and healthcare inequities, systemic racism in healthcare, capacity building to respond to Black Canadians’ health needs during COVID, impact of COVID-19 on Black communities

Diane Finegood – Professor, Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University & Executive Director, Canadian Health Services and Policy Research Alliance

  • Health research, complex systems, spread of COVID-19 makes our response complex, not just complicated

Kelly Grindrod – Assistant Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo

  • Pharmacy, pharmacies limiting supplies due to COVID-19

Devon Greyson – Assistant Professor of Health Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Public health, health services, vaccination, vaccination hesitancy

Roojin Habibi – Research Fellow, Global Strategy Lab

  • Global health, health and human rights, health policy

Jennifer Hollinshead – Founder and Clinical Director, Peak Resilience

  • Best practice for supporting medical professionals involved in war zones or other severe pandemics

Dr. Jennifer Hulme – Emergency Physician, University Health Network and Assistant Professor, University of Toronto

  • Public health, care for homeless who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, healthcare, emergency medicine, social determinants of health, population health, health inequities, healthcare issues in vulnerable and marginalized populations

Jennifer Jackson – Registered Nurse, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Calgary

  • Nursing, healthcare, healthcare systems, healthcare systems’ response to COVID-19

Dr. Tara Kiran – Family Physician; Vice-Chair Quality and Innovation, St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team; University of Toronto

  • Family medicine, primary care, health policy, healthcare quality, improvement of care

Karishma Kripalani – Trauma-informed Craniosacral Therapist, Pranasacral

  • Health, trauma, trauma therapy, resiliency work, mind-body healing, mindfulness and meditation, yoga

Rachel Kohut – Project Director, Feminist Law Reform Advocacy, National Association of Women and the Law

  • Law, public health, global health, GBA+ analysis of outbreaks

Dr. Ayisha Kurji – Pedatrician and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Saskatchewan

  • Pediatrics, COVID-19, COVID-19 and impact on kids, COVID-19 and impact on healthcare

Christine Laperriere – President, Leader In Motion & Executive Director, Women of Influence Advancement Centre

  • Stress management, mindset dealing with uncertainty

Fiona MacDonald – Associate Professor, University of the Fraser Valley

  • Healthcare, ethics and health, public health and COVID-19, humanization/dehumanization in healthcare practice and public discourses 

Diana MacKay – Special Advisor to the Provost, Aga Khan University

  • Health policy

Dawn Mackey – Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University

  • public health, aging, older adults, mobility, physical activity, long-term care

Dr. Shazma Mithani – Emergency Physician, Royal Alexandra Hospital

  • COVID-19, emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, healthcare

Dr. Kate Mulligan – Director of Policy and Communications, Alliance for Healthier Communities & Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

  • Public health, race-based data, health equity, social determinants of health, community health

Martha Paynter – Spokesperson, President of the Board, Womens Wellness Within

  • COVID-19 and prisoner health, abortion and contraception as essential services, health services management

Farah Shroff – Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Family Practice and School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

  • Public health, integrative health care, social determinants of health, global health

Kharoll-Ann Souffrant – Ph.D. student in Social Work and Vanier scholar, University of Ottawa

  • COVID-19 and health care professionals

Dr. Melissa Yuan-Innes – Glengarry Memorial Hospital

  • Emergency medicine, COVID-19 and PPE, COVID-19 and Canada’s slow response to isolate, health

 

HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS

Anjum Sultana – Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications, YWCA Canada

  • COVID-19 and housing and homelessness

 

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

Naomi Sayers – Indigenous feminist and lawyer

  • COVID-19 and Indigenous issues

 

INFORMATION/MISINFORMATION, COMMUNICATION & SOCIAL MEDIA

Rukhsana Ahmed – Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Communication, University at Albany, SUNY

  • Health communication, improving the management of COVID-19 with communications, information and communication technology and clinical practices

Alice Fleerackers – PhD Student, Freelance Writer, Simon Fraser University

  • Health communication, science communication, health uncertainty, misinformation, public understanding of science, journalism, social media, news, communication

Devon Greyson – Assistant Professor of Health Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Health information, health information technology, information and communication technology, vaccination, vaccination hesitancy

Kathryn Hill – Executive Director, MediaSmarts

  • Misinformation/disinformation related to COVID-19 , importance of verifying information, ways to verify sources

Anita Li – Media consultant and journalism professor

  • Digital and news literacy for the public, identifying “fake news”, identifying misinformation/disinformation in COVID-19 stories

Shana MacDonald – Assistant Professor, Communication Arts, University of Waterloo

  • COVID-19/coronavirus tracking and trending on social media, social media use to spread information and disinformation, social media and social pressures to self-isolate

Dr. Kate Mulligan – Director of Policy and Communications, Alliance for Healthier Communities & Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

  • Public health communications, equity-focused health communications

Katharina Niemeyer – Professor, Université du Québec à Montréal

  • Media, crisis and catastrophe, digital social media, media and memory, media and historical events

Rachel Pulfer – Executive Director, Journalists for Human Rights

  • Media, journalism, past coverage of Ebola outbreaks in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rebecca Sullivan – Professor, Department of English, University of Calgary

  • Media and communications

Heidi Tworek – Assistant Professor of History, University of British Columbia

  • Health communications, public health communications, messaging and communications as medical interventions, news and media, social media

 

INFRASTRUCTURE

Barbara Robinson – President and Founder, Norton Engineering Inc.

  • Civil engineering, sewer system, sewer system blockages, climate change, infrastructure

Dianne Saxe – President, SaxeFacts

  • Sewage, sewage overflow related to climate change, government spending, climate change

Naomi Sayers – Indigenous feminist and lawyer

  • COVID-19 and energy issues, electricity providers

 

INTERNATIONAL

Steffanie Scott – Associate Professor, Department of Geography & Environmental Management, University of Waterloo

  • COVID-19 in China

Sarah Teich – Lawyer, Canadian Coalition Against Terror (C-CAT)

  • COVID-19 and international law

 

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

 

ANIMAL

Rebeka Breder – Animal law lawyer, Breder Law

    • Animal law and COVID-19, animal rights

Victoria Shroff – Barrister, Solicitor & Notary Public in British Columbia, Shroff & Associates, Adjunct Law Professor (part time), University of British Columbia

    • Animal law and COVID-19, animal health and safety

 

CIVIL LIBERTIES

Amira Elghawaby – Journalist & Human Rights Advocate

    • Civil liberties, civil rights, human rights

Petra Molnar – Acting Director, International Human Rights Program, University of Toronto Faculty of Law

    • New technologies and methods of surveillance used to slow the spread of the pandemic will also likely infringe on rights and civil liberties

Catherine Morris – Deputy Executive Director , Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada

    • Civil liberties, human rights

Clara H. Whyte – Executive Director, Bioepokas

    • Short and long term political consequences of COVID-19, including civil liberties

 

CONSTITUTION

Kerri Froc – Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, University of New Brunswick

    • Charter of Rights, Charter implications of government use of emergency legislation to abridge rights, constitutional law, human rights

Martha Jackman – Professor, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa

    • Charter of Rights, constitutional law, COVID-19 and enforced self-isolation

 

EMERGENCIES

Sarah Teich – Lawyer, Canadian Coalition Against Terror (C-CAT)

    • Emergencies law in Canada and the U.S., state liability for COVID-19

 

EMPLOYMENT

Hermie Abraham – Employment Lawyer and Owner, Advocation Professional Corporation

    • Employment law, wrongful dismissal, workplace policies, discrimination, harassment

Sarah Molyneaux – Lawyer, Molyneaux Law

    • COVID-19 and unpaid and paid leaves, sick days, layoffs due to COVID-19’s impact on business, child care issues at work due to COVID-19 school closures, right to refuse work rendered unsafe by risks of exposure to the novel coronavirus, human rights law, employment law

Tanya Walker – Lawyer, Owner, Walker Law P.C.

    • Emergency litigation during COVID-19, employment

Zeinab Yousif – Labour & Employment Lawyer, Miller Thomson LLP

    • Labour law, employment law, human rights, wrongful dismissal, employers

 

FAMILY

Jacinta Gallant – Collaborative Lawyer, Mediator and Conflict Trainer, Waterstone Law Group

    • Child support arrangements in the face of work and income loss, conflict resolution assistance during isolation or exposure, essential workers who also want to parent but the other parent can stay home, innovative legal tools to serve clients, separation, divorce, family conflict, parenting from two homes, conflict resolution, family law, family mediation

Haley Hrymak – Lawyer, Rise Women’s Legal Centre

    • Family law, family violence, gender-based violence

Darlene Rites – Family Law Lawyer and Mediator, Ferreira & Bettencourt, LLP

    • COVID-19 and family law, mediation, separation, divorce, custody and access, support, division of property, divorce and restraining orders

 

HEALTH

Françoise Baylis – University Research Professor, Dalhousie University

    • COVID-19 and public health ethics, with a focus on those who are socially and economically disadvantaged, health law and ethics

Lisa Feldstein – Principal Lawyer/Health Lawyer, Lisa Feldstein Law Office PC & Adjunct Professor, York University (Faculty of Health)

    • Health law, family health law, treatment decisions for someone on a ventilator, who decides who gets a ventilator or when to withdraw life support, power of attorney, end of life decision-making, COVID-19 and medically assisted dying

Colleen Flood – Professor & University Research Chair, Centre for Health Law Policy & Ethics, University of Ottawa

    • Health law, health policy, right to health, federalism and health care, healthcare systems

Lorian Hardcastle – Assistant Professor, Faculties of Law and Medicine, University of Calgary

    • Public health law and policy, health systems issues, hospital regulation, patient safety

Rachel Kohut – Project Director, Feminist Law Reform Advocacy, National Association of Women and the Law

    • Law, public health, GBA+ analysis of outbreaks

Roxanne Mykitiuk – Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

    • Health law, disability and the law, COVID-19 impacts on marginalized communities, COVID-19 and implications for those living in congregate settings, bioethics

Laila Paszti – Lawyer/AI Technology Advisor, GTC Law Group PC

    • Life sciences regulatory

 

JUSTICE

Lisa Jørgensen – Criminal and Regulatory Defence Lawyer, Ruby Shiller Enenajor DiGiuseppe

    • COVID-19 and administration of justice (prisons, courthouses, access to justice), criminal law, criminal defence, mental health, women in law, sexual harassment, inequality

 

IMMIGRATION

Evelyn Ackah – Founder and Managing Lawyer, Ackah Business Immigration Law/Crossing Borders Seamlessly

    • Business immigration law, corporate immigration law, Canadian immigration law, US immigration law, USMCA immigration law, skilled workers immigration

Elizabeth Long – Partner, Barrister & Solicitor, Long Mangalji LLP

    • Immigration law, COVID-19 travel ban, economic areas in immigration law, immigration for workers, students, and business owners, workers rights, migrant worker’s rights, low-skilled workers

Tanya Walker – Lawyer, Owner, Walker Law P.C.

      • Emergency litigation during COVID-19, immigration

 

INTERNATIONAL

Sarah Teich – Lawyer, Canadian Coalition Against Terror (C-CAT)

    • COVID-19 and international law

 

POLICY

Naomi Sayers – Indigenous feminist and lawyer

    • Legislative updates, legal policy

 

PRIVACY

Laila Paszti – Lawyer/AI Technology Advisor, GTC Law Group PC

    • Privacy law

Lauren Reid – President, The Privacy Pro

    • Mobile phone tracking, location data collection, privacy, data ethics
      •  

Teresa Scassa – Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

    • Privacy and the use of private sector data in the COVID-19 crisis

 

WILLS & POWER OF ATTORNEY

  • Erin Bury – Co-founder, CEO, Willful

    • Wills, power of attorney, estate planning, end of life planning, impact of COVID-19 legal restrictions for virtual signatures on wills and power or attorney

 

LONG TERM CARE

Amy Friesen – Seniors Advocate, Founder and CEO, Tea & Toast

  • Seniors, senior living, retirement residence

Dawn Mackey – Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University

  • Aging, older adults, mobility, physical activity, long-term care

Laura Tamblyn Watts – President and CEO of CanAge and Acting Policy Director of the National Initiative for Care of the Elderly

  • Law and aging, elder law, seniors, long-term care, social isolation

 

MENTAL HEALTH

Taslim Alani-Verjee – Clinical Psychologist, Founder and Director, Silm Centre for Mental Health

  • Clinical psychology, mental health, stigma, equity, mental illness, how systems of oppression impact mental health, barriers to mental health support

Dr. Melanie Badali – Board Director at AnxietyBC, Registered Psychologist at North Shore Stress & Anxiety Clinic

  • Mental health, managing fear and anxiety, taking care of your mental health

Lisa Belanger – CEO, ConsciousWorks

  • Mental wellbeing, behaviour change, mindfulness, physical activity, healthy behaviours, stress and work, impactful recovery from stress, attention management, how technology interacts with brain and behaviour

Kristy Brosz – Medical Social Worker & Rare Disease Advocate, HAE Canada & Adoptive Parent Advocate

  • Mental health, mental health impact on chronic illness patients, medical trauma

Kimberley Brownlee – Professor of Philosophy, University of British Columbia

  • COVID-19 – isolation, quarantine, connection with others; social deprivation; loneliness

Dr. Sarah Cook – Doctor, Integra Health Centre

  • Mental health

Robin Cox – Research Director and Professor, ResilienceByDesign Research Lab and Royal Roads University

  • Mental health,  individual and collective needs, signs and symptoms of stress/fear/anxiety, tips for how to address/manage/cope, emotional/psychological resilience, intersection between pandemic and climate change from a behavioral change perspective

Jennifer Hollinshead – Founder and Clinical Director, Peak Resilience

  • COVID-19 and mental health, self-care, video counselling during COVID-19, online support groups

Dr. Katy Kamkar – Ph.D., C.Psych., Clinical Psychologist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)

  • COVID-19 and mental health, coronavirus and mental health, mental health, PTSD, police, first responders, workplace mental health, stress management

Françoise Mathieu – Executive Director, TEND ACADEMY LTD

  • Mental health, burnout, trauma, stress, compassion fatigue, secondary trauma

Farah Mawani – CIHR Health System Impact Fellow, Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health Toronto & School of Public Health, University of Alberta

  • Trauma, recovery, social isolation, social and peer support especially among immigrants and refugees, and people living in social housing, crisis response, social determinants of physical and mental health inequities

Danielle Rice – PhD Candidate, Therapist, McGill University; Canadian Institute for Health Information

  • Mental health, social connectedness, loneliness, mental health symptoms, mental health implications from isolation/quarantine and social distancing

Suzanne Tough – Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

  • Mental health, online tools for mental health, importance of social support, optimism

 

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Xenia Chen – Founder, Threads

  • Re-usable cloth masks for non-medical frontline workers and public for COVID-19

Dr. Melissa Yuan-Innes – Glengarry Memorial Hospital

  • COVID-19 and PPE, emergency medicine

 

RACISM

Amira Elghawaby – Journalist & Human Rights Advocate

  • Racism, anti-hate

Josephine Etowa – Full Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa; OHTN Chair in Black Women’s HIV Prevention and Care, Lead Investigator, Collaborative Critical Research for Equity & Transformation in Health (CO-CREATH) Lab; Affiliate Professor, School of International Development and Global Studies; Affiliate Professor, Institute for Science, Society and Policy

  • Systemic racism in healthcare, capacity building to respond to Black Canadians’ health needs during COVID, impact of COVID-19 on Black communities

 

REFUGEES, MIGRANTS & IMMIGRATION

Evelyn Ackah – Founder and Managing Lawyer, Ackah Business Immigration Law/Crossing Borders Seamlessly

  • Business immigration law, corporate immigration law, Canadian immigration law, US immigration law, USMCA immigration law, skilled workers immigration

Shauna Labman – Associate Professor, Human Rights, University of Winnipeg, Global College

  • Refugee law, refugee resettlement, COVID-19’s impact on refugee resettlement in Canada, international refugee law, asylum, migration, private refugee sponsorship

Elizabeth Long – Partner, Barrister & Solicitor, Long Mangalji LLP

  • Immigration law, COVID-19 travel ban, economic areas in immigration law, immigration for workers, students, and business owners, workers rights, migrant worker’s rights, low-skilled workers

Farah Mawani – CIHR Health System Impact Fellow, Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health Toronto & School of Public Health, University of Alberta

  • Social and peer support among immigrants and refugees

Petra Molnar – Acting Director, International Human Rights Program, University of Toronto Faculty of Law

  • COVID-19’s impact on refugees and migrants, migrant workers

Georgette Morris – Graduate Student, Carleton University

  • Immigration, migration, temporary foreign workers

Shireen Salti – Executive Director, Canadian Arab Institute

  • Canadian Arab community, immigrant and refugee policy, newcomer integration (barriers and successes), internationally-trained professionals

Tanya Walker – Lawyer, Owner, Walker Law P.C.

  • Emergency litigation during COVID-19, immigration

 

SENIORS & ELDERCARE

Katherine Arnup – Keynote & Presentation Speaker, Author, Professor, Carleton University (Retired), Life Changes Coaching

  • Seniors, caregiving

Amy Friesen – Seniors Advocate, Founder and CEO, Tea & Toast

  • Seniors, senior living, retirement residence

Helen Hirsh Spence – Founder/CEO, T60 Strategies (Top Sixty Over Sixty)

  • Older adults and loneliness, older adults and isolation, older adults and online learning, older adults and stress, older adults and tools to stay connected

Dawn Mackey – Associate Professor, Simon Fraser University

  • Aging, older adults, mobility, physical activity, long-term care

Laura Tamblyn Watts – President and CEO of CanAge and Acting Policy Director of the National Initiative for Care of the Elderly

  • Law and aging, elder law, seniors, intergenerational issues, social isolation, mental wellness, powers of attorney and decision-making

 

SPORTS

Aileen McManamon – Managing Partner, 5T Sports Group

  • COVID-19 impact on sports industry, cancellation of sport seasons, cancellation of Olympic Games

 

TECH

Lakshmi Baskaran – Vice-President of Engineering, Leonardo Worldwide Corporation

  • COVID-19 impact on tech industry, tech employment

Ann-Louise Davidson – Associate Professor, Education and Concordia University Research Chair, Maker Culture, Tier 2, Concordia University

  • 3-D printing

Anna Foat – Instructor, University of Western Ontario

  • Technology, healthtech, tool to track and screen patients during the COVID-19 outbreak

Diana Goodwin – Founder & CEO, MarketBox

  • Technology, innovation, marketplaces, startups, mobile workforce

Laila Paszti – Lawyer/AI Technology Advisor, GTC Law Group PC

  • Artificial intelligence solutions for COVID-19

Isabelle Perreault – CEO and Founder, Differly Inc.

  • Digital operations, shifting to virtual, online operations now and in the future, digital communications and ways of working, move service offering online, modernization, digital alternatives, technology adoption

Sarah Sasksa – Co-Founder & CEO, Feminuity

  • Surveillance technology, data

 

VACCINES

Jen Gommerman – Professor, University of Toronto, Department of Immunology

  • COVID-19 vaccine, COVID-19, immunology

Kelly Grindrod – Assistant Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo

  • COVID-19 vaccine, pharmacy education, medication use

 

WAR & CONFLICT COUNTRIES

Muzna Dureid – Liaison Officer, The While Helmets

  • COVID-19 and Syria

Rachel Vincent – Co-Executive Director, Nobel Women’s Initiative

  • COVID-19 and impact on women and communities impacted by war and conflict, and women political prisoners

 

COVID-19: A RESOURCE PAGE FOR JOURNALISTS BY THE COALITION FOR WOMEN IN JOURNALISM

The spread of Covid-19 is a new front line for journalists. The Coalition for Women in Journalism is covering several angles including guidelines, advice and insight from women journalists on the frontlines, a map that features 256 women journalists with links to their work and socials and among other things, the very important development of press freedom issues women journalists are facing due to their Covid-19 coverage. The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity and support with all journalists covering this massive story. As a support organization for women, they have developed resources and tool kits that any journalist can consult.