Elka Humphrys

Elka Humphrys (PhD) emigrated from the UK in May 2020 and now lives on the traditional territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən speaking peoples and the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. Elka is a Research Coordinator with the Innovation Support Unit in the Department of Family Practice at UBC and has experience in mixed methods research design and healthcare database development. Elka’s research interests focus on understanding individual and community engagement with healthcare services, and identifying opportunities to improve health outcomes.

Michee-Ana Hamilton

Michee-Ana Hamilton she/her (MSc) is a settler of Caribbean descent. She is grateful to the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, the stewards of the land on which she is a guest. She is committed to allyship through unlearning and decolonizing, while supporting Indigenous sovereignty. Michee is a Research Analyst with experience in mixed methods research, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, grant coordination, program service delivery and health care evaluation. She has developed a passion around health equity and harm reduction, through engagement and collaboration with people with lived and living experience of substance use in research and program service delivery. Her research interests include improving health care for people who experience marginalization, including people who use substances, and equitable access to health care.

Rita McCracken

Dr. Rita McCracken, MD, PhD is an Irish/Dutch settler, family doctor and researcher living on the stolen land of the Coast Salish people. At UBC’s, Department of Family Practice, Innovation Support Unit (ISU) she is studying the family doctor shortage in BC. With her team members, she is creating ways to measure changes in the availability of primary care, after new health policy and care delivery models are introduced. Her other research work includes designing tools to change patterns of prescribing/deprescribing in order to better patient outcomes.

Valerie St. John

Valerie St. John has served as the Executive Director of the BC Association of Community Health Centres (BCACHC) since July, 2020.  She has worked in a number of capacities in B.C.’s health sector for 15 years prior to joining BCACHC holding roles such as Assistant Deputy Minister – Health HR Planning, Managing Consultant – EnVision Business Solutions, and Chief Executive Officer -Nurses and Nurse Practitioners Association of BC.

Val’s passion is a focus on system level change in support of health service excellence and thriving communities.  She brings this passion to the work she leads at BCACHC and values the relationships and connections she has made along the way.  www.bcachc.org

Val holds a Master of Arts Degree – Conflict Analysis and Management (Royal Roads University) and strives to identify shared values and goals as a way to build the necessary collaborations required for complex system transformation.  She is excited to support the important work of the BC Rural Health Network as a Board liaison.

She lives in Sidney, B.C. and enjoys island life to the fullest hiking and boating with her partner Jamie, two grown daughters, and family and friends.