Maham Rehman
BIO
Hello! My name is Maham (Ma-hum). I graduated from Western University in 2021 with a BMSc in the Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences program. I’m an avid baker, tea-drinker, and huge Jane Austen fan. I am running for VP EDI to serve as an ally and advocate for medical learners, to ensure their voices are heard and their experiences are respected. My previous experiences have ignited my passion for EDI work. I served as an associate vice-president at the Western University Students’ Council exploring issues such as accessibility and gender-based sexual violence on campus. I co-founded the Ontario Provincial Youth Council - an organization dedicated to amplifying the voices of young people in the legislature. My scholarly work on bias, stigma, and racism in medical education has enhanced my understanding of challenges in the field of EDI. I want to produce meaningful change, seeking to improve the efficacy and safety of learning spaces. PLATFORM My platform focuses on empowering learners to reflect on their identity and experiences to help them address their role in confronting issues of equity at the local, national, and global levels. My goal is to create more inclusive learning environments while promoting a sense of belonging. To achieve this goal, we must begin by amplifying the voices of marginalized members of our McMaster and Hamilton community. Even if we don't identify as part of a certain under-represented group, we have a responsibility to actively listen and initiate dialogue. With this perspective, I aim to implement a speaker series every three months on various EDI-related topics in medicine. This series will include input from student advocates, experts in the field, and people with lived experience to ensure holistic perspective taking. These events will allow us to understand the history of medicine and racial injustice, global health, and decolonization in medical education. |
Riley Easterbrook
BIO
Riley Easterbrook is a white, queer and non-binary settler who has worked in a variety of EDI capacities prior to entering medical school. After completing an undergraduate degree in Child Health, Riley did a Masters focusing on 2SLGBTQ+ parents’ experiences providing sex education to their children. Riley then spent two years working in research – implementing a variety of EDI initiatives in the research centre they worked in. These initiatives included a presentation on gender and sexuality inclusivity in research; co-leading a monthly anti-racism discussion group; compiling an anti-racism resource guide for the research centre; and beginning to develop a guide for inclusive demographic surveys. Outside of this work, Riley has developed a 2SLGBTQ+ training for all faculty and staff at the University of Guelph, worked with 2SLGBTQ+ families and children at Camp Ten Oaks, and worked as an EDI consultant for health and social service organizations, primarily focused on 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion. PLATFORM If elected, Riley will bring their previously described experiences, combined with a passion for advocacy, education, and continuous learning into the VP EDI position. In particular, Riley would like to focus on curricular development, and making the educational content in medical school more inclusive of all marginalized and equity-seeking populations. For example, Riley wants to review and update the clinical skills manual (with particular attention to the language used throughout), seek to incorporate case studies of patients of varying lived experiences and backgrounds into tutorial problems, and review existing UGME policies and procedures. Riley wishes to bring an intersectional lens to the work being done within the MMSC and UGME, and elevate the voices of their classmates as well as patients within the health system. In addition to continuing the work that has been started in regards to 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion, anti-racism, and accessibility in medical education, Riley also hopes to bring in a lens that attends to how fatphobia manifests and persists in medical settings. |