Kate Gerster is a second-year medical student at McMaster University. She became interested in international women's health after spending two months doing medical volunteer work in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and was delighted to spend four weeks on elective in Kampala, Uganda just this past summer. Kate has loved working with the wonderful IWCH committee, and hopes you will find this year's conference both educational and enjoyable!

Kammie is a 4th year Bachelor of Health Sciences student and she's thrilled to be on the IWCH committee this year. Having worked on an independent project on maternal mortality and having volunteered at the 2010 IWCH conference, she has developed an interest in women's health advocacy. Aside from organizing the conference with her twelve fabulous committee members, she is often found in the lab studying placentas, at the gym playing volleyball and in MDCL playing her flute in the Health Sci Musical!

Resham is a second year medical student at McMaster University. She is the workshop co-ordinator for the 2011 IWCH conference and is looking forward to exciting and engaging sessions.

Melanie is a second year medical student at McMaster University, and she is this year’s volunteer coordinator for IWCH. Her interest in women and children’s health began during her undergrad degree at the University of Toronto, and has since blossomed having spent her summer learning and working in a hospital in Guyana. She is thrilled to be a part of this fantastic committee to help organize the 2011 conference.

Emily Cheung is a fourth year Bachelor of Health Sciences student at McMaster University. She is interested in pursuing a career in children’s health. She is excited to help plan her first International Women and Children’s Health Conference. Her other interests include dance, hot yoga, and traveling.

Katie Dorman is currently studying medicine at McMaster University. She visited Ethiopia in 2006 to work on a research project through the University of Toronto and returned to Ethiopia in 2011 for a clinical elective. Katie is committed to confronting health care disparities in Canada and globally.

Habon is a second year medical student who has a particular interest in Internal Medicine. Outside of medicine, she enjoys travelling and immersing herself in different cultures. Her most recent travel experience included a tour of the Scandinavian countries.

Anushka is a second year medical student at McMaster. She has a passion for travelling, and spent this past summer pursuing a medical elective in Georgetown, Guyana. She has hopes of becoming a paediatrician after medical school, and strives for a career devoted to providing care for under-serviced populations within both Canada and the global community.

Jessica’s interest in international health began upon entering the Global Health Specialization of the Bachelor of Health Sciences Program at McMaster. A semester spent abroad in rural Ghana mature this interest into a passion and ever since she has been committed to pursuing understanding and activism within the global health community. As Logistics Coordinator she hopes to create an opportunity for those who share this passion to engage with each other and help expose Hamilton and the greater community to some of the most important issue's facing women and children all over the world today.

Joan Li is a second year medical student at McMaster University. She is interested in women and children’s health, with an intent to pursue a specialty in Obstetrics & Gynecology. During her spare time, she enjoys rock climbing, traveling, and watching movies.

Vivian Shan is a third year student studying Biochemistry at McMaster University. She is this year's Community-Based Organizations (CBO) coordinator, connecting IWCH with CBO's in Hamilton to help attendants of the IWCH conference gain access to volunteer opportunities close to home. She loves learning about and participating in the different organizations within the Hamilton community and hopes that the IWCH conference may spur similar interests in participants. She first attended the conference hoping to gain a deeper understanding of global health and left with a long-lasting desire to understand and care for people as people. In her spare time, Vivian likes to catch up with friends and play Ultimate Frisbee.

Danielle Longfield is a second year student in the McMaster Midwifery Education Program. She has recently graduated with a Masters in Lifespan Developmental Psychology and has volunteered with various women and childrens organizations. Through these experiences she began to understand the importance of viewing health as an interaction between mental, physical and social well being. Thus, the theme for IWCH this year really hit home for her. By creating a space for students, faculty, health professionals and community members to understand the importance of mental health we are a step closer to improving the well being for mothers and children globally. Thanks for supporting our cause.

Mark Lee is a 3rd year student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) program at McMaster University, and this is his first year on the planning committee for the IWCH conference. He believes that exposure to current mental health issues is important to developing a better understanding of where the research in the health field is headed towards. When he is not spending time organizing this conference, he enjoys singing in the shower, pigging out at Sushi Star, and taking Sunday afternoon naps.

Alana is a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. She is currently working as a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto In her my spare time, she enjoys reading, volunteering and being physically active. She is proud to be part of a great committee that brings together so many great individuals to share their experiences and teach others the importance of confronting stigma and bring awareness to women’s and children’s health.