Dr. Onye Nnorom is a distinguished physician, advocate, public speaker and leader in the field of public health and equity. She is a family doctor and public health and preventive medicine specialist. She is Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Province of Ontario; the Chief and Medical Director of Health Equity and Population Health at Lakeridge Health. She is also Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, cross-appointed at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and a medical consultant at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Born in Montreal to parents of Nigerian and Trinidadian backgrounds, she learned at an early age the impact of social injustice and the power of community action. With a deep commitment to social justice and health equity, Dr. Nnorom has dedicated her career to addressing health disparities and improving health outcomes for marginalized communities, with a particular focus on Black populations. Her expertise lies in the intersection of racism and health, and she has been instrumental in advancing equitable healthcare practices and medical education policies.

 

Dr. Nnorom completed her medical training at McGill University, where she developed a passion for community medicine and the importance of addressing social determinants of health. She went on to pursue a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Toronto. Driven by a desire to effect systemic change, Dr. Nnorom has actively advocated for health equity through research and community engagement.

 

She has led numerous initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities, promoting cultural competency in healthcare, and empowering underserved populations. From 2013-18 was  the chronic disease prevention lead at TAIBU Community Health Centre, where she led a number of successful cancer screening initiatives which have been published in peer reviewed journals; the Afrocentric approaches she applied in her community programs are being applied in numerous clinics across Ontario to advance Black women’s health. From 2019-2022, she was the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, within the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. During that time, she was also the President of the Black Physicians' Association of Ontario where she forged a partnership between the BPAO and the DFCM to lead and coordinate vaccine and wellness clinics across Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Dr. Nnorom is the co-founder of the Black Health Education Collaborative, which was established to provide online educational resources on anti-Black racism and Black health for health professional students, clinicians and public health practitioners. Recently, she launched a social media outreach initiative called Healthcaring Differently to encourage diverse youth to explore careers in medicine. 

 

She is a mother of two young boys, a dancer, and caregiver to her father who lives with dementia. Dr. Onye Nnorom's unwavering dedication to equity and her relentless efforts to create a more just and inclusive healthcare system have earned her widespread recognition and respect within the medical community. Her expertise lies at the intersection of anti-racism, community health and healthcare transformation.