Ximena Ramos Salas
Ximena has a PhD in Public Health with a specialization in Health Promotion & Socio-Behavioural Sciences from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. She is an independent consultant for several Canadian and international organizations such as Obesity Canada, the European Association for the Study of Obesity, and the World Health Organization- Regional Office for Europe. As a public health researcher her goal is to prevent the perpetuation of weight bias and obesity stigma through public health policies and strategies. She has authored and co-authored numerous scientific articles and lectured widely on the impact of weight bias, health inequalities, and patient-centered research, education, and policies. She is an author of the 2020 Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of obesity in adults, and co-author of the chapter on reducing weight bias and obesity stigma in healthcare settings. Ximena is also coordinating the international adaptation of the Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines in Chile and Ireland. Ximena represented Obesity Canada in the joint international consensus statement on ending stigma of obesity and led the development of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe weight bias and obesity stigma report. Ximena is currently the co-chair for the World Obesity Federation’s Working Group on Weight Bias and Stigma. Contact: replica.coms@gmail.com
Brad Hussey
Brad has 20+ years’ experience as a communications consultant in public- and private-sector healthcare and research settings. He has worked with Obesity Canada since 2006, helping to reshape the understanding of and narratives about obesity nationally and globally, as well as several NGOs and nonprofits working in human and animal health, regenerative medicine, engineering and water-health. Brad has led and collaborated on multiple multi-disciplinary, high-visibility collaborations in obesity and other chronic disease areas, building trust among cross-sectoral partners to leverage unique knowledge, shared values and a commitment to improve lives to create impactful, media-friendly research, advocacy and knowledge mobilization programs. With degrees in both theatre/film and English literature from McMaster University, as well as a post-graduate diploma in journalism from Sheridan College, Brad has also written for and edited consumer and trade magazines covering everything from the arts to golf to science and home building, managed a medical education/custom healthcare publishing division for a major Canadian media company, and has regularly ghost written a variety of blogs, op-eds and other content for several leading KOLs. Contact: replica.coms@gmail.com