Our Staff

Marianne Jacques

Acting Scientific Lead

Marianne was appointed Acting Scientific Lead for the National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy (NCCHPP) in September 2023. As part of her duties, she is responsible for the Centre’s scientific direction, administrative management, and for mobilizing its Advisory Board. Marianne holds a bi-disciplinary bachelor’s degree in communication studies and political science and a Master’s degree in political science with a specialization in public administration from the Université de Montréal. She joined the NCCHPP in 2007 as a Scientific Advisor and served as Coordinator from 2015 to 2023.Marianne also serves as Coordinator for the Global Network for Health in All Policies (GNHiAP) secretariat. The NCCHPP is an active member and has hosted the GNHiAP Secretariat since 2020.

Florence Morestin

Acting Coordinator and Scientific Advisor

Florence has been a scientific advisor at the NCCHPP since 2009. Beginning in September 2023, she is the team’s Acting Coordinator. In this capacity, she contributes to the development and monitoring of the NCCHPP’s scientific program. Florence is trained in community health (M.Sc., Université de Montréal) and in political science (Institut d’études politiques d’Aix-en-Provence). Prior to joining the NCCHPP team, she worked in international public health for several years during which time she acquired experience in intervention in the field, in policy development, in research, and in knowledge sharing. In her role as a scientific advisor at the NCCHPP, Florence is responsible for the Knowledge Sharing project that focuses on ways of including public health knowledge in public policy development. She also contributes to the project Analyzing Public Policies.

Laure Baglinière

Expert Scientific Advisor

Laure joined the NCCHPP in 2022. She is a member of the Québec Bar and holds a PhD in health law from the Université de Montréal and the Université Paris Cité. Before pursuing her doctoral studies with the Chaire sur la culture collaborative en droit et politiques de la santé, she gained academic and practical experience working as a legal adviser and as a lawyer. Her PhD research focused on health complaint systems and mediation in the care relationship. At the NCCHPP she is involved in projects on Public Health Infrastructure, including a project related to public health organizations’ capacities to act on healthy public policies.

Natalia C. Botero

Scientific Advisor

Natalia holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of the Andes (Colombia) and a master’s degree in sociology from Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3. After working in different organizations on global health and health promotion, she joined the NCCHPP in 2022. At the NCCHPP, she works on the Health in All Policies project and supports the activities of the Global Network for Health in All Policies Secretariat.

Willy Dunbar

Expert Scientific Advisor

Willy joined the NCCHPP in 2022. He is a physician and holds a PhD in Public Health Sciences from the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). His main work is focused on: global health; health systems and policies; health inequalities; and the policy development, evaluation, and adaptation of public health interventions. The driving interest of his career is to reduce health disparities that affect underserved populations. At the NCCHPP, he is working on projects related to Public Health Infrastructure, synthesizing scientific knowledge and conducting research in order to inform decision making and optimize public health practices. He is also working on a project that explores the impact of COVID-19 and the effects that policies and measures linked to the pandemic have had on Health Inequalities.

Alexandra Espin-Espinoza

Communications Officer

Alexandra holds a bachelor’s degree in modern literature from the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 and a master’s degree in public communication from Université Laval. Prior to joining the NCCHPP team, she collaborated on the design and execution of communication strategies, social interventions, and editorial projects in both the public and private sectors. Her professional experience has allowed her to specialize in content creation and public relations. She is currently a doctoral student in the Département d’information et de communication at Université Laval and her research focuses on health communication. At the NCCHPP, Alexandra contributes, among other things, to the communications activities of the Global Network for Health in All Policies Secretariat and the Canadian Network for Health in All Policies.

Mylène Maguire

Communications Officer

Mylène joined the Centre’s team as a communications officer in 2013. From 2009 to 2013 she worked as the communications coordinator for the six National Collaborating Centres for Public Health. She holds a bachelor’s in public communications from Université Laval. At the NCCHPP, she is responsible for disseminating and promoting resources, developing various communications tools (communications plan, videos, promotional tools) and managing digital activities (website, social media). She also supports the team with webinar hosting and online course development.

Laila Mahmoudi

Scientific Advisor

Laila is trained in public health (M.Sc, École de Santé Publique de l’Université de Montréal), public administration (M.A.P, École Nationale d’Administration Publique) and political science (B.A, Université de Montréal). She is interested in innovative approaches to health promotion that allow for systematic action on the social determinants of health. After having collaborated on evaluative research projects on prenatal nutrition and mental health, she joins the NCCHPP and will contribute to the Health in All Policies project.

Camille Mercier

Scientific Advisor

Camille holds a bachelor’s degree in applied public policy and a master’s degree in international and public policy from the Université de Sherbrooke. Before joining the Centre, she worked at the Public Health Agency of Canada on the implementation of COVID-19 border control measures and completed an internship at the CIUSSS de l’Estrie with the public health surveillance team. At the NCCHPP, she works on the Health in All Policies project by exploring the effects of budgetary restrictions on public health governance and particularly on intersectoral governance.

Val Morrison

Scientific Advisor

Val has been a scientific advisor at the NCCHPP since 2008. She holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in sociology from Concordia University and pursued PhD course work and comprehensive examinations in social stratification, cultural theory, and research methodology in the sociology department at Carleton University. Her projects at the Centre have mostly been in the area of Health Inequalities: intersectionality; policy approaches to reducing health inequalities; and wicked problems. Recently, she has contributed to the project Analyzing Public Policies, by looking into public policy competencies for public health, and to the Population Mental Health and Wellness project by working on wellbeing budgets.

Marie Provost

Administrative Agent

Marie joined the NCCHPP in 2022. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in film studies from the Université de Montréal in 2019. After graduating, she occupied the positions of administrative assistant for customer services and human resources representative in a ridesharing company where she developed organizational skills and acquired the capacity to adapt rapidly. Marie joined the Centre as an administrative agent. She supports the team and Scientific Lead with administrative and organizational procedures.

Martin Renauld

Expert Scientific Advisor

Martin joined the Centre in 2021 after having taught at different post-secondary institutions. He holds a BA (Bishop’s University) and a Master’s (Université de Montréal) in history as well as a political science minor (Université Laval). He completed a PhD in sociology (University of Buenos Aires) and post doctoral work at the Chaire de recherche en Mondialisation, Citoyenneté et Démocratie (UQAM). His research has mainly focused on extractivism, citizen mobilization and collective action. At the NCCHPP, he works on the Health in All Policies project.

Ludwine Wandji Tchatat

Scientific Advisor

Ludwine Tchatat holds a Master’s degree in political science from the University of Montréal. She joined the Centre in 2021 after a few years of scientific research at the university as well as working in the community on issues of psychosocial wellbeing and domestic violence. At the NCCHPP, Ludwine works on policy transfer across jurisdictions and is also interested in Analyzing Public Policies and policy processes.