Full Name
Dr. Nalini Pandalangat
Speaker Bio
Dr. Nalini Pandalangat is Vice President of Community Health and Capacity Building Initiatives at Sherbourne Health. In her role she leads participatory, collaborative and integrated equity-based initiatives that focus on improving health and building capacity in populations that face significant challenges to accessing responsive care.
She completed her PhD at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, and has extensive experience leading projects and programs in the community health, hospital and international development sectors. Her PhD was on cultural influences on help-seeking, treatment and support for mental health problems in the Sri Lankan Tamil community. Her research and program interests are focused on immigrant mental health, gender and health, cultural competence, health care access and health equity.
Nalini worked as a consultant with the New Immigrant Support Network at the Hospital for Sick Children where she developed modules and training around culturally competent programming that would improve access to newcomer communities. Prior, she led the CIDA funded international project in Sri Lanka, for the CAMH, and later was the Manager of the Newcomer Program in South Riverdale Community Health Centre. She was also Research Coordinator of the CIHR funded large scale study of 1600 adults focusing on mental health and help seeking in a refugee population.
Nalini also has experience working in the larger Canadian mental health sector as she played a provincial coordination role as Early Intervention Project Developer, and then moved on to the role of Research Manager in the Community Support and Research Unit at CAMH, wherein she was co-PI on a national level study, commissioned by the Mental Health Commission of Canada on supportive housing for people with mental health and addictions.
Nalini is committed to developing programs that are culturally competent and relevant to addressing the needs of the communities that we serve in a participatory and responsive manner. She is also a seasoned trainer and presenter on issues focusing on cultural competence, health equity, diversity and inclusion.
She completed her PhD at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, and has extensive experience leading projects and programs in the community health, hospital and international development sectors. Her PhD was on cultural influences on help-seeking, treatment and support for mental health problems in the Sri Lankan Tamil community. Her research and program interests are focused on immigrant mental health, gender and health, cultural competence, health care access and health equity.
Nalini worked as a consultant with the New Immigrant Support Network at the Hospital for Sick Children where she developed modules and training around culturally competent programming that would improve access to newcomer communities. Prior, she led the CIDA funded international project in Sri Lanka, for the CAMH, and later was the Manager of the Newcomer Program in South Riverdale Community Health Centre. She was also Research Coordinator of the CIHR funded large scale study of 1600 adults focusing on mental health and help seeking in a refugee population.
Nalini also has experience working in the larger Canadian mental health sector as she played a provincial coordination role as Early Intervention Project Developer, and then moved on to the role of Research Manager in the Community Support and Research Unit at CAMH, wherein she was co-PI on a national level study, commissioned by the Mental Health Commission of Canada on supportive housing for people with mental health and addictions.
Nalini is committed to developing programs that are culturally competent and relevant to addressing the needs of the communities that we serve in a participatory and responsive manner. She is also a seasoned trainer and presenter on issues focusing on cultural competence, health equity, diversity and inclusion.
Speaking At
