Lazenya is a global health specialist with over 14 years’ experience in global health and international development. She has extensive experience partnering with Ministries of Health and INGOs across Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, South and South East Asia on a range of global health projects. Her experience managing projects in post conflict settings has underscored the importance of Health System Strengthening and country ownership in global health policy, research and practice.

As a black woman working on behalf of black and brown people in a predominantly white-led sector, Lazenya's work now focuses on disrupting the status quo, calling out neo-colonial practices within the sector and offering solutions to organisations to redress power imbalances and address health inequalities. She has provided consultancy services to a variety of clients advising on strategy development and execution, co-designing health projects and increasing black and brown leadership representation within the sector. She seizes every opportunity to bring attention to health disparities among black and brown populations.

Lazenya holds an MSc in Control of Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a BSc in Biomedical Science from Royal Holloway University of London.

Lazenya’s personal Twitter is @LazenyaR.

JM is a dentist who was born and trained in Haiti. JM holds a Master’s degree in Dental Public Health from the University of Leeds in the UK. JM’s area of expertise is in community oral health, oral care for the elderly, homeless persons and individuals with physical and learning difficulties. He leads strategy development of targeted oral care services for disadvantage persons.

JM started his community oral health journey in 2007 in southern Haiti where he spent 2 years working at an American-supported health centre with a focus on the most vulnerable. JM then spent 5 years at a hospital in Central Haiti where he led the Dentistry service, serving a population of thirty thousand.

After completing his Master’s degree in Dental Public Health, he joined the NHS as an Oral Health Advisor for two London boroughs training oral health champions, mentoring oral health promoters, supporting care homes and other places housing vulnerable adults.

JM is a published author and conducted qualitative research on homeless people’s access to dental services in the city of Leeds. His findings were published in 2019 in the Community Dental Health Journal in the UK and the abstract and a link to the complete article can be accessed on this website.

JM’s long-term objective is to become a dental public health consultant in the UK while also working as a dentist and a mentor for younger dentistry students.