Vena Joseph

Vena Joseph was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She attended Suffolk University, in Boston, USA, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science with a minor in chemistry. She then pursued her master’s degree at Tulane University in New Orleans (USA), where she specialized in tropical medicine and parasitology. 

Vena is a second-year doctoral student at the University of Montreal. Her PhD thesis examines the coordination of global health efforts in rural areas of Haiti. The global health sector in low-income countries is characterized by a fragmented institutional landscape. Her project examines the complexity inherent to this fragmented and pluralistic environment in rural areas of Grand’Anse, Haiti, through the lens of complex adaptive systems. 

Vena is passionate about global and planetary health, languages, art, and literature. She speaks four languages fluently: French, Haitian Creole, English and Spanish. 
She regularly volunteers in literary festivals, health clinics in underserved areas, and organizations catering to the needs of international students. 

Vena is a painter and visual artist in her free time. She draws from her creativity in her practice both as a researcher and a communicator. She is currently working on her first solo art show, exploring the experiences of reluctant migrants in the Haitian diaspora. 
The foundation’s leadership training program will prove essential for her development as a global health leader. She is looking forward to further developing her skills in knowledge translation, intersectoral collaborations, and engaging communities around pressing global health issues.