Empower Us 2018, Hena Qureshi

Manager HEOR, Innomar Strategies
Founder, Green Sparrow Care
Co-Founder, KannaVolve

Hena Qureshi is a health economist who recently graduated from the University of Calgary with a MSc on a full scholarship awarded from the SVARE Chair in Health Economics. In addition, she has a BSc in Biological Sciences, and a BA in Economics. Currently, she is working at Innomar Strategies on the Health Economics and Outcomes Research consulting team. Her role is to help improve patient access to medications, and is involved in creating the clinical and economic pharmaceutical drug submission dossiers for CADTH, pCODR, and private payers. Hena is a daughter of immigrant parents. From a young age her parents instilled the values of hard-work, social-giving and being strong and independent minded. Growing up she was constantly challenged and encouraged to use her creative power and skills to accomplish tasks on her own, and to overcome challenges.

She realized knowledge from education was a powerful tool to create change and provide herself with opportunities to develop both personally and professionally. Her success in life has in large part been determined by her ability to acquire knowledge and skill, and to transform them into individual strength and prosperity. Now she is focused on translating those skills and knowledge to empower others. She believes the best way to help someone is to provide them with the necessary tools and resources to help them help themselves. Hena believes that supporting people to take agency over their own situation leads to a sense of empowerment that helps transform their lives and their communities. Being a strong proponent of diversity, inclusion, and community development, led her to found the non-profit organization Green Sparrow Care. Her work there has included implementing a CPR and First Aid program, providing education and basic necessities for orphaned girls, and teaching entrepreneurship to elementary students to inspire creativity and innovation. Her work here has led her to being honoured as one of the 6th Annual Top 30 Under 30, by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation along with multiple other awards.

Hena is also very passionate about public health work, and using evidence based research to inform and improve public health decision-making through a systematic and objective approach. Research has encouraged her to think critically, and creatively to deal effectively with problems for which there are no textbook solutions. Currently, Hena is interested in understanding the role medical cannabis plays in improving the quality of life for patients and the economic value. In the Canadian environment there is a lack in medical cannabis research, educational resources, and support systems for patients, healthcare providers, and the general public. Education and research are the fundamental keys to understanding efficacy, the social and economic impact, safety and harm of cannabis use. Given this gap, she co-founded KannaVolve with a group of physicians and healthcare providers with the goal to educate the community on various cannabis related topics to create awareness, understanding and support for individuals. With KannaVolve she is not only actively involved in knowledge translation, of clinical and evidence based research to educate and engage the intergenerational public, but is also generating new evidence and research from the evolving cannabis culture.