Community Scholar Program

A program that embeds people with lived migration experience into research, outreach, and service design — so the communities we work with help shape the work itself.

A program born out of necessity

The Community Scholar Program grew out of the CIHR-funded study of COVID-19 outbreaks in Alberta meat processing plants. Reaching workers required more than translation — it required partners who shared language, community, and trust. Community Scholars became those partners, and the program has expanded across nearly every study and outreach initiative MH2C has run since.

Who are Community Scholars?

Community Scholars are members of migrant communities — often with health-sector backgrounds in their countries of origin — who co-design studies, conduct outreach and consent conversations, and bridge the gap between research teams and the people they serve.

The impact speaks for itself

Scholars have gone on to extraordinary achievements, including Adanech Sahilie, who founded the Immigrant Outreach Society and was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025. Across the program, scholars have progressed to:

• One licensed physician and assistant professor.
• Two scholars currently in medical school.
• One scholar pursuing a master’s in community health sciences.
• Four scholars who continued in research roles.

Publications

• Holdbrook et al., "Vaccines for all: A formative evaluation of a multistakeholder community-engaged COVID-19 vaccine outreach clinic for migrant communities."
  Elsevier · March 26, 2023
• Fabreau et al., "Vaccines alone will not prevent COVID-19 outbreaks among migrant workers — the example of meat processing plants."
  Clinical Microbiology and Infection · February 18, 2022

Funding

The Community Scholar Program is supported by the following funders: