Dr. Jae Ford (they/them/theirs; nekm) is a proud Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer person with trans nonbinary experience and mixed First Nations and settler ancestry, Lnu (Mi’kmaw) on their mother’s side and British and French settler on both sides of their family. They were born and raised within Mi’kma’ki (the unceded homeland of the Mi’kmaq) in Ktaqmkuk (“Land across the Water” or the island of Newfoundland). Jae is a fifth-year resident in Public Health and Preventive Medicine including Family Medicine at UBC. They are on a journey of reconnecting with their Mi’kmaw heritage, culture, language, and teachings. Jae received their Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and Physics and Doctor of Medicine from Memorial University in St. John’s, NL, and Master of Public Health from the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.

Jae’s professional interests and experiences focus on structural and systemic inequities and their impacts on health equity, health promotion, and access to safe and affirming care for marginalized communities, including Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, Indigenous, and queer/trans communities. Their work has foundational groundings in uplifting of Indigenous rights and worldviews, Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing), unlearning and undoing white supremacy and oppression, the principles of equity and justice, and the importance of relationality, reciprocity, and community-based action.

They are proud and honoured to be an advisory member for the development of the Collaborative of Gender and Sexual Health Equity Research Education Resources’ Gender and Sex in Methods and Measures Research Equity Toolkit and a member of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab. They have also joined the Board of Directors of Health Initiative for Men with the goal of helping the organization and its health and wellness services to become safer and more inclusive for trans and gender-diverse people. Additionally, they are a Mentor in UBC’s OUTreach 2SLGBTQIA+ in Medicine and a Peer Facilitator for Qmunity’s peer support group Transgathering.

In their spare time, they enjoy cuddling with their two calico kitties, urban and nature hiking, playing strategic/dedicated deck card and board games, and spending time by/on/in the ocean.