Prativa Baral Epidemiologist & Co-Founder of Let Science Connect

Prativa is the co-founder of Let Science Connect, an initiative
aimed to restore trust in the scientific process by bridging
science communication gaps between academia and the rest of the
world. She is also an epidemiologist, operating at the
intersection of global health and policy, and a Ph.D. candidate
at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, investigating methods
in health systems strengthening, particularly in the context of
crises.  


 


She has served as a global health consultant and expert advisory
committee member for various international agencies including the
UN, the WHO, the GPMB, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
and the World Bank, with a special focus on institutional design
for global health governance, monitoring efforts to better
understand drivers of risk of health emergencies, as well as
health systems resilience & service delivery during periods
of shocks. Previously, she advised the Government of Canada in
designing and drafting the country's first comprehensive global
health research strategic plan.


 


Her commitment to working with groups facing vulnerable
conditions emerged through her work with the refugee resettlement
program in Québec, where she acted as a point of contact between
a wide range of Canadian ministries, local community partners,
and refugee families across Québec.


 


In 2018, she was selected to be a Global Shaper by the World
Economic Forum, and in 2021, a Fellow of the Royal Society of
Arts. Prativa is a graduate of McGill University’s Faculty of
Science and has received a Master’s in Public Health in
Infectious Disease Epidemiology from Columbia University as a
Merit Scholar Recipient. She is also a Pierre Elliott Trudeau
Foundation Scholar (2021) as well as a recipient of the Canadian
Institutes for Health Research’s Doctoral Foreign Study Award
among other distinctions. Most recently, she served as the
Canadian head delegate for the G7 Youth summit in Berlin, Germany
(2022), and the sole Canadian representative as part of the
Global Shapers delegation of young community leaders to the World
Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos (2023).  


 


Fluent in French, English and Nepali, Prativa is a former
nationally-ranked chess player. She also regularly appears on CBC
and CTV News and other media outlets providing Canadians with
practical suggestions and advice regarding COVID-19.


 


Listen until 06:59 to hear Dr. Baral talk about her experience at
Davos and being proud of who you are.


 


 ”Leadership is something that's been kind of advertised by
corporate America, right? And you gotta wear that navy blue suit
and speak a certain way and not show compassion or empathy or
whatnot. And I think, I hope that our global definition of
leadership is changing. And so if I go back next time to Davos, I
think I would wear a lot more colours than I did.


 


So I did wear, you know, a red dress at a certain point and a red
blazer at a certain point. But Davos, let me see that you want to
stand out. I can't hide the fact that I'm a woman. I can't hide
the fact that I'm brown. And so instead of trying to fit the
mould and wearing a navy blue suit, which, you know, there's
nothing wrong with wearing one, but I would wear something
brighter and bolder.


 


Why would you want to hide your identity or the pieces of you
that make you, you just wear the bright colours if that's what
you want to wear, and just be because there's no one else like
you. Right?”


Check out the book! - Fearless: Girls with Dreams, Women
with Vision


The Fearless Women Podcast


fearlesswomenpodcast@gmail.com


The Beacon Agency