Matt Hughsam

Matt is committed to supporting people affected by global health injustices to lead and organize effectively. At citiesRISE, he builds learning communities and leadership development programs to advance youth mental health and wellbeing.

Matt was lucky and blessed to learn from refugee health and anti-apartheid organizers early in his career about the importance of pursuing justice always. Before joining citiesRISE, he designed the Deworm the World Initiative’s first knowledge management and learning strategy, providing support to school-based deworming programs in six countries. Matt also previously supported evidence-informed decision-making in several governments, including through South Africa’s Presidency and Ethiopia’s Compassionate and Respectful Health System initiative. Matt is originally from Toronto where he worked with Grand Challenges Canada to model the long-term impacts of global health innovations and with Unity Charity to evaluate the impacts of hip-hop programs on youth mental health.

Matt is passionate about learning – he previously taught undergraduate global health advocacy and governance courses at McMaster University and trained and coached with adaptive leadership experts at Harvard’s government school. He hold a BHSc from McMaster University and an MPH from Harvard’s public health school.