The Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO) is pleased to welcome Dr. Jae Ford to the team in a permanent capacity. Dr. Jae served previously in the OCMO in 2025 as a fifth-year resident in public health and preventive medicine (including family medicine) at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Dr. Jae is a Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer person with trans experience and uses the pronouns she and they, as well as the Mi'kmaw pronoun nekm, a singular third-person term meaning “she," “he" or “they."

She has mixed ancestry, Lnuk (Mi'kmaq) and European settler, and was raised in the ancestral, unceded homeland of her Mi'kmaw ancestors in Ktaqmkuk, Mi'kma'ki (“Land across the Water" or the island of Newfoundland). They are on a journey of reconnecting with their Mi'kmaw heritage, culture, language, and teachings.  Dr. Jae received her bachelor of science in applied mathematics and physics and medical degree from Memorial University in St. John's, NL, as well as a master of public health from UBC.

Dr. Jae brings together their teachings and learnings from Indigenous and Western understandings of health and wellness using Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing) in population and public health for First Nations. She aims to support FNHA's work on gender health, perinatal and birthing care, infant mortality, and sexual and reproductive health.

Their 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 2SIQ, Indigenous, and queer/trans communities. She is proud to serve on several boards and committees for centres and initiatives that support sexual health and wellness, and safer, more inclusive spaces for 2SIQ, Indigenous, and queer/trans peoples.