Welcome! New Health Mentors Program Coordinator Betsa Parsa

In May we welcomed Betsabeh (Betsa) Parsa who will coordinate the Health Mentors program and Patient & Community Voices Workshop series in 2025-26. We have had the pleasure of working with Betsa on previous projects and we are delighted to have her onboard to coordinate these long-running programs while Jen Macdonald is on leave.

Betsa has 17 years of experience supporting health and medical education research. Through her work in various research and education settings, she discovered her passion lies in building connections between communities and academic spaces and projects that elevate underrepresented voices and promote equity and inclusion.

She believes in the power of storytelling and, like Barry Lopez, holds that “We keep each other alive with our stories. We need to share them…” Betsa holds a Master of Arts in Education and enjoys blending research with creativity. Originally from Iran, she lived in Prince George and Edmonton from 2001 to 2010 and has called Vancouver home ever since.

When not working, Betsa enjoys creating stories inspired by everyday life, often pairing them with photos or videos, especially for a Farsi-speaking audience. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two almost adult children or trying to keep up with her two energetic cats. Amazed by trees’ mysterious resiliency, she also loves exploring Vancouver’s walking trails.”

Betsa will be the key point of contact for the Health Mentors program and workshop series until Jen returns. She can be reached at pcpe.isdm@ubc.ca.