Dr. Kirsten Johnson

Dr. Kirsten Johnson is a Canadian physician, humanitarian, activist, explorer, and leading scholar in global health. She was born in Kelowna and spent her childhood in Victoria BC. She received degrees from the University of Victoria, University of Calgary, McGill and Harvard Universities. She was one of the founding members and a fellow of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and the founder and director of Humanitarian U. She has been an undercover human rights investigator, pioneered research in conflict zones and championed standards for the education and certification of humanitarian workers globally.

She received the Segal Centre’s Janusz Korczak Award for her work on protecting the rights of children in conflict and the Award of Excellence for her work in global health by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Dr. Johnson is a member of the Explorers Club and a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. After two decades working around the world in the humanitarian sector, Dr. Johnson now lives and works in Montréal, and continues to work regular locums in Nunavik, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Humanitarienne: A Doctor’s Stories from the Conflict Zone is her first book.