Cornelia (Nel) Wieman
Cornelia (Nel) Wieman
Areas of interest
First Nations/Indigenous health, Anti-racism/cultural safety & humility, Mental health & substance use, Public health emergencies; including the ongoing Toxic Drug Crisis
Education
- MSc
- MD
- FRCPC
Biography
Dr. Nel Wieman is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in British Columbia, where she has worked since 2018. She is Anishinaabe (Miishipaawitiik First Nation, Treaty 5 Territory) and lives, works and plays on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples 鈥� the s蓹l虛铆lw蓹ta蕯涩 (Tsleil-Waututh), S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh (Squamish), and x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m (Musqueam) Nations.
Dr. Wieman completed her medical degree and psychiatry specialty training at McMaster University. Canada's first female Indigenous psychiatrist, Dr. Wieman has more than 30 years of clinical and senior leadership experience, working with Indigenous (FN/M/I) people both in-community and away from home. Her previous activities include co-directing an Indigenous health research program in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and the National Network for Indigenous Mental Health Research, being Deputy Chair of Health Canada's Research Ethics Board, and serving on CIHR's Governing Council. She has also worked and taught in many academic settings, has chaired national advisory groups within Indigenous Services Canada - Health Canada, and has served as a Director on many boards, including the Indspire Foundation and Pacific Blue Cross. Dr. Wieman served as the President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (IPAC) from 2016-2022. She was one of the 6 Indigenous physician founders of the National Circle on Indigenous Medical Education (NCIME). She was appointed to the BC Provincial Task Team charged with beginning implementation of the recommendations arising from the 鈥淚n Plain Sight鈥� report. At FNHA, she co-leads the public health response to the Toxic Drug Crisis.