Expert Profile: René Sparks

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]

EDIT: We are thrilled to announce that René is the overall champion for the 2022 Voices of the Year competition.

René Sparks is the Quote This Woman+ Voices of the Year winner in the Health category for the year 2022. René is a public health practitioner with a foundation in nursing. She also runs a podcast series funded by Aspen New Voices (she is an Aspen New Voices Fellow) and has passionately championed causes that build resilience amongst community-based healthcare workers for some time now. 

Her work ranges from conference papers and curricula rewrites on the specificity of needs in transgender spaces, to fundraising and making care packages for TB patients. Her work in encouraging the manufacture of sustainable menstrual hygiene items has shifted perceptions, inclusions and accessibility for all users of those products. She sits on several influential boards and is a well-respected and valued voice in the South African medical field. 

She is a board member of Public Health Association of South Africa, Usawo NPO and Yes We Can NPC. She is also the Co-convenor of the Health Management module at the School of Public Health, UWC, the Founder and Director of HACCSA – Health Advocacy and Clinical Compliance South Africa – which she has used as a vehicle for social change and capacity building. René is a Global Atlantic Fellow based at Tekano Health Equity South Africa, and manages the National HIV Quality Assurance and Laboratory systems strengthening programme, seconded to the National Dept of Health via SEAD Consulting.

Education: Sparks has a Masters in Public Health from the University of Western Cape (UWC). 

René’s quote on the importance for women+ to use their voices:

“Our collective voices, is capable of an avalanche of transformation….audible for miles, capable of immense change and powerful beyond measure – let’s raise our voices together!”

Contact jordan@quotethiswoman.org.za to Interview René For Your Next Story.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]