Olivia Nwaokocha is a champion for Black health equity and change
Coming from a family of professionals in politics, medicine and academia, both in Nigeria and Canada, Olivia Nwaokocha (PharmD’24) was always inspired to drive meaningful change.
“Choosing to go to University meant making sacrifices,” says Nwaokocha. “I had to step outside my comfort zone, push beyond systemic barriers and spend countless hours studying alone. But every challenge prepared me for the work I do today.”
Very early on, Nwaokocha understood the importance of community and mentorship. While pursuing higher education she poured her time into volunteering as a mentor for the Girl Empowerment Movement, an organization that provides leadership, mentorship and empowerment opportunities for youth in the Peel Region.
Along the way, Nwaokocha found a passion in organizing larger volunteer initiatives, encouraging her friends to travel to underserved communities to volunteer, beyond the required 40 hours of volunteer service.
"Upon graduating from my high school, I was honored to receive the 2014 Lieutenant Governor’s Community Volunteer Award, presented by the Ontario Honours and Awards Secretariat of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration for my dedication to volunteer engagement," Nwaokocha says. "It made me realize that community service could be more than just a passion, it could be a meaningful part of my future career."
Olivia is currently working as a community pharmacist, serves as the Black Pharmacy Professionals of Canada (BPPC) event committee chair and is a working group associate for the Federation of Black Canadians where she contributes to national health equity efforts. She was recently recognized with the Federation of Black Canadians, Change Maker Award in 2025 for her contributions to Black health equity.
Advocacy is more than just my passion – it’s my purpose.
Olivia Nwaokocha’s Reflection
Science and healthcare were always at my core. I earned my HBSc in Biochemistry at the University of Guelph prior to completing my PharmD from the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy. Throughout my academic journey, I often found myself one of the only Black students in the room.
Taking up space is something I’ve done consciously. I take these experiences as fundamental in developing my comfort with leadership and I am determined to build Black future pharmacists up so that we never wonder ‘am I supposed to be here’ again.
My commitment to equitable healthcare deepened during a Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) sponsored Black Equity Seminar where I served as a panelist. During the discussion, a Black community member shared her discomfort in accessing pharmacy services due to past experiences of being ignored. That was a pivotal moment for me. Knowing there exists a group of people that aren’t comfortable to access the care we can provide for them breaks my heart. No one should feel unwelcome when seeking healthcare.
This showed me the importance of recognizing that access doesn’t always look the same for all groups of people. Knowing that marginalized groups of people, specifically people of colour, have a mistrust in Canadian healthcare reignited my passion for health equity, especially in the pharmacy field. A lot of systemic changes need to be made to help patients navigate the system, how to access minor ailments and to educate people on how to access better care.
As part of my patient care rotations, I worked at a Multi-Care Kidney Clinic for 16 weeks. It was there that I had an interaction with a patient that highlighted the importance of cultural competence in healthcare.
We had a patient, with a kidney that worked only 30 percent of the time, that missed a lot of appointments. He expressed that the recommendations to his diet were not working. I wondered whether because of his background, his diet may be different than that of a typical North American diet. After speaking with the patient, I discovered that the Nigerian cultural soup that he eats regularly, similar to the one my mom makes, was impacting his condition. I assisted the dietitian in explaining to the patient how his diet affects his kidneys. Patient care rotations really developed my skills and helped me use my autonomy to help patients in real-time. I feel so connected to pharmacy because of my experiential learning and I can now use the innovation instilled in me to create change in my career. This experience really emphasized the need for cultural competence and understanding in our practice as pharmacy professionals.
My passion for pharmacy and community building has come full circle. BPPC creates a space where Black pharmacy professionals can support each other, advocate for change and shape the future of our profession. I am currently spearheading the planning for the inaugural Summitt at the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy in February 2025. There’s so much more work to do, but I’m incredibly proud of how far we’ve come.
Looking ahead, I envision a future where Black pharmacy students and professionals see themselves reflected in leadership, academia and clinical practice. I am working closely with current students at Waterloo Pharmacy to establish a Waterloo Black Pharmacy Student Association chapter to ensure future generations have the mentorship and support I once sought.