This interactive online workshop introduces participants to systems thinking as a powerful tool for understanding the complex factors that influence vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Through guided activities and real-world examples, attendees will explore how biological, social, and healthcare system-level factors interact to impact brain health outcomes. Participants will gain practical strategies for applying systems thinking to their own research, clinical practice, or advocacy work related to cognitive health.
This workshop will serve as a direct lead in to the micro hack-a-thon that we will be doing together at the VAST conference.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Define systems thinking and explain its relevance to understanding vascular cognitive impairment.
Use the Iceberg Model to analyze underlying structures and mental models that contribute to surface-level problems in VCI.
About the Speaker:
Joanne Nowak is Senior Innovation Manager at the Social Innovation Hub at Innovate Calgary. She supports social innovators to scale their impact by exploring sustainable pathways for their ideas — from launching new ventures, creating non-profits with blended finance models, to building strategic partnerships.
She also leads the Hub’s impact measurement and evaluation efforts, helping ventures define, track, and communicate their impact. Joanne holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Toronto, where her research focused on systems, social change, and inequality.
Her career and experience spans roles across universities, government, and non-profits in Canada and the United States, including Global Affairs Canada, Oxfam Canada, and the University of California Santa Barbara. Joanne brings this cross-sector experience to help innovators navigate complexity, scale what works, and create transformative social change.