Our Team
Get to know the faces behind our story.
Welcome to Kuishi Smart, where passion, expertise, and dedication converge to drive our mission of promoting health and wellness in Africa and beyond. Get to know the individuals behind the scenes who make it all possible.
Our Team is your Team, and we are committed to empowering you on your journey to better health. Together, we blend cultural sensitivity, personalization, and evidence-based practices to ensure your well-being takes center stage. Meet the faces behind the mission.
Team Members
The KUISHI SMART team is committed to the respect and understanding of the individuals and cultures we serve. We come from different backgrounds, serve in different countries and continents, but we all share the same goals of increasing health and wellness among the communities we serve.

Patient Beya
Founder & CEO

Patient Beya
Founder & CEO
Patient Beya is a registered dietitian and founder and CEO of KUISHI SMART. Prior to this, Patient worked for various non-governmental organizations, implementing health and nutrition programs around the world. Patient is passionate about dietetics and nutrition and enjoys working with clients, particularly children and their families, to achieve optimal health and improve quality of life. He is experienced in clinical and public health and holds degrees in dietetics from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada and Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales de Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has also received a certificate of Nutrition and Health Emergency Project Management from Bioforce Institut in France. He holds a certificate from LEADS Canada in Health Care Reform from the Canadian College of Health Leaders.

Princess Ethan
Communication and Partnership Building

Princess Ethan
Communication and Partnership Building
Princess brings communication and partnership building capacity to the KUISHI SMART team. She has worked with many non-profit and community partnerships, particularly in Africa. Princess is a dedicated professional with excellent leadership, interpersonal and management skills.

Clarissa Toa
Research Monitoring and Evaluation

Clarissa Toa
Research Monitoring and Evaluation
Clarisse oversees research, monitoring and evaluation for KUISHI SMART. She has seven years experience working as a medical doctor in Côte d’Ivoire. She recently completed a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of Montreal and has participated in provincial research on accessibility to services of newcomers to Canada.

Patrick Kisembo
Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring

Patrick Kisembo
Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring
Patrick brings knowledge of food security and nutrition monitoring strategic experience to KUISHI SMART. He has spent seven years working as a dietitian with international nonprofit organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). His areas of focus include global nutrition, capacity building for food security and nutrition monitoring at the household, community and system level. Patrick has a degree in Nutrition and Food Science from Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales de Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Emilie Fontaine-Bolanos
Community Outreach and Health Promotion
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Emilie Fontaine-Bolanos
Community Outreach and Health Promotion
Emilie oversees community outreach and health promotion activities at KUISHI SMART. She has completed the Kinesiology and Health Promotion program at Sheridan College in Toronto, Canada. She has volunteered and worked for numerous projects that encourage individuals to have a healthy lifestyle, which includes the physical activity campaign ‘Move U’ at Sheridan College. Emilie has also created educational materials that encourage individuals to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

Patrick Padja
Project Coordinator

Patrick Padja
Project Coordinator
Patrick Padja is a medical doctor. He specializes in sports medicine and in care management of people living with HIV. After his medical studies, he successively held the positions of primary care director and therapeutic management director of People Living with AIDS in Ivory Coast. He arrived in Canada in 2012 and started working in the pharmaceutical industry as a pharmacovigilance specialist. Then he focused on his favourite field, health promotion. He is currently working as a health promotion officer for WellFort Community Health Services. He is also an active board member for a number of different organizations across the GTA. He is married and has three children.

Sababa Khan
Registered Dietitian

Sababa Khan
Registered Dietitian
Sababa Khan is a registered dietitian and a general member of the College of Dietitians of Ontario and Dietitians of Canada. She completed a medical degree and her Masters in Community Health and Nutrition in Pakistan. She immigrated to Canada in 2012 where she studied at Ryerson University in Toronto. As a health educator in Scarborough, she provided nutrition education and support to clients with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and anemia in both English and Urdu. Sababa also volunteers with the Halton Breastfeeding Connection and provides support to new mothers and their families to make informed decisions regarding breastfeeding. She translates the science of nutrition into client-centred practical advice on food and lifestyle. She is committed to helping her clients, especially newcomers, to better understand the Canadian food market and how they can lead a healthier, high quality lifestyle while keeping their traditional food culture alive.

Maryam Shafei Sabet
Registered Dietitian

Maryam Shafei Sabet
Registered Dietitian
Maryam Shafiei Sabet has an Honours Master of Science Degree in Clinical Nutrition. She has experience in nutrition therapy of chronic disease in Canada, Malaysia and Iran has also published articles about HIV and nutrition. She now works as a registered dietitian at Closing the Gap Healthcare (home care), Danforth Family Health Team and Pharmasanté Medical Clinic. Maryam has developed a cultural diabetes food guide for TAIBU Community Health Centre. She aims to empower people in prevention and self-management by applying the motto “take care of yourself with mindful eating.” Maryam has a special interest and advanced training and qualifications in chronic disease, weight management, diabetes education, enteral feeding, dementia, swallowing assessment, HIV and sports nutrition.
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Hana Baig
Program Assistant
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Hana Baig
Program Assistant
Hana is in charge of website maintenance, social media communication and program assistance for KUISHI SMART. She graduated from the Applied Human Nutrition program at the University of Guelph and plans to pursue an accredited masters and practicum program to become a registered dietitian. In the past, she has gained experience volunteering for organizations that targeted food insecurity of at-risk populations including young children and students. She has also written numerous food-related articles for a website along with her own blog.

Joseph Keremera
Clinical Nutritionist

Joseph Keremera
Clinical Nutritionist
Joseph has been working in Rwanda healthcare system for more than 5 years. His experiences range from Clinical and public health, Research, health promotion and disease prevention, and bedside teaching, last but not least coordination, implementing nutrition interventions in humanitarian context. He is current a Master’s program candidate in public health specialization in Epidemiology and disease Control on thesis level where he completed his Bachelors’ degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics form University of Rwanda, collage of medicine and health Sciences. He is a licensed Nutrition Practitioner by Rwanda Allied health professional council and awarded training certificates in adolescent nutrition, pediatric nutrition, community nutrition, and in data analysis tools (STATA, SPSS, and Atlas ti, Epi info). Joseph is a stronger believer in the role of Modern Food and Nutrition Science in prevention, management, and control NCDs and Disease-related Malnutrition. He is mission is to establish at which level the primary NCDs risk factors lead secondary risk factors such elevated blood pressure, elevated blood sugar… etc in Rwanda and across the region.
Board Members
Our board of directors is made up of diverse leaders from the development sector and global nutrition and health field. Our board exercises overall responsibility for KUISHI SMART’s strategy, programs and operations, and provides advice and counsel on a broad range of matters. Board members have been selected to reflect KUISHI SMART’s vision, mission and values. Each member serves a five-year term and signs off annually on our accountability and conflict of interest policies.

Samuel Yalew
Chair

Samuel Yalew
Chair
Samuel is a Country Representative with the Mastercard Foundation, a global organization based in Toronto, Canada. He works with a variety of stakeholders to enable African youth, particularly young women, to secure dignified and fulfilling work. Before joining the Foundation, Samuel worked as chief of party, deputy director and technical advisor for flagship public health projects with John Snow Inc. in Ethiopia and Namibia. He also served as a behaviour change and community mobilization advisor with the Academy for Educational Development in Ethiopia. Samuel has over twenty years of experience delivering health, education and child rights programming in Africa and North America. He started his career as a secondary school teacher and holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Arts degree from Ethiopia.

Kerrie Shaw
Vice Chair

Kerrie Shaw
Vice Chair
Kerrie is a bilingual family physician practicing in Mississauga, Ontario. Her practice focuses on caring for newcomers and refugees including francophone families. Kerrie completed her medical studies at the University of Ottawa and her family medicine residency at the University of Toronto. She also holds a Master of Science from the University of Western Ontario and Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph. Kerrie’s medical areas of interest include social determinants of health and global health and she has completed University of Toronto’s primer on Global Health in Family Medicine.

Lily Gonzalez
Treasurer

Lily Gonzalez
Treasurer
Lilly is a medical finance administrator working at a family health team in Mississauga, Ontario. She is responsible for billing and ensuring payment of services provided for the Ontario Ministry of Health. Lilly has a background in pathology and has worked within the healthcare industry for almost two decades. Lilly is passionate about promoting better health and wellness outcomes; she applies her financial experience to maximize every dollar invested to dismantle barriers and ensure that healthcare is accessible to everyone.

Padi Brown
Board Member

Padi Brown
Board Member
Padi Brown is a lawyer and founder of Canopy Law Firm. Padi has knowledge and experience in corporate law, real estate and wills. In addition to his law firm, Padi lends his knowledge and experience to major international financial institutions, supporting their financial crime compliance and anti-money laundering departments. Padi holds a political science degree from McMaster University, and a law degree from University of Guyana—supported by a certificate of qualification from the National Committee on Accreditation.

Irene Chung
Board Member

Irene Chung
Board Member
Irene Chung is a registered dietitian. Throughout her career, she has led innovative initiatives to effect greater social and health parity. Irene holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Research in Community Nutrition from the University of Western Ontario and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, respectively. She also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Healthcare Services Management from the University of Hong Kong and a Professional Development Certificate in Project Management from McGill University.
Interested in Joining the Team?
KUISHI SMART is always looking for passionate volunteers, skilled individuals and exceptional partners to help us accomplish our mission. Together we can bring greater education and awareness of proper health and nutrition directly to our communities.
Our Customers Love Us
I was impressed by the excellent and very professional service offered by KUISHI SMART. Highly recommend if looking for a dietitian in Rwanda.