# Danayi Munyati (she/her)'s Manager Readme **Health Promotion Specialist at Black Health Alliance** ## πŸ‘‹πŸΎ Hi, I’m Danayi ## πŸ‘©πŸΎ My Role My title is Health Promotion Specialist. I work on the health promotion and community engagement team with Ameerah, Deneece and Joy. I currently spend a lot of time writing and researching, working on the Bridging The Gap project. I spend the rest of my time supporting my team and other projects by providing feedback, environmental scans and any other projects as needed. ## My Background I have a BA in Policy Studies from Syracuse University and a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from Columbia University. I started out as a young warthog wanting to improve Black people's health because of how I and my family, and communities in different contexts, have experience the healthcare system.  I also saw the impact of the HIV epidemic in Zimbabwe and NY and how stigma and social norms and social determinants affected Black women's health specifically, which eventually influenced my interest in sexual health. My professional background has been mostly focused on public health.  My first first job after undergrad was in communications for a children's advocacy organization in NY and then I worked in health policy , specifically children's health insurance in LA before going to grad school.  After grad school, I came to Toronto and worked in sexual health for 10-12 years until the Universe and Instagram brought me to BHA.  My heart is in public health and I want all Black people thrive so I plan to continue to do the work to make it so. In my free time (lols) I am part of the team at Imana Health Inc. which is a women's health brand.  We have an oral probiotic for vaginal health and immune support and we post info about health topics on socials.  Our ultimate goal is to one day be able to use our for profit business to fund a women's sexual and reproductive health clinic in Scarborough.   ## 🌟 My Style **Personality style:** I can be quiet and reserved at first, but once I'm settled in, I'm quite delightful! I joke a little and I try not to take myself too seriously. I enjoy getting to know people and having people get to know me. I'm told I have a very expressive face, which I think can be accurate, and a lot of the time the expressions mirror what I'm feeling. But sometimes my resting face is either disgusted or "do you wanna fight" when neither of those things is true. **Working Style:** I am an enneagram number 9 which says that I'm invested in the success of those around me, tend to forget my own needs and desires and avoid conflict like the plague.  This is mostly accurate.  When it comes to conflict, don't start none, won't be none, and sometimes I need a reminder to check in with myself and say no to things. My life depends on my Google Calendar, so I need any and all events to be on it so I can organize myself accordingly. If it's not on my calendar, it doesn't exist. I tend go back and forth between tasks on my to-do list to break up monotony and keep my day interesting. I sometimes hum or sing quietly while I'm working, but if we're in the office together and it's loud or bothersome, please let me know. Feel free to also do this if I'm talking to myself too much. I am generally a 9-5er, give an hour or two and sometimes I do work in the evenings, depending on how things went during the day. Very occasionally on the weekends.  I am a night owl, and unfortunately some of my best ideas come about when I should be asleep. I most often work remotely.  I'm actually not the best at taking breaks because I don't have discipline. When I remember, I use Pomodoro method apps to give me work and break times. When I do, I will walk around my house for 5 minutes or get a snack or drink. During long breaks, I'll have lunch or do a quick YouTube yoga. I'm trying to be more intentional about at least going outside, if not taking a walk during the day especially when it's nice out, otherwise I can find myself sitting in the same spot for hours.  I need a dog. **Communication and Learning style:** I often need to take notes while reading or listening to something, which I refer to later on. It can be difficult for me to remember information just from listening with no visual accompaniment, so you may see me taking notes in a meeting, unless the meeting organizer plans to send notes afterwards.  OtterPilot has been a gamechanger! I can worry less about note taking and just be present in a meeting when I am able to use it.   I love a step-by-step explanation of how to do something even if it seems like it should be common sense. I may do things a different way or develop my own process afterwards, but I need the basics to start from. I will ask questions for clarity and to make sure that I'm doing things correctly or moving in the right direction. I always welcome feedback and correction so I can course correct when necessary, so please feel free to give it to me directly. ## πŸ“« How to reach meπŸ—£οΈ I'm most easily reached on Slack first then email. My Gmail notifications aren't as reliable, so I'm more likely to see a Slack message soon after its sent, than I am with email. I can usually follow up on slack within 2 hours. You can also text, but sometimes those get lost in the fray too. For email messages, I can be expected to reply by the end of the day or the following morning. If I am going to be out of office, I will indicate so on Collage, my calendar, and in slack. I will also let my team know in advance when I'm taking time off. ## πŸ’ͺ🏾 My Strengths Writing! Sometimes can take me a minute to organize my thoughts and put them on paper, but I'm a very good writer. It's easier for me to write a story than to recount it verbally. Knowledge exchange. I have experience with presenting information to large groups and working with individuals in health education in different formats. Building rapport and active listening, and working collaboratively with other people. ## 🚩 My Challenges I can be a storyteller and will include more than I need to in a document, especially if I'm starting from scratch.  I also like to research and learning new things. I do tend to go on deep dives, and need to reel myself, or be reeled back in. Sometimes I need support with reining in to make sure I stay on the right track I'm great with words, but numbers are my nemesis. I often have to double check number sequences that I read or write because I sometimes transpose them. I also sometimes, despite being wordy, have a hard time with word finding, especially when speaking.  Especially if I'm tired. So please, bear with me. If I'm not careful, I can run myself ragged, so I have to be intentional about making sure I pace myself and be as flexible with myself as I am with others. ## 😍 My Likes Rest, prioritizing my health and wellbeing. I'm working on it (see above) I'm working on practicing vulnerability and authenticity - resisting respectability and the restrictions it puts/has put onto self expression. Music - a range of genres. A lot of my playlists are of β€œold school” hip hop, r&b, house, reggae, soca, house, dance, pop, alternative and old popular music from different African countries.  But don't be fooled - I like contemporary music too like Black country, afrobeats and Glorilla.  I also love Christmas music! I love reading for pleasure, but it's rare these days that I actually do. I've had to return quite a few books to the library before finishing them, and I am that person who tries to push a day or two after the due date to get as far as I can. I'm so thankful that they eliminated late fees 🀣 I'm currently reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. I'm an avid TV watcher. I enjoy Reality tv - it was a much welcome escape after hard days at work. Faves: The Traitors, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Dubai, New York, Top Chef (US and Canada) and the many iterations of Drag Race (US, UK, Canada, Global Allstars). I watch scripted shows as well, too many to list, but I just finished Kaos on Netflix which I really enjoyed. My secret shame is YouTube shows like Pop the Balloon or Find Love.   Podcasts! I listen to A LOT of different ones, but my faves are The Read, Jade + XD and The Secret Life of Canada. I am very much open to recommendations for other shows to watch or listen to. I like going out with my friends, to eat and try new (to at least one of us) restaurants, going to the movies, and just hanging out. ## β›” My Dislikes Injustice; erasure; medical bias, racism and gaslighting; bad food, especially if it's overpriced; when technology doesn't work; unrealistic expectations and timelines; inflexibility; unwillingness to learn. **## πŸ“– Additional Fun Facts** - I've been living in Toronto since September 2010, which seems like a long time, but I'm still learning things about this city. - Queens, NY is my hometown/homeborough and I had a Queens accent as a kid. My mom is Jamaican and my dad is Zimbabwean and I lived in Zimbabwe for 4 years when I was a young kid.  I moved back to NY when I was 10. Moving in and out of the US and learning and unlearning other accents led to the loss of both my Queens and Zimbabwean accents. What's left is a generic American accent that I can slip out of if I'm speaking a different language.  I speak a little Shona, one of Zimbabwe's languages, and while I only sometimes speak Patois, I am well versed and immersed when I'm with my Jamaican family. - I'm the eldest of 6 - two sisters, three brothers, all from my dad.  I am my mom's only child (pressure). - I like to travel! I haven't done much internationally since COVID-19 entered the chat, except to cross the border to visit my mom and to Antigua in 2022. My (close) family is everywhere but Canada, so I haven't seen a lot of folks for many years β˜ΉοΈ. - I've been learning Spanish, off and on, for about 6 years. I became good at it because of the influx of Spanish speaking newcomers that I interacted with in my previous employment, but I've been slacking for the past 5 months or so since they changed the classes to Saturday afternoons.  I will pick it back up in the Fall.    - I have lupus nephritis, which means I have systemic lupus and chronic kidney disease, so I have bouts where I struggle with pain and fatigue and need to take breaks to restore myself. I don't always take those breaks right when I need to (see above), and try to push through and can end up completely spent. I'm working on being gentler with myself and listening to my body when it tells me things. I'm trying to live by these quotes: "If you don't make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness" and "if you don't pick a day to relax, your body will pick it for you". I will also try to let you know if I need to take a break for a few hours or a day. Having lupus nephritis also means I have a lot of appointments for monitoring and/or treatments, but I always try to make sure I balance appointments with my work schedule.