Meet the Changemakers

Dr. Michael “Uncle Mick” Adams is a respected Elder in the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. He is a descendent of the Yadhiagana/Wuthathi peoples of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland and the Gurindji people of Central Western Northern Territory. His extensive involvement in key policy and program development processes and forums has enabled him to translate his own and others’ research into action. His efforts at knowledge translation have directly impacted on health system responses and led to better informed approaches to address the needs of Australia’s Indigenous peoples who are social excluded and often have poor access to services. He is recognised as a pioneer in the Australian male health movement. He was recently presented with the inaugural Australian Male Health Forum’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition for his long-term commitment to supporting men’s health.

Brian Heilman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Movember Institute of Men’s Health and a global expert on masculinity, men’s health, fatherhood, and violence prevention. With more than 15 years of experience, his research examines how social norms shape men’s health, caregiving, and relationships, and how healthier, more connected models of manhood can benefit families and communities broadly. He has led and contributed to influential work including The Man Box, State of American Men, and State of the World’s Fathers, and is co-author of Movember’s The Real Face of Men’s Health (2025). His current research explores what it looks like for men to thrive, and how misperceptions about what other men think and expect can hold them back from getting there. He regularly represents Movember’s research in national media and policy settings, and collaborates with academic, nonprofit, and government partners across the globe.

Dean Peacock has been involved in work for gender equality, violence prevention, and health equity for the last three decades. He is a commissioner with the Lancet Commission on Global Gun Violence and Health and an expert advisor to the Global Taskforce on Halving Global Violence. Dean is affiliated with the University of Cape Town’s School of Public Health, the Gender Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, and the Violence, Inequality and Power Lab at the University of San Diego. He has co-founded and co-created many local, national and global initiatives, including the Men Overcoming Violence Youth Program, Sonke Gender Justice, the MenEngage Alliance, the MenCare Campaign, the Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace Initiative, and the Global Coalition for WHO Action on Firearm Violence where he is the co-director. His work has been published widely and he has used the arts extensively, including documentary films, photo exhibitions, murals and photo-voice.

Cathy Morgan is a Senior Civil Servant and Director of Secondary Prevention at the Department of Health and Social Care in England. She brings 30 years’ experience across the UK Civil Service, with a career focused on shaping health and social care policy through major legislative, strategy and delivery roles. Cathy leads England’s first-ever Men’s Health Strategy, working across central and local government, the NHS, the voluntary and community sector, academia and industry to drive system-wide change and reduce health inequalities.

Cathy also leads the implementation of England’s HIV Action Plan which aims to eradicate the transmission of HIV in England by 2030 and has responsibility for a portfolio of analytical and behavioural science programmes focused on preventing ill health alongside multiple policy teams delivering key government priorities, including cardiometabolic health, sexual and reproductive health, and screening. She lives in Suffolk, England, with her husband, daughter and two sons.

Marcos Nascimento is a psychologist with a doctorate in Collective Health from the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro. He is currently a senior researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). He is one of the cofounders of the Men´s Network for Gender Equality in Brazil and was coordinator of the MenEngage Alliance for Latin America (2007-2011). He has experience leading national and international projects involving research, social intervention, and advocacy on topics related to gender, sexuality, masculinities, violence, and health.

Coordinator of the Coordination for Men’s Health Care at the Brazilian Ministry of Health (COSAH/DGCI/SAPS/MS), leading the nationwide implementation of the National Policy for Comprehensive Men’s Health Care, with a particular focus on the pillars of violence prevention, sexual health, reproductive health, and fatherhood and care. He possesses 16 years of experience in the management of the Unified Health System (SUS) and serves as a federal public servant—specifically, a Technologist in Public Health Policy Management. He holds a Ph.D. in Collective Health from the University of Brasília (UnB), where his research analyzed Federal Governance in Primary Health Care Management during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil; a Master’s degree in Collective Health from the same university, focusing on Management Capacity within Municipal Health Secretariats; a postgraduate specialization in Collective Health with a concentration in Primary Health Care Management from the Institute of Collective Health (ISC/UFBA); a postgraduate specialization in Microbiology from the Faculty of Pharmacy at UFBA; and a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from UFBA.

Fidèle Rutayisire is Founder and Executive Director of the Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre (RWAMREC), a leading organization advancing gender equality and preventing gender-based violence through gender-transformative approaches that engage men and boys as allies in justice and social change in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region.

He brings more than 20 years of experience in community-based programming, policy advocacy, and social norms transformation. Fidèle is a certified researcher and master trainer on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), working across twelve African countries to strengthen peace, governance, and human rights.

Through RWAMREC’s programs, he has supported communities to transform power, care, and relationships reducing violence, increasing men’s caregiving, strengthening women’s agency, and improving family wellbeing. His work connects grassroots realities with national, regional, and global advocacy, ensuring that women’s lived experiences and survivor-centered approaches shape justice systems, public policy, and healthier forms of masculinity.

Rosemary Morgan, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) where she holds the Edgar Berman Professorship in International Health. Dr. Morgan is recognized as a specialist in gender analysis in health and health systems research, interventions, and programs. Her work spans research, teaching, and policy engagement to examine how gender norms, roles, and relations shape health and health system experiences and outcomes, and to advance more equitable, people‑centered health systems for all. Dr. Morgan co-directs the Gender and Health Track in the Global Health Summer Institute and coordinates the Gender and Health Certificate at BSPH.

Seán Cooke is the Chief Executive Officer of the Men’s Development Network (MDN)and has been since October 2018. MDN is a developmental organisation working with and engaging men and boys on their health, wellbeing, gender equality and ending gender-based violence. Sean has over 30 years’ experience working in Community and Voluntary sector in Ireland, both at front line and senior management level.

Previous experiences include working in Youth and Community programmes in some of the most disadvantage communities in Ireland. Seán is passionate on communicating the transformational model to engaging men and boys ensuring an invitational and a strengths-based approach is applied.