Blessing Ojembe

Dr. Blessing Ojembe, PhD, is an Assistant professor in the Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba. Prior to joining the Faculty, Dr. Ojembe completed her Post-doctoral Fellowship and doctoral studies at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Ojembe also has two master’s degree from York University (Social Work) and University of Southampton (Gerontology). She is a Commonwealth scholar and a gerontological social worker. Drawing on a decade of research and social work practice in Canada and Africa, Dr. Blessing Ojembe specializes in research with Black older adults using a critical intersectional lens and a community-based model. Her research broadly explores the aging experience of Canadian-born and immigrant Black older adults in a broader context, understanding how it constructs ideas about their lives and social context.

Her specific areas of research interest focus on:

• Understanding the experiences of aging, loneliness, inequalities, social exclusion, cumulative disadvantages of Black older adults, and climate change impact, compounded by their specific social locations such as race, age, gender, immigration status, employment, and
• Addressing the representational intersectionality of Black older adults in policy, research and practice.

Her research has been published in many high impact aging journals including Canadian Journal on Aging, Journal of Applied Gerontology, Journal of Gerontological Social Work, to mention but a few. Blessing is a co-founder and sits as the Vice Scientific Director, Grants and Scholarship of the Emerging Researchers and Professionals on Aging – African Network (ERPAAN) and continues to conduct aging research in the Sub-Saharan region of Africa.