Dr. Donna May Kimmaliardjuk is a cardiac surgeon, and is completing a fellowship at The Cleveland Clinic. She is the first Inuk heart surgeon in Canada. She completed a BScH at Queen’s University in 2011, and then graduated medical school from the University of Calgary in 2014.

She has been presented to The Senate of Canada for becoming the first Inuk heart surgeon and the first Nunavut land claims beneficiary to become a MD, and has been presented to the House of Commons for receiving the 2018 Inuit youth Indpsire award.

She was featured in the Globe and Mail’s article on 16 reasons to celebrate International Women’s Day 2018. She has also been featured in multiple interviews, has made appearances on the Marilyn Dennis show, and was featured in the Globe and Mail’s “Breaking Barriers” project with American Express.

She works with the charity, I Love First Peoples to promote higher education amongst Indigenous youth, and she has partnered with The Heart and Stroke Foundation to improve
Indigenous and women’s heart health.