Monika Dutt is the daughter of immigrants from India. She is a settler on Unama’ki (Cape Breton), Nova Scotia, where she lives with her son. She has worked as a family doctor as well as in public health as a medical officer of health in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and Ontario. She trained in public health and preventive medicine and family medicine. She has been chair of the board of Canadian Doctors for Medicare and the Cabot Trail Writers Festival. She is currently a PhD candidate in health policy at McMaster University with a research focus on employment, labour and health. She loves spending time on trails, by the ocean and in forests.