Dr. Ishtar Govia is an award-winning researcher, psychologist, and founder and CEO of Amagi Health Ltd, a global community addressing the treatment gap in brain health and dementia care. She has been a Senior Consultant in Brain Health at the World Health Organization, coordinating efforts to facilitate the implementation of the WHO's Blueprint for Dementia Research. As a consultant psychologist, she has helped families with the confusion, anxiety and grief of caring for a relative living with dementia.
She is currently a nominated member of the World Dementia Council, a core member of the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer Disease (CEOi)’s Digital Cognitive Assessments Workgroup Workstream B on Implementation, a consultant for pharmaceutical companies focused on including underserved and underrepresented populations in clinical trials and go-to-market strategies, a consultant to healthtech and caretech startups, and the Vice President of the Caribbean Alliance of National Psychological Associations. She has previously served on the boards of Bellevue Hospital (Jamaica), Spanish Town Hospital (Jamaica), the Jamaica Mental Health Advocacy Network, and Scottish Brain Sciences.
Dr. Govia’s applied research has made notable contributions to sustainable health and care research, policy, and infrastructure development. She has held posts with the Caribbean Institute for Health Research at University of the West Indies, University College London, London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of Michigan. She was Principal Investigator for the Jamaica site in the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative Healthcare System Preparedness Early Detection Flagship Projects and the Jamaica site for the Strengthening Responses to Dementia in Developing Countries (STRiDE) project.
Dr. Govia earned a BA in Liberal Studies from St. Thomas University in Florida, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, a MA in Psychology from City College of New York and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Michigan.