Abdul Basith
Dr Abdul Basith is an Emergency Physician in the GTA. He is also an Investigating Coroner in York Region. He is a graduate of McMaster University and the American University of Antigua. He is also an Adjunct Faculty member at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He lives in Toronto with his family and is an avid cyclist. He is currently completing his Masters of Public Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.
Ahmed Farghal
Ahmed is a Quality Manager at a major healthcare company and is working on the development of a state-of-the-art digital connectivity platform to enable remote healthcare consultation, communication and clinician training for integration into medical devices. Ahmed was born in Dubai and has been living in Canada since 2003. He graduated with an Honours B.Sc in Biopharmaceutical Sciences specializing in Medicinal Chemistry and an M.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Ottawa. Starting out as a chemical analyst testing drinking water, Ahmed made the shift to quality management specifically in the testing lab and calibration space. He later transitioned into the medical device and biotechnology space, and has since accumulated significant experience in Quality management and Regulatory affairs. Having worked in both large multinational corporations as well as start-ups, Ahmed has been involved in the design, development, manufacture, and regulatory clearance of numerous medical technologies to global markets. He has also been involved in facilitating the supply of healthcare technologies for humanitarian purposes.
He is passionate about healthcare accessibility and safety. He believes in the democratisation of healthcare, especially the remote and underserved communities, as well as ensuring that safe and effective technologies are available to patients.
Abrar al Takriti
Abrar (Abby) Al-Takriti is a higher education professional, instructor and social media influencer. Abby has completed her Masters in Professional Education, from Western University, with a focus on Educational Leadership. Described as precise and much needed, Abby’s work connects researched informed practices to provide higher education institutions with ongoing support that is realistic, universal and sustainable. She is a Professor at Fanshawe’s Lawrence Kinlin School of Business and works as the Continuous Improvement Coordinator at Western Engineering. She has been a keynote speaker on several occasions where she presented a number of strategies and approaches for students to incorporate into their studying practices which support and promote mental well-being and have proven to increase the student learning outcome. Abby’s hope is to continue to support and arm students with knowledge to empower them to navigate personal and professional resiliency in times of uncertainty through stress performance, targeted focusing, and value alignment.
Faisal Tahiri
Background: Born and raised in Toronto. Studied Biomedical Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
Career: Product manager at Microsoft, currently residing in Seattle. Experience in product management, software design and development.
How I can help: Providing insight into the career options available to students enrolled in or interested in tech (engineering, data, design) including: securing internships, preparing for interviews, contract negotiation and establishing an early career roadmap.
Personal interests: Fitness, travel, and personal finance.
Haneya Yunus
I am a UWaterloo Biomedical Engineering graduate and Senior Product Manager at a silicon valley healthcare tech startup called Vineti. I have 4 years of work experience in the tech industry working in both Software Engineering and Product Management. I specialize in category creation within the healthcare space, solving new and evolving healthcare challenges with technology. As a mentor, I will be able to help university students in a tech-focused degree or early in career tech professionals calibrate and refine their professional roadmap. I can provide mentees with advice and training on working as a woman in the tech industry, finding internships and full-time employment, transitioning to product management from software engineering or another discipline, product management competencies and frameworks, cross-functional communication skills, research and presentation skills, working together with engineering teams, achieving work-life balance, and battling imposter syndrome.
Kareem Ashry
Strategic channel enthusiast with 10 + years of I.T business experience in the Canadian and U.S Market. A trusted adviser and influencer who specializes in fostering lasting relationships and building the foundations to a successful and profitable business.
I have a deep passion to help people and organizations be successful, whether that’s to enable them with the knowledge and tools to sell , build relationships, become more profitable or even personal development/betterment. This automatic instinct to bring the best out of people and organizations is part of my DNA and there isn’t a happier feeling than when I bring them over the finish line.
Currently I work as a Partner Account Manager/Business Development for Cisco , whereby I grow our partner community in our East Region by developing their knowledge of our products , building relationships and putting together strategic plans to grow our business footprint.
Where I can help mentees is sharing recipes for success , strategic business planning, how to tackle challenges & navigating the corporate world.
Hecham Omar
My name is Hecham Omar. I’m currently in my final year of medical school, hoping to eventually end up in Internal Medicine and work in the ICU. My path prior to medical school was non-traditional, originally studying chemical engineering in university. I thought I was going to the oil and gas industry, but life decided against that. I went on to do a master’s degree in chemical engineering, doing research in a lab as well as for an industrial company. Through a connection from graduate school, I found a job in biopharma. I worked there for a little over a year before going back to school – this time medical school. I’ve had an interesting journey and I can provide advice based on my experiences/mistakes in nearly any STEM field.
Lyan Khazanchi
Lyan is a communications practitioner by profession and passion. She’s a solution-oriented person who loves to simplify experiences and make content easier to digest. She really enjoys and specializes in writing, strategic communications, public relations and branding. Naturally, being in communications, she loves to communicate, and has a thing for storytelling and articulating her thoughts. Communication is such a broad field, 2 days are never the same, and that’s her favorite thing about it! It keeps her on her toes and allows her to view scenarios with different perspectives – she’s always on the hunt for a challenge. She looks forward to continuing to learn, consult and help others who strive to become communications professionals.
Majed A
I am a leader and an entrepreneurial minded computer scientist with 10+ years in the software industry. I am currently working as a technical product manager for a FinTech company with growing knowledge in crypto currencies. Prior to that, I have built and managed a software development department and worked in all aspects of software development.
In addition to my professional work, I am passionate about my culture, and so I joined an amazing non-for-profit organization, the Toronto Palestine Film Festival as a sponsorship Rep. Further to that, I am always looking and willing to help and support my community and friends, and as a result I partnered in my friend’s wedding decoration venture in Toronto to help them grow (chicweddecor.com).
One of the mottos that I have followed throughout my career has been ‘For every problem, there is a solution’, and so it is important to keep a close eye and recognize that you could be the key to a problem. When you are the key, never forget to be thankful and say Alhamdulillah.
Mohamed Eid
My name is Mohamed Eid, I graduated from the University of Toronto in Computer Engineering with a minor in Sustainable Energy. I’ve worked a bit in the autonomous vehicle industry as well as the natural language processing machine learning subfield through internships during university. My capstone partner and I won first place and claimed the CNIB award against the class of 2020 (and 2019 + co-op). Ever since I’ve completed my studies I’ve joined Amazon as a software engineer and have worked in two different teams: the first being the Buyer Fraud Fixed team and the second being an Alexa For Kids team (currently).
Moamina Ameree
Moamina is working as a medical laboratory technologist in a hospital core laboratory setting. She has a bachelor’s degree in health sciences, with a specialty on laboratory sciences from Ontario Tech. While in university, she was part of the Muslim student association, and assisted in the development of an ongoing study conducted by a senior teaching professor.
Her appreciation for sciences and wanting to work in health care led her to explore alternative career choices other than nursing and medical school, as is the general idea of health care.
Moamina would be happy to support anyone who is looking to get into this sector and share the lessons and experiences she has learned.
Mohamed Admani
My name is Mohamed Admani and I am a Physiotherapist and a Strength and Conditioning Coach. I graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor in science. I then decided to pursue a Masters in Physiotherapy in Scotland.
My career highlights include working at Ayr United Football Academy as the Head of Sports Science and Medicine, Senior Physiotherapist at NHS, Fitness Manager at Golds Gym, Lead Fitness consultant at Wynn Fitness.
I have a passion for improving the quality of life and sports performance of my patients and athletes.
Being heavily involved in sports as a teenager and helping develop athletes skillset in hockey, basketball and football earlier in my career, I have a passion for sports physiotherapy. I utilise latest evidence based research to guide my treatment and rehab strategies so as to bring patients out of pain and discomfort and back to full fitness.
Having worked with and mentored by several pioneers in physiotherapy such as Dave O’Sullivan (England Rugby Physio) and Ian Andrews (Leicester City and England Football physio), has allowed me to grow as a clinician and as a person.
I would like to share my knowledge and experiences as I have always had mentors and I understand the benefit of having mentors. I am a big believer in hard work, patience and resilience and therefore keen to mentor folk with the same ethos.
I am looking forward to working with people who are interested in this field of study. Moreover, looking forward to help mentees who need support and guidance as they navigate through different transitions in their life.
Natasha Yassim
I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Social Work (B.S.W) from York University. My passion for supporting individuals by connecting them with the appropriate resources and tools to live a meaningful life led me to pursue the path of social services. I currently am a support worker at Community Living North Halton supporting men on the autism spectrum to develop social skills to maximize their quality of life. Furthermore, my interest in mental health led me to complete my Mental Health Interventions Certificate at Seneca College. I bring nine years of experience working in the social service field, collaborating with diverse populations and targeting various social issues. I believe everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of gender, religion, choices, and opinions. In addition, everyone should have equal opportunities in life. I hope to support, encourage, and learn from my mentee because knowledge is power and an empowering tool that cannot be taken away from you.
Omar Al-Hafidh
From a young age I showed interest in drawing, However, as highschool was nearing its end, a choice needed to be made regarding my future career. To my surprise, I chose to study physics, and only after a year and a half of struggling, I made the biggest leap of faith and pursued art as a career. I wished I had someone to guide me and save me some time and money, and showed me what’s out there, and how possible it is to make a living doing something you love.
I’m honored and grateful to be part of this group of professionals who volunteer their time and expertise to new talents.
Education: Bachelor in visual art form the university of Jordan 2008
Bachelor of Applied Arts ( animation ) 2012
Work : Animator/ illustrator
I have been working in the animation industry for over 10 years. I did storyboarding, 2D character animation and 2D VFX animation.. worked on shows like Magic School Bus, Arthur. Also worked on feature films such as SpaceJam. Aside from animation, I have illustrated children’s books… and help bring cheer and laughter at many, many event drawing caricatures.
Even though a career in visual arts can branch to so many specialized fields, I strongly believe that I can provide advice and tips on your next step should you choose the daring creative path
There is no such thing as a starving artist. If you have a plan, know how to spend your money, and work hard and with sincerity, running out of food will be the last thing on your mind.
Nour Fadol
I am a public servant with over 8 years of experience working in the federal government, primarily in the security and intelligence community. I have previously worked at the Privy Council Office, Public Safety Canada, and Global Affairs Canada, and have been at the Department of National Defence since 2016. My previous roles included being an analyst and policy officer, and I’m currently acting as the senior strategic briefer.
I completed my Undergrad degree at York University in Political Science (2012), and my Masters in International Affairs at Carleton University (the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs), specializing in Intelligence and National Security (2014). Throughout high school and my university years, I was also a hard-core Model UN nerd, both as a participant and organizer 🙂
I am a 31 year old Sudanese-Egyptian-Canadian and come from a family of 5 girls. I am a total extrovert and love nothing more than a games night with family and/or friends. I’m also a huge Harry Potter nerd. I really look forward to connecting with anyone who has an interest in government, international affairs and geopolitics or the security and intelligence world in general!
Samira Lavei
Samira Lavei is part of the Kurdish-Iranian Diaspora in Toronto. She is fluent in four languages, English, Kurdish, Farsi, and Spanish. She has extensive and diverse experience in a wide range of job fields including, administration, retail, legal research, fitness coaching, and non-governmental organisations. Samira is currently pursuing her PhD specialising in Political Science. As part of her PhD, she is a teaching assistant where she utilises the classroom space to assist students with discussing ongoing fears, concerns and anxieties they may have in the classroom, while helping them to navigate those fears through advice and strategies they can implement throughout their time in school. In addition to her PhD, she currently works as a part-time academic consultant where through her experience, she can provide general guidance for young students looking to apply to graduate studies and medical school while referring them to a few useful resources such as blogs and services that are publicly available for them to refer to.
Outside of academia, Samira is a dedicated karate athlete and a two-time Canadian medalist. She has previously represented Team Canada at the 2019 Pan-American Championships in Panama. She can guide student athletes dealing with the challenges of balancing both school and athletics. When Samira is not training, she likes to give back her athletic knowledge to various communities in need. Examples of this would be, teaching female refugees Self-Defence in Spain and co-instructing an after school karate program for kids in Colombia. Samira is excited to apply her various experiences to provide her mentees with the best guidance possible.
Salsala Faizi
I am a Certified Internal Auditor; however, I have been in a risk management role for most of my career post University. For the past four and half years, I had been focusing on Third Party Risk Management within Capital Markets at a leading Canadian financial institution. I am now performing Internal Audit work, as well as Third Party Risk Management work as a Senior Associate at PwC Canada. I am quite excited to be part of this initiative as a mentor. Navigating University/College and trying to figure out what you want to do, or where you want to go after can be quite daunting. There are a lot of challenges facing post-secondary students, and I can only imagine how much more difficult it has been during this Pandemic. However, having someone who can provide guidance, direction, and support can make a difference in a mentee’s personal and professional growth- and I hope I can do that as a mentor.
Anes R
Anes is an economic development, business, marketing, and project management specialist with demonstrated experience working in the government sector. Special area of focus in the fields of innovation & technology, entrepreneurship, investment & trade, fostering & promotion of Business Retention & Expansion, as well as growth and scaling of startUps and entrepreneurs.
Suleiman Furmli
Dr. Suleiman Furmli is a General Practitioner working between Toronto and Ajax, ON. He has a diverse area of clinical interests including primary care, mental health, obesity/diabetes, travel medicine and immigration screening. Outside the medicine realm he enjoys working on entrepreneurship and angel investing. He was born to parent immigrants from Afghanistan, attended Islamic Foundation School in Scarborough for elementary school and Cedarbrae Collegiate institute for high school. He completed his Bachelors Degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus and then went on to complete his MD at UofT St. George Campus in 2015 as well as his family medicine residency in 2017 through UofT as well. He his very thankful for his own mentors who helped him to complete his educational and life training and has enjoyed giving back to others by paying back the favour. He has helped mentor dozens of other students through a variety of organizations and has also written a free ebook for getting into medical school which can be downloaded here: https://www.student2pro.com/.
In his spare time he enjoys learning to become a better muslim by persuing study of the Qur’an and the Arabic language as well as learning how to be a better parent and husband. He also enjoys travelling and philanthropy and community development.
Abdelrahman Sahban Ali (Abdel Ali)
My name is Abdelrahman Sahban Ali (Abdel Ali), and I am a CFA Charterholder and an MBA graduate from Schulich School of Business. I am a member of Relay Ventures Investment team within their Toronto office. Before joining Relay, I worked within the Investment consulting team at Aon, helping institutional clients with assets between $100 Million and $2+ Billion. I consider myself a lifelong learner, and I am fortunate to be part of an industry where you continuously learn about innovations and disruptive business models. I am passionate about empowering future entrepreneurs and members of the black community and, in that pursuit, I co-founded the Black Graduate Business Network (BGBN) at Schulich and actively volunteer with Healing As One.
Ramzia Khulmi
Ramzia is a qualified solicitor in England and Wales. She grew up in Toronto and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto. During her undergraduate studies she worked part-time at TD Bank and upon graduating from UofT, she continued to work at the bank as an Investment Consultant. She then moved abroad to the UK to pursue a career in law. Alongside her legal studies she volunteered at a law clinic, advising on family, real-estate and employment law disputes. Upon completing her law degree, she secured a training contract at a global law firm in London where she gained experience in real-estate law, asset finance, financial services and regulation, corporate disputes, white collar crime and investigations and later qualified as an Associate into their banking team. Ramzia currently lives in London with her husband and in her spare time she enjoys pro-bono consulting, real-estate investments, hiking, boxing, and travelling.
Farheen Ali
Farheen Ali is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist and small business owner whose works spans a variety of art forms, including free-lance medical illustration for publications and jewelry art for museums. Farheen has always been intrigued by hidden connections in the everyday world. Whether it is the way the branches of a tree mimic the branching arteries and vessels in the human body, or how natural stone and can be ground to make paint for a painting, it’s these shared interrelationships which drive all her work. These connections are apparent in her illustrations where she connects the fields of art and medicine to educate doctors and patients regarding complicated surgical and medical procedures. Her work has been published in various journals and medical textbooks as well as used in hospitals to teach residents and medical students. Her museums work consists of jewelry which she creates under her company name “The Spring Moon.” These pieces, like her illustrations, serve an educational purpose as they are based entirely on artwork from the museums’ permanent collections. Many of these pieces are currently being exhibited at the Aga Khan and Gardiner Museum shops as well as the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit where Farheen is the artist-in-residence.
Irfan Tahiri
Irfan Tahiri is a law clerk (soon to be admitted lawyer) at a corporate law firm in New York City. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies from Queen’s University. He also received his Masters of Public Administration from Queen’s School of Policy Studies. After his masters degree, Irfan was recruited via the Ontario Internship Program and started working in the Ontario Government. He remained there for about two and a half years, working as a Programs Analyst at the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration, and International Trade before moving to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services to work as a Business Analyst and Financial Advisor. After leaving government, Irfan tutored the LSAT and traveled a bit. He attended McGill University for law school, graduating with a Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Civil Laws. Throughout his academic and professional career, Irfan was a volunteer member of the Toronto-based Afghan Women’s Organization, one of the largest and most active resettlement organizations in the country. Irfan will soon be admitted to practice law in the state of New York.
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