Inspiring leadership and empowering change in our communities
MAX was established to recognize and celebrate the professional, entrepreneurial, educational, and charitable contributions of Muslims in North America, while accelerating high achievement through academic, business, and professional development.
MAX is also committed to building interfaith allyship with like-minded individuals and organizations from diverse communities, including Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and other faith groups.
Clinical Professor of Medicine, McMaster University
Professor Aliya Khan has been described as a “Trailblazer in Parathyroid Research” by McMaster University and is recognized as being in the top 0.1% of the world experts in hyperparathyroidism by Expertscape. She is the Director of the Calcium Disorders Clinic and the Fellowship in Metabolic Bone Disease at McMaster University. She graduated from the University of Ottawa Medical School with honors. She trained in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Endocrinology at the University of Toronto and also completed a fellowship in Metabolic Bone Disease at University of Toronto. She has published over 200 scientific papers and numerous chapters and books on osteoporosis and parathyroid disease.
Dr. Khan has received numerous national and international awards including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for excellence, International Hypoparathyroidism Award, International Osteoporosis Foundation award for publishing excellence and was recognized by Osteoporosis Canada for outstanding contributions to research and education. She recently led the development of the global guidelines on hypoparathyroidism published in 2022 and endorsed by 65 national and international endocrine and endocrine surgery societies. She is the Principle investigator of multiple trials evaluating PTH and PTH analogues as well as other molecules in the management of parathyroid disease.
Dr. Taufik Valiante (2023)
Trailblazer in Science, Research and Technology
Neurosurgeon | Neuroscientist
Dr. Taufik is currently the Director of the Surgical Epilepsy Program at the Krembil Brain Institute, Co-Director, CRANIA: Center for Advancing Neurotechnological Innovation to Application; Director, CRANIA Neuromodulation Institute, University of Toronto; a Scientist at the Krembil Brain Institute; Co-Director Max Planck-UofT Center for Neural Science and Technology; Scientist at The KITE Research Institute, UHN and has a cross-appointment at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering & Electrical and Computer Engineering. His neurosurgical staff appointment is at the Toronto Western Hospital, and he is currently Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto.
He is interested in understanding the building blocks of the human brain (neurons), and the ultimate manifestation of their collective activity (oscillations to cognition – depending on the scale of investigation). His collaborations with scientists and students allow him to contribute to research on memory, eye movements, epilepsy, biophysical properties of neurons, computational modeling, mathematical modeling, neuromodulation (electrical, music, optical), development of physical tools (optical, electrical), and brain-machine interfaces. These multi-scale endeavors likely satisfy a personal desire to realize the title of a very formative book introducing him to the field of experimental neuroscience, entitled “From Neuron to Brain” – which he has adopted as his lab’s name.
Dr. Sheema Khan (2023)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Patent Agent/Patent Strategist | Monthly Columnist with the Globe and Mail
Sheema Khan grew up in Montreal and attended McGill where she completed a B.Sc. in Chemistry and played recreational women’s hockey on the McGill women’s soccer team. Subsequently, she then completed a Masters in Physics and a PhD in Chemical Physics from Harvard University, while starting the women’s rec hockey league at Harvard. After completing post-doctoral research at MIT and McGill, Sheema worked as an R&D scientist in pharmaceutical sciences and is an inventor with numerous patents in drug delivery technology.
Since 2002, she has been a monthly columnist for The Globe and Mail. She is also the founder of CAIR-CAN, and testified as an expert witness in the Commission of Inquiry Into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar. She has served on the Board of CAIR-CAN, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the United Nations Association in Canada. She currently serves on the Board of the Harvard Club of Ottawa, and the newly-formed Ottawa Chapter of CHiPS, a non-profit organization that advances and connects women in technology, law and policy.
She is the author “Of Hockey and Hijab: Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman”. In 2012, she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to Canada. In 2015, she presented a TedX talk “Write Your Own Story”, about critical thinking. In 2022, she was selected as one of three Women Leaders in Ottawa by the Ottawa Board of Trade.
Walied Soliman (2023)
Professional Excellence Award
Chair – Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Walied Soliman is the Canadian chair of Norton Rose Fulbright and co-chair of the Special Situations team. He is widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading lawyers in his field, having been involved in some of the most significant and complex M&A transactions and proxy battles in the country, advising buyers and sellers, boards, hostile bidders and shareholder activists. In addition, his practice focuses on restructurings, corporate finance, governance and structured products.
Mr. Soliman was mandated in 2020 by the government of Ontario to chair the Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce. In 2019, Mr. Soliman was chosen by the United Nations Association in Canada to be its Global Citizen Laureate for his professional merit and service to the community. He was the only lawyer featured in The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business Magazine Power 50 list in 2017, was designated as a “”Star Lawyer”” by Acritas for ranking in the top 28 lawyers globally, and has been continuously recognized by the most prestigious legal rankings over the years, including Chambers & Partners and Legal 500. Mr. Soliman sits on the boards of the BlackNorth Initiative against anti-Black racism, Ryerson University, and the Toronto SickKids Hospital Foundation.
Asma Shahsamand (2023)
Professional Excellence Award
North America Ventures Open Innovation Market Leader
Asma Shahsamand holds the position of the North America Ventures Open Innovation Market Leader, demonstrating her expertise in fostering collaborations and driving innovation. Throughout her extensive career, Asma has dedicated the past decade to bridging the gap between emerging technologies and strategic business initiatives. She has collaborated with major global Fortune 500 companies, facilitating the integration of new technologies into their overarching vision and implementing solutions to enhance organizational efficiency. Asma’s primary commitment lies in assisting clients in achieving exponential growth through innovation, all while maintaining a human-centered approach.
Presently, Asma’s primary focus revolves around curating a portfolio of startup ventures that address critical challenges faced by our clients. These carefully selected startups are then incorporated into market-ready solutions, with particular emphasis on data platforms, capital markets, and risk management.
Though being based in Toronto, Asma’s personal journey as a refugee and immigrant from Afghanistan to Canada over 25 years ago has instilled within her a deep passion for the experiences of refugees and newcomers in the country. Alongside her professional pursuits, Asma has actively contributed to the community by assisting refugees and newcomers with their resettlement, both through her role at Accenture and the Afghan Community.
Nav Bhatia (2023)
Friend of the Community
Founder of Nav Bhatia Superfan Foundation
Nav Bhatia, nicknamed the Raptors Superfan, is a Canadian businessman and superfan of the Toronto Raptors basketball team. He founded and currently runs the Superfan Foundation to help unite people through the love of the sport. On June 19, 2018, Bhatia was named a recipient of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award.
The superfan ‘spends $300k annually to send thousands of kids to Raptors games’. He ensures that people from different backgrounds — black, white, brown, rich, poor, Christian, Muslim — sit next to each other, in order to promote diversity and bring communities closer to each other.
Nav Bhatia has contributed significantly to the Muslim community through his superfan foundation, he recently partnered with Hoops for Her, a Muslim women’s basketball league, to ensure Muslim women have a safe space to play in their community. He provided Muslim girls with a safe space to play. Hoops for Her provides a space, where one did not exist otherwise, for Muslim women in the GTA to learn and play basketball in a comfortable, positive, and encouraging environment.
Abdifatah Hussein (2023)
Community Excellence Award
Co-Founder of Hidaayah House, Family Support Worker
Abdifatah Hussein is a Somali Provincial Youth Outreach Worker, a certified mental health peer crisis responder, and the co-founder of Hidaayah House. He believes empowerment is one of the most liberating tools we can give a community, and it’s the bedrock of Hidaayah House, a collaborative movement. He is currently a Provincial Youth Outreach Worker in the province of Ontario, a certified mental health peer support, a trusted crisis responder, host, facilitator and more.
Since he began this work he has hosted 200+ events and workshops ranging a wide number of topics, and has collaborated with a number of communities and individuals across the GTA to give underserved communities the resources needed to create their own solutions. Aside from creating creative spaces for our community to come together, most of his work centers around creating alternatives to communal crisis response, mental health intervention, and more. He sincerely believes in the power of love and positive reinforcement to create long-standing change.
Hidaayah House, was born out of a dire need to address the dramatic increase in gun violence, incarceration rates, and drug use within the Somali Youth Diaspora and how they correlate with a decrease in socio-economic opportunities within the community.
Dr. Najah Adreak (2022)
Woman of the Year
Physician | Clinical Researcher
Dr. Najah Adreak is an aspiring heart surgeon and clinical researcher with a Master of Science in Surgery degree from UBC. She graduated from medical school at Tripoli University and trained as a Cardiac Surgery resident in Libya before moving to Canada for further education and training. Dr. Adreak is the Trainee Representative for the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance and has led the western committee for the 2020-2023 Wear Red Canada campaign. She is a TEDx speaker, a global health equity expert and an advocate for cardiovascular health and treatment, especially for underserved, marginalized communities and women. She currently leads a Cardiology Research Lab at BC Children’s Hospital, which combines her passion for congenital heart diseases, research, and children. Najah’s passion is to allow access to health to be equitable irrespective of social determinants like race, sex, religion, culture, or socioeconomic status. Besides that, she is well known for her community work and involved in many fundraising campaigns and initiatives.
Khalid Hashi (2022)
Founder and CEO at OGOW Health
Founder and CEO at OGOW Health
Khalid Hashi is Chief Executive Officer and Founder of OGOW Health, an award-winning tech start-up dedicated to improving health outcomes by harnessing the power of data and technology.
Khalid was inspired to innovate after his first trip to Somalia, where he met his grandmother for the first time and had a firsthand encounter with the condition of healthcare services in the country.
Since then, the innovative solution has gone on to win global innovation challenges and is backed by: IDEO, Google, Fund for Innovation and Transformation and Gates Health.
The OGOW Health platform has been adopted by leading international organizations and Governments to strengthen maternal, newborn and child health interventions.
In 2021, Khalid was shortlisted as a Semi-Finalist for the Global Citizen Prize: Leadership Award and in 2020 was recognized by Alberta Council for Global Cooperation on their “30 under 30” list featuring 30 exceptional recipients for their inspiring work.
Huda Idrees (2022)
Entrepreneur of the Year
Founder & CEO, Dot Health
Huda is the Founder and CEO of Dot Health, a real-time personal health data platform. With a background in engineering from the University of Toronto and a prolific career at some of Toronto’s best known startups including Wattpad, Wave, and Wealthsimple. Her latest venture is transforming the way people access and control their own health information for good. Huda’s work has been featured in a number of media outlets including Vogue, The Globe and Mail, CBC, Toronto Life, Toronto Star, Metro Morning, The Current, and The Walrus. She has won numerous awards including Excellence Canada’s Board of Governors’ Special Recognition of Achievement Award in 2019, YWCA Toronto’s Young Woman of Distinction in 2019, Bay Street Bull’s 30×30 in 2018, University of Toronto Engineering Early Career Award in 2018, amongst others. Huda has helped advise the Canadian Federal and Provincial Health Ministries on strategy, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for TechGirls Canada and the Sinai Health System.
Nabeela Ixatabalan (2022)
Dynamic Leader Award
EVP & Chief Operating Officer- Walmart Canada
In her current role, Nabeela oversees the operations and performance of Walmart Canada’s 400+ stores serving more than 1.5 million customers daily. She is one of The Globe and Mail’s 2022 Top Executives and has also been recognized by WXN as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and HRD’s Global 100 HR Leaders.
Prior to becoming the Chief Operations Officer, Nabeela led human resources and corporate affairs for Walmart Canada. Walmart Canada is one of Canada’s largest employers with over 100,000 associates.
Her career includes nearly 20 years of leadership and business development experience with three of the world’s most recognized brands – Walmart, IKEA and Starbucks Coffee in the US, Canada and Europe.Nabeela was previously Head of Digital Transformation at Ingka, leading IKEA’s digital and retail transformation globally across 41 countries.
Nabeela graduated with a dual degree in Marketing and Supply Chain Management and Distribution from Indiana University and holds a master’s in Industrial and Organizational Behaviour from the University of Texas. She is a certified executive coach through the International Coaching Federation, a member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches, a member of the Canadian Innovation Leaders Against Racism, an alumni and faculty member of Competent Boards.
Layth Gafoor (2022)
Dynamic Leader Award
Founder & Owner, Lucentem Sports and Entertainment Law | CEO, Lucentem Media Group
Layth is the founder and owner of Lucentem Sports and Entertainment Law and the CEO of the creative agency, Lucentem Media Group (Toronto and Los Angeles). He represents and negotiates endorsement and brand deals for superstar athletes, entertainers, and musicians.
Layth is a highly sought-after public speaker and legal commentator, making a global impact. He is the president-elect of the Sports Lawyers Association, whose board members consist of some of the highest-ranking executives in professional sports, including the NBA, NFL, and NHL. And he was recently one of the creative minds behind a short film that premiered at TIFF.
As a teenager, Layth was the MYNA Toronto representative. He later took on executive roles with the MSA during undergrad and law school. Currently, Layth is an Adjunct Professor at Western University’s Faculty of Law, and he sits on the boards of CAMH Foundation and Crows Theatre.
Sakeenah (2022)
Charity of the Year
Sakeenah Homes, a national charitable organization, was founded in 2018 in response to a gap for culturally and religiously sensitive services for women and children facing domestic violence and homelessness. Since then, our services have expanded to include mental health therapy and counseling, a food program that helps combat food insecurity (The People’s Market), and most recently became the first licensed foster care agency for Muslim children in North America. Sakeenah Homes operates 6 transitional homes across Canada: Toronto, Brampton, London, Montreal, Ottawa, and Winnipeg.
Uzma Jalaluddin (2022)
Artist of the Year
Author | Columnist, Toronto Star
Uzma Jalaluddin grew up in a diverse suburb of Toronto, but her favourite place in the world is the nearest bookstore or library. Her debut novel, AYESHA AT LAST (2018), is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the Toronto Muslim community. The novel was a Goodreads Choice Award Finalist, featured on The Today Show, and was a Cosmopolitan UK Book of the Year and Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2019. AYESHA AT LAST was optioned for film by Pascal Pictures.
Her second novel, HANA KHAN CARRIES ON (2021) was an instant Canadian bestseller. The novel is a reimagining of ‘You’ve Got Mail’ set in rival halal restaurants. HANA KHAN CARRIES ON has been optioned for film by Amazon Studios and Mindy Kaling.
Uzma also writes a culture and parenting column for The Toronto Star, and has written for The Atlantic. She lives near Toronto, Canada, with her husband and two sons, where she also teaches high school.
Osama Dorias (2022)
Artist of the Year
Lead Content Designer, Blizzard Entertainment
Osama Dorias is a Lead Content Designer at Blizzard Entertainment and a career game designer who has worked at Warner Brothers, Ubisoft, Gameloft, Unity, GEE Media, and Minority Media.
He is currently also teaching game design at Dawson College and is the chair of the International Game Developers Association’s Muslims in Games Special Interest Group. Osama loves to empower people in expressing themselves through game making.
He especially loves to give a voice to marginalized people and causes. Osama has hosted game jams, workshops and other community activities to this end, which has culminated in co-founding the Montreal Independent Games Awards.
Dr. Omolade Saliu (2021)
Professional Excellence Award
Dr. Omolade Saliu is an Executive Data Scientist & the Head of Data Science at IBM Canada’s Artificial Intelligence & Advanced Analytics Practice. He leads a team of Data Scientists, Data and Machine Learning Engineers across Canada to deliver innovative and enterprise scale AI solutions.⠀
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He has over 20 years of cross-sector consulting and research experience in providing thought leadership and delivering innovative AI & machine Learning and optimization solutions. He leads the IBM’s AI-at-Scale offering development in Canada. Dr. Saliu holds six (6) US patents and has two patents pending resulting from his work on the application of AI/ML to complex industry problems.⠀
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He is the author of numerous publications in international journals, conferences, and books and was featured in the Alberta Oil Magazine discussing the application of AI & ML in Energy & Mining. Dr. Saliu is an IBM certified Data Scientist Thought Leader.⠀
Imam Dr. Abdul Hai Patel (2021)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Imam Dr. Abdul Hai Patel is one of the Founders of Canadian Council of Imams, representing Islamic religious leadership. Currently, he is the Director of InterFaith relations. He has been serving as Imam and Community Leader for over 46 years in Canada.⠀
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He served as a Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission from 1999-2005 and is a past member of the National Board of Governors of Scouts Canada. Imam Dr. Patel is the immediate past President of Ontario MultiFaith Council, and a member of Interfaith Advisory Committee of the Federal Gov’t’s Corrections Canada. He is also a member of the Advisory Committee of Ontario Law Commission on End of Life Care. He is a Muslim Chaplain at the University of Toronto, York Regional Police, and has served as visiting Chaplain at CAM-H (Centre for Addiction & Mental Health) for three years. He served as a member of the Interfaith Committee and Chaplain for 2015 Pan Am & Para Pan Games in Toronto. He is also a Founder, Director and Patron in Chief of Muslim Children’s Aid and Support Service. ⠀
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Imam Dr. Patel is a recipient of the Governor General and Ontario Government’s awards for Community Service and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal. He is the Founder and member of several interfaith groups and is active in interfaith dialogues and training. Imam Dr. Patel is a regular speaker in national and international conferences and holds a Doctorate degree from the Canadian Institute of Islamic Studies. ⠀
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Being a Canadian gives him pride and a sense of belonging to a great country, that has provided countless opportunities for immigrants in search of a better life and a safe haven for refugees, irrespective of race, religion and nationalities. He strives to promote responsible citizenship and civic engagement among all newcomers.⠀
Asalah Youssef (2021)
Artist of the Year
Asalah Youssef is a Vancouver-based photographer, environmentalist, and well-being advocate.
She uses her love of imagery and storytelling to spark questions and create change. Her 2020 photo series, Screenshots of Home, captured over 40 diverse people from 20 countries around the world in their homes during quarantine through Facetime. This project became a visual journal of lockdown experience, everyday lives, common humanity, resilience, vulnerability and connection.
Youssef has been written about and interviewed by over 15 publications and media organizations such as the National Post, Globe and Mail, CTV, Breakfast Television and MTV. She has travelled across Canada speaking at the WE Day youth empowerment events and has presented at TedxYouth in Langley. She is a two-time finalist in the Chester Fields Photo Competition hosted by the Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver, and has exhibited in Fort Langley and at the Ryerson School of Image Arts, Toronto.
Noora Sharrab (2021)
Woman of the Year
Noora Sharrab is the CEO and co-Founder of Sitti Social Enterprise Limited. She obtained her Masters degree in Political Science with a Specialization in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies at York University in Toronto, Canada. In 2009 she co-founded an NGO called, Hopes for Women in Education (hopesforwomen.org), to provide higher-education scholarships, skills training and online language development (via Banaat Connect – banaatconnect.org) to refugee and displaced women in Jordan.
For several years Noora has worked with United Nations agencies in Jordan focusing on education, international development and relief services. In 2013, she partnered with Jacqueline Sofia to establish a Social Enterprise: Sitti (www.sittisoap.com) with the purpose to empower refugee communities to become self-reliant through employment and to help enhance their opportunity to become financially independent and self-sustainable.
Noora is an Advisory Council member with UNHCR Canada, and an Advisory Council Member with WeConnect International (Canada). She is also an ELLA altitude Participant and most recently a Canadian SheEO Venture Winner. Noora Sharrab has trained and worked with hundreds of refugees and served over 1000 refugees locally in the community. Her active role working with refugee communities in Jordan pushed her towards fundraising and building a Women’s Centre in the Gaza Refugee Camp in Jerash, Jordan. It currently employs over 30 full-time refugee women and men with disabilities.
Zehra Alibhai (2021)
Entrepreneur of the Year
Zehra Allibhai is the Founder of TheFitNest. She is a kinesiologist, fitness trainer, social media Influencer and entrepreneur who shares her passion for health, wellness and fitness with women across Canada and around the world. ⠀
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Following the success of her online Fitness Challenges which have helped thousands of women all over the world, Zehra successfully launched her own line of fitness equipment earlier this year. She continues to leverage her expertise in the space to establish new and exciting collaborations and launch new products for her community. ⠀
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She uses her social media platforms (with a following of over 300,000 across different channels) to help empower women to focus on their health and well-being as well as that of their families. She has been featured in many high-profile international publications and is a regular Fitness Contributor on CityLine TV. Zehra is also actively engaged with a number of local and national charities helping to raise donations and awareness for important causes.
Karen Scott (2021)
Friend of the Community
Karen Scott is the Executive Director of Muslim Children’s Aid and Support Services, a registered charity since 2004 whose mission is to be an overarching child protection and support agency for the diverse Muslim community. In this role, Karen grounded the Scarborough Simbas and Lives Rewritten in Mind, Body and Spirit programs to build resilience in newcomer Canadian children. ⠀
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Karen served as the co-chair of her church’s committee which sponsored one of the first Syrian refugee families in 2015. Refugee sponsorship turned Karen’s world upside down: changing her and her world views profoundly and enriching her life beyond measure. Karen remains actively involved in private refugee sponsorship and currently serves on the Board of the Private Refugee Sponsor Network (Ontario). ⠀
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Karen is grateful every day to her refugee family for the opportunity to walk beside them in their resettlement, and to all refugee families, staff, volunteers, Board, and numerous members of the community who have befriended, educated, supported, trusted, and inspired her. With God’s help, and her long-standing commitment to peace and social justice, Karen is dedicated to doing everything that she can to make a difference for Muslim children, youth, and families.⠀
Abdulla Idris Ali (2019)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Abdalla Idris Ali was born in Sudan and immigrated to Canada in 1977 as a graduate student at the University of Toronto, pursuing his Ph.D. in International Relations. His work in education began as a teacher of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Islamic Centre of Toronto. In 1982, he laid down the foundation of the first full-time Islamic school in Canada and served as the Principal of the Islamic Community School. Dr. Abdalla Idris was later appointed to the Executive Council of the Islamic Society of North America and then elected to its consultative body. This led him to serving as President of ISNA from 1992 through 1997. He is also a founding Board member of the Council of Islamic Schools in North America where he developed and implemented Islamic and Arabic Studies curricula for elementary and junior high students. In 1998, Dr. Abdalla Idris moved to the United States as a curriculum consultant to the Universal Foundation, and then was appointed Director at the Center for Islamic Education in North America in Kansas City, Missouri. He also became a member of the Board of Trustees I.B.E.R.R., a unique organization headed by Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens which services minority communities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Britain, South Africa and Nigeria. Upon returning to Canada in 2008, Dr. Abdalla Idris started serving as the Secretary General of ISNA Canada. For the last 10 years, Dr. Abdalla Idris has chaired the ISNA Education Forum that attracts more than 250 schools and close to a thousand teachers every year. In 2017, he decided to retire, however the community asked him to stay on as Director of Outreach and Community Development. Today he is serving as the Senior Community Relations Adviser.
Zainab Walji (2019)
Professional Excellence Award
Zainab is a Deals Partner & Inclusion Champion at PwC Canada and a CPA, CGA. Her professional excellence led her to be one of the youngest to be admitted into PwC Canada’s Partnership. An advocate for women, Zainab co-sponsors PwC’s Women in Leadership Program, mentors young professionals and speaks on panels about the importance of gender equity in the workplace. As an Inclusion Champion, Zainab leads by example to foster an inclusive culture and empower employees to bring their whole selves to work. During her partner admission process, she made the decision to wear her hijab and has spoken openly about this very personal decision, inspiring many to live authentically. Zainab has two daughters who inspire her to make the world a better place for future generations. Zainab is an active member in her community, involved at her children’s school, her mosque and with various charities. She is often volunteering with her family, and in 2017, travelled to Iraq with them to deliver donations to Dar-al-Zahra Orphanage.
Alaa Murabit (2019)
Woman of the Year
Mohammad Al Zaibak (2019)
Entrepreneur of the Year
Syrian-born Arab-Canadian entrepreneur Mohammad Al Zaibak is a co-founder of several information technology services companies in Canada and abroad, and was the principal private-sector architect and co-founder of Teranet Inc. Mohammad is President of Canadian Development and Marketing Corporation, Member of the Board of Governors of Ryerson University, Founding Luminary and Director of Luminato Festival, Founding President of Bay Tree Foundation, and Founding Director and President of Lifeline Syria. He is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors of Canada Arab Business Council, and Founding Director and CEO of Teranet Inc. He also served as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the ROM, and as Member of the Boards of: Waterfront Toronto, Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Toronto Community Foundation. Mohammad was the recipient of the Toronto Region Builder Award from the Toronto Region Board of Trade (2018), and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) and Golden Jubilee Medal (2002). He is a graduate of the Harvard School of Business Administration (HBS OPM XII) and holds a B.Sc. in Telecommunications and Electro-Physics Engineering (Alexandria University).
Saima Khan (2019)
Entrepreneur of the Year
SAIMASCORNER is a brand created by Saima Khan – a social media influencer known for her fashion blog and hijab tutorials. She graduated from University of Toronto majoring in sociology and minoring in anthropology and psychology. From an early age, fashion was her passion. Growing up as a hijabi woman in a western country, Saima felt restricted with her options and styles when it came to fashion. This is why she wanted to create her own brand revolving around modesty. Saima’s goal is to inspire others to feel and look confident in modest clothing. Her mission is to offer great quality clothing in a variety of styles and colours to accommodate for various personal styles. She strives to provide women all around the world with hijabs, accessories and modest clothing. As a result she hopes to empower women by making them feel and look confident while dressing modestly.
Bernie Farber (2019)
Friend of the Community
Acknowledged as one of Canada’s most accomplished NGO CEOs, Bernie Farber’s career spans more than a quarter century focused on human rights, pluralism and inter-ethnic/faith/race relations. Recognized and called upon by the courts, media and law enforcement as an expert in human and civil rights he is one of the few in the field to be accepted by Canadian Courts as an expert in hate crime, white supremacy and anti-racism. His efforts have been documented in numerous Canadian Human Rights publications, books, newspapers, film documentaries and magazines. Mr. Farber has successfully run large NGO’s and Foundations such as Canadian Jewish Congress, the Paloma Foundation and the Mosaic Institute all focused on social justice and human rights. He has worked closely with the Canadian Muslim community in countering all forms of Islamophobia. He is a skilled consultant on matters of social justice, and he writes for various newspapers in Canada and the USA. He is Chair of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and sits as an advisory board member of Human Rights Watch Canada. He chairs the Rights and Ethics Committee for Community Living Toronto and is a former co-Chair of the Ontario Anti-Racism Directorate.
Syrian Kids Foundation (2019)
Charity of the Year
The Syrian Kids Foundation (SKF) is a Montreal based charity that provides free education to Syrian refugee children in the city of Reyhanli, Turkey. Located 5 kilometers from the border with Syria, the region has seen a large influx of Syrian refugees since 2011, where asylum-seeking families soon discovered they had no access to education for their children. In 2012, the SKF created the Al Salam school, providing employment to over 100 Syrian refugees, where approximately 2000 Syrian children are in attendance. The school provides a safe and nurturing environment where children have dignity and peace after so much hardship. The SKF also cares for its students even after graduation from Al Salam, partnering with Concordia University in Montreal to provide scholarships to 5 recent Al Salam graduates who are currently in pursuit of bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering.
Ambaro Guled (2019)
Community Excellence Award
Dr. Ambaro Musse Guled arrived to Canada in 1991 with a degree in Medicine, specializing in gynaecology and obstetrics. She initially worked many odd jobs and volunteered in Brantford and Toronto. Since 1993, Dr. Guled has worked at Toronto’s Regent Park Community Health Centre as a Community Health Worker/Case manager helping immigrants, newcomers and refugees with settlement services, health care, accessibility and advocacy issues related to health, education, immigration, legal, and social services. She helps run programs, such as the African men’s group, advocacy for single mothers, Newcomers Homework Club for children, and adult ESL. Her hard work has been acknowledged by the Wadajir Ramadan Award (2000), Ve’ahavta Tikkun Olam Education Award (2009), Canada’s Citizenship Award (2010), RPCHC 25 Years of Service (2018), and others. She is a proud Canadian citizen, helping and advocating for people who need assistance integrating into Canadian society. Ambaro works to support individuals of all ages, regardless of their faith and culture.
Mustafa Ahmed (2019)
Artist of the Year
Mustafa Ahmed, also known as Mustafa the Poet, is a 22 year old Grammy award winning songwriter & activist from Regent Park, Toronto. He’s created social projects for his city with Drake & has co-written songs with The Weeknd, Camila Cabello, Usher, James Blake & more. A song he co-wrote, Sucker by the Jonas Brothers, debuted at #1 on the billboard 100. He collaborated with the power fashion house Maison Valentino on their (FW 19/20) women’s collection, his work was embroidered on over 40 pieces in the collection. He sat as the Ontario representative on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s youth council. He was the Poet Laureate for the 2015 Pan American games & is a TD scholar. He’s currently completing his debut music project.
