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Finalists - Awards

MAX Woman of the Year – Finalist Bios

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One MAX

April 25, 2021

On April 25, 2021

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Dahabo Ahmed-Omer

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BLACKNORTH INITIATIVE
Farah Nasser

JOURNALIST, KEYNOTE SPEAKER AND BOARD MEMBER, CANADIAN JOURNALISM FOUNDATION
Yasmeen Khan

FOUNDER, THE INTENTIONAL CURRENCY · CO-FOUNDER, MALI INVEST
Zena Chaudhry

FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SAKEENAH CANADA AND SAKEENAH US
Fatima Laher

DEPUTY CHAIR, DELOITTE CANADA & CHILE

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Awards

The objective of MAX Awards is to recognize Muslims who have demonstrated significant achievement, leadership, and commitment to serving their community.

Scholarships

MSF awards well-rounded High school and University students who are eager to make an impact, learn and create. Winners are students who have contributed to their communities and Canada at large, achieved above-average marks and are recognized by their peers, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. MSF is a registered charitable entity, and donors are eligible for a Charitable Tax Receipt.

Mentors

MAX Mentors is a professional mentorship program that connects near-career students with early career mentors and early career professionals with mid-career mentors to catalyze excellence amongst the Canadian Muslim community and help a new generation break glass ceilings.

Business

MAX Business LAB aims to facilitate and encourage the development & success of high performing Muslim decision makers in Business across three core principles:
i. L – Leadership
ii. A – Advisory
iii. B – Professional Training

Women in Leadership

MAX Women In Leadership is a program with a mission to celebrate, inspire and cultivate leadership excellence in Canadian-Muslim women. The program focuses on Recognition, Leadership, and Network & Partnerships, thereby connecting and mobilizing Muslim women across Canada to institute a strong and sustainable network.

MAX Gala

The Annual MAX Gala is an incredible night of celebration that offers a rare glimpse into the skills, talents and cultural strengths of a dynamic community of patriotic Canadian Muslims, whose continued efforts help build a strong workforce, energize the economy, and expand our combined cultural horizons. It represents the culmination of efforts of hundreds of volunteers across a plethora of teams at MAX.

Dahabo Ahmed-Omer

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BLACKNORTH INITIATIVE

Dahabo Ahmed-Omer is an award-winning Canadian executive, nationally recognized community leader, and advocate for equity, governance, and systemic change. She serves as Chief Executive Officer of the BlackNorth Initiative, one of Canada’s leading CEO-led movements dedicated to dismantling anti-Black systemic racism through measurable, business-driven commitments.

As the organization’s inaugural Executive Director and now Chief Executive Officer, Dahabo has helped build and scale BlackNorth Initiative into one of Canada’s most influential corporate accountability platforms. Under her leadership, the organization has engaged leading Canadian corporations representing more than $1 trillion in combined market value and advanced national initiatives focused on leadership representation, workforce development, procurement, community investment, entrepreneurship, education, mentorship, homeownership, and economic mobility.

Dahabo is a trusted advisor to boards, governments, and institutions, with deep expertise in governance, public policy, performance measurement, stakeholder engagement, employment equity, and anti-racism. Prior to joining BlackNorth Initiative, she held progressively senior roles in the federal public service, where she advanced employment equity, diversity, anti-racism, policy development, and organizational transformation initiatives across government.

Her leadership is rooted in a longstanding commitment to community advocacy and institutional accountability. She was a founding member of the Justice for Abdirahman Coalition, which advocated for justice and accountability following the death of Abdirahman Abdi, and has contributed to national and local efforts focused on anti-Black racism, policing, education, public policy, and community empowerment.

Her leadership and impact have earned numerous national and international honours, including the King Charles III Coronation Medal, The Globe and Mail’s inaugural Business Changemakers Award, recognition as one of the Top Global 100 Under 40 Most Influential People of African Descent, Bay Street Bull’s recognition as one of Canada’s Most Influential Women Leaders, the Canada150 Community Builder Award, and the National Council of Canadian Muslims Spotlight 150 Community Award.

Beyond her executive leadership, Dahabo has served as Chair of the Federation of Black Canadians, a Board Member of Ottawa Community Housing, an Advisory Board Member of Willow, and currently serves on the Development Committee of the Royal Ontario Museum.

Farah Nasser

JOURNALIST, KEYNOTE SPEAKER AND BOARD MEMBER, CANADIAN JOURNALISM FOUNDATION

Farah Nasser is an award-winning journalist, keynote speaker, and changemaker whose life’s work rests on a single conviction: that the hardest moments can be turned into impact and meaningful change.

For 25 years, Farah was one of Canada’s most trusted voices in news. An Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist and national anchor, she sat across from the world’s most powerful figures from prime ministers to industry titans, holding power to account while helping audiences understand what makes people listen, trust, and act.

Then, at the height of that career, she made the courageous decision to step away from the profession she had built from the ground up. At a time when public trust in media was under immense strain, including around coverage of Israel and Palestine, she felt the gap between institutional constraints and her own values becoming impossible to ignore. She continues to champion truth and excellence in journalism as a board member of the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

Today, Farah is one of Canada’s leading voices on the intersection of humanity, leadership and technology. A two-time TEDx speaker, she travels the world helping leaders understand the empathy, trust and moral courage that artificial intelligence will never replace. Farah has moderated high-profile conversations with figures including AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, guest lectured at Harvard University on influence and authentic leadership, and was recently called upon to moderate a high-level debate for the United Nations on the future of the institution.

Farah is a dedicated catalyst for systemic change. She is the co-founder of the Elevate Forum Toronto, a network of forward-thinking leaders and executives committed to creating sustainable, large-scale impact. Her passion is elevating human rights for women and girls, reflected in her role as an Ambassador for Plan International Canada.

A defining hallmark of Farah’s leadership is her extraordinary ability to transform complex challenges into meaningful, real-world results. After sharing a candid video about her own breast cancer diagnosis, hundreds of women booked mammograms that may have saved lives. When an AI chatbot exposed her own children to sexually explicit content, Farah refused to stay quiet: her commentary on AI safety for kids reached millions of people and helped spark a movement that shaped Canadian policy to protect children online.

From the anchor desk to the front lines of advocacy, Farah Nasser meets every challenge the same way — with honesty, courage, humility and an unshakeable belief in using her platform in service of others.

Yasmeen Khan

FOUNDER, THE INTENTIONAL CURRENCY · CO-FOUNDER, MALI INVEST

Yasmeen Khan is the Founder and CEO of The Intentional Currency, one of the leading financial literacy platforms dedicated to Muslim women, and Co-Founder of Mali Invest, a financial literacy app designed to help Muslim women build wealth with confidence and clarity.

With a background in banking and finance, Yasmeen has helped thousands of women navigate budgeting, investing, homeownership, and long-term wealth building while staying aligned with their faith and values. Her work focuses on making financial literacy accessible, practical, and empowering for Muslim women around the world.

After overcoming significant personal and financial challenges herself — including inheriting debt at a young age and later rebuilding as a single mother of three — Yasmeen has become a leading voice in Muslim women’s financial education. Through her programs, content, speaking engagements, and community initiatives, she is helping shape a future where more Muslim women have the knowledge, confidence, and resources to make informed financial decisions.

Today, her work reaches women in more than 80 countries and has inspired thousands to view wealth not simply as personal success, but as a tool for service, leadership, and lasting impact within their families and communities.

Zena Chaudhry

FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SAKEENAH CANADA AND SAKEENAH US

Zena Chaudhry is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sakeenah Canada and Sakeenah US, organizations dedicated to supporting women, children, and families through shelter services, advocacy, education, and community-based programming. Holding a Master of Laws degree, Zena has spent more than a decade championing gender equity, social justice, and community empowerment, creating innovative initiatives that address critical gaps in support services for vulnerable populations. Under her leadership, Sakeenah has grown into a nationally recognized organization that has transformed the lives of tens of thousands across Canada and beyond.

A respected advocate, mentor, and changemaker, Zena is widely recognized for her commitment to building safer, more inclusive communities and for empowering women to achieve their full potential. Her contributions have earned numerous accolades, including recognition from the Canadian Council of Muslim Women’s Women Who Inspire Awards. Through her vision, compassion, and unwavering dedication to service, Zena continues to inspire positive change and exemplify excellence in community leadership.

Fatima Laher

DEPUTY CHAIR, DELOITTE CANADA & CHILE

Fatima Laher’s career began in a place that offered her very little and asked a great deal of her. She grew up in South Africa under apartheid, educated in a segregated school system until a scholarship took her to St. Andrew’s School for Girls, where she was one of five students of colour in an all-white school. After completing her degrees, she joined Deloitte in Johannesburg in 1989 — the beginning of a career that would span 39 years, three countries, and three tax jurisdictions.

She is currently the Deputy Chair of Deloitte Canada & Chile, the most senior governance officer below the Chair of a firm with revenues exceeding $4 billion and more than 17,000 professionals. In that role she chaired the Governance and Succession Committee, leading CEO and Chair performance evaluation and succession planning, and co-chaired the Finance, Investment and Capital Committee. Along the way she led Deloitte Canada’s national tax strategy, was appointed globally to lead tax innovation across member firms, and built a national cross-border tax and executive compensation practice. She was named a Top 10 Female Tax Partner in Canada for six consecutive years and a Top 10 Inspirational Partner for seven.

Titles, though, are the least interesting thing about her.

What has defined Fatima’s leadership is a conviction rooted in her own experience: that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. “I know what it feels like to be underestimated and overlooked,” she has said. “I also know what it feels like to be seen for my potential.” Her answer has been to spend decades opening doors for others: mentoring and sponsoring women and racialized professionals, insisting that organizations look inward at the talent already in front of them, and pressing for diversity to be treated as a strategic imperative rather than a gesture. She has been candid about the pressure of representation, and equally candid that the remedy is simple: more voices at the table.

That commitment continues in her community work. She has served on the boards of the IDRF (International Development and Relief Fund), the National Ballet of Canada, and the Loran Scholars Foundation. She holds the ICD.D designation from Rotman, a Corporate Directors Certificate from Harvard Business School, and a Master’s in Taxation, and is a published author, guest lecturer, and international speaker.

Her own summary of a life’s work is characteristically brief: “Success is not about competition, it is about contribution. We measure our success not by what we achieve for ourselves, but by how we contribute to the success of others.”