Samya Hasan
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Samya has been working with the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians since 2015 and has been the Executive Director since 2017. Through her role at CASSA, Samya sits on various advisory bodies including the Coalition Against Anti-Asian Racism Canada, Ontario Provincial Police Hate Crime Advisory, Peel Provincial Police Hate Crime Advisory, Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change Steering Committee, Toronto Non-Profit Network Steering Committee, and various academic and research advisory groups.
Samya received recognition from the Toronto Metropolitan University in 2020 for her work on civic engagement as their “Democracy Superhero”. Samya was also selected as CivicAction’s “DiverCity Fellow” for 2020-2021.
Prior to her employment at CASSA, Samya worked at the Affordable Housing Office at the City of Toronto as a Research Associate and Policy Consultant. During her time at the Affordable Housing Office, she worked on various housing-related portfolios supporting low-income and marginalized communities including Toronto Community Housing, and Affordable Homeownership. As a Toronto Urban Fellow for the City of Toronto, Samya worked at the Municipal Licensing and Standards division, conducting by-law reviews of business industries in Toronto.
Samya attained her Master of Public Policy degree and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Toronto. She is currently enrolled in a second Masters program in Islamic Studies.
Farhat Hasan
FINANCE MANAGER
Farhat is the Finance Manager at CASSA. She has a Masters degree in Farhat is the Finance Manager at CASSA. She has a Masters degree in Business Administration with specialization in Finance and over a decade of experience in accounting in the corporate and non-profit sector. Farhat manages all aspects of financial record keeping including budgets, financial reports, payroll, bank reconciliations, cash flow analysis and more. She also assists with the annual audit and updates the management about the fundraising needs of the organization from time to time.
Gurbinder Jaspal
HUMAN RESOURCES GENERALIST
Gurbinder is the Human Resource Generalist for CASSA. She is a result-oriented professional with plenty of experience in HR operations. She is skilled in encompassing diversity & inclusion, talent and culture strategies, performance management, employee engagement, consulting, talent acquisition forecast, and planning; design and implementation of policy and procedures in consideration of provincial and federal legislation. She has successful experience in working with complex business environments. She can swiftly align organizational values to its structure, systems, and operational processes. Before CASSA, she was managing the Human Resources operations for Accor Plus and currently also working as a Business Partner, People and Culture with The MRG Group.
Qurat Al Ain
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT AND MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR
Qurat Al Ain has been working with the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians since 2022. She is the Executive Assistant and Membership Coordinator at CASSA. She has done Diploma in Accounting and Business, Certification in Audit and Taxation (UK) (ACCA).
Qurat Al Ain creates and coordinates engagement activities for staff. Maintain membership documents and databases. Research and secure new memberships where possible and answer membership inquiries. Support the HR Generalist and Executive Director with recruitment, hiring, and team-building activities. Scheduling meetings and taking minutes. Assist with meeting preparation with the Executive and Board of Directors. Liaise with external stakeholders. Arrange informative sessions based on the requirements of the members. She is also an Administrative Assistant of the Toronto Non-profit Network.
Dinoba Kirupa
GBV PROJECT MANAGER
As a political activist and community organizer, Dinoba has worked extensively in the field of gender equity at the intersection of race. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Toronto, and later obtained a Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs degree from the University of British Columbia.
Dinoba’s passion for addressing gender and racial inequity influenced her work at the United Nations Children’s Fund at the Regional Office of South Asia in Nepal. There she was placed in the Education Section where she was instrumental in writing country profiles on the barriers to education faced by South Asian girls in rural communities. Dinoba’s work in South Asia was furthered through her involvement in the Canadian Tamils’ Humanitarian Association where she visited rural Batticaloa, Sri Lanka to help coordinate efforts to build a community center serving nearby villages. She has co-published a policy report on the Rome Statute’s understanding of conflict-related sexual violence. Recently, Dinoba has led two gender-based violence projects with CASSA which have resulted in comprehensive reports on South Asians in Canada and extensive community engagement initiatives.
Outside of the office, Dinoba is a classically-trained Bharathanatyam dancer who completed her arangetram. She speaks fluent Tamil and loves all things connected to her roots.
Yomna Omar
PROJECTS MANAGER
Yomna Omar has been working with CASSA since 2020, initially as the Project Coordinator for CASSA’s ‘Legal Education for Refugee Women’ project, and since January 2021 as a Projects Manager. She earned a Master of Science degree in Global Health from McMaster University and holds staff and volunteer positions at various nonprofits. Most recently, Yomna worked as a Resettlement Senior Legal Officer at St. Andrews Refugee Services (StARS), a refugee service provider in Egypt that works to enhance the quality of life for refugees and vulnerable migrants through four broad program areas: education, psychosocial, legal, and community outreach. Prior to this, Yomna served as the Senior Global Programs Associate at Millie’s Bookshelf, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring displaced people worldwide have access to adequate reading resources to promote literacy and health education, and as an Emergency Responder with the Canadian Red Cross, taking part in the COVID response. She further provided logistical coordination and interpretation services and delivered training on sexual and reproductive health and SGBV in Greek refugee settlements with The Unmentionables, a nonprofit that provided sexual and reproductive health education, protection, and access to resources to refugees around the world.
Mahdiba Chowdhury
PROJECT MANAGER – HEALTH PROMOTION & EQUITY
Mahdiba Chowdhury is a dedicated health equity advocate and Project Manager for Health Promotion & Equity at CASSA. A graduate of the University of Toronto, she specialized in Mental Health Studies and focuses on ensuring equitable access to culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare services for South Asian communities.
Mahdiba was the Lead Coordinator of the South Asian Vaccine Engagement Collaborative, a key component of the City of Toronto’s Vaccine Engagement Team. In this role, she oversaw vaccination outreach initiatives, managed partnerships with community organizations, and ensured effective communication strategies to increase vaccine accessibility and acceptance within targeted populations. She also led mental health and cancer screening initiatives through the High Priorities Community Strategy. Currently, she is actively raising awareness of honour-based violence and developing training programs for its identification. As the Coordinator of the Racialized Health Working Group, Mahdiba collaborates with community stakeholders to address health disparities affecting racialized populations, fostering an inclusive dialogue on culturally competent care and policy changes. Since 2020, she has coordinated CASSA’s Annual Health Equity Summit, a pivotal event that brings together diverse voices to discuss health equity issues, share innovative solutions, and empower communities to advocate for their health needs.
Before joining CASSA, she served as a Qualitative Research Analyst at the University Health Network, investigating barriers to accessing living donor kidney transplants within the South Asian community and developing ethnocultural education materials in partnership with community organizations.
In addition to her professional commitments, Mahdiba is a talented freelance graphic designer and web developer, collaborating on impactful projects with organizations such as CASSA, Mindfully Muslim, and Safe Mind, Safe Body.
Samaha Kureshi
COOMUNICATION COORDINATOR/PROJECT COORDINATOR-COALITION FOR RACIAL EQUITY IN EDUCATION
As a recent graduate from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a minor in Health and Society, Samaha is passionate about research in immigration in Canada, specifically the struggles immigrants face based on their ethnicity, religion, gender, and education, as well as the education of girls in South Asian nations. As a member of CASSA’s communication team, Samaha is responsible for the newsletter, podcast, and blog posts. Aside from her communications role, she is also the project coordinator for the Coalition for Racial Equality in Education at CASSA. Outside of CASSA, for the past three years, she runs a small business with her sister.
Ridah Asghar
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Ridah Asghar joined the CASSA team in June 2022. After graduating from Ryerson University with a Bachelors in Policy and Governance, Ridah began her fundraising career working at Islamic Relief and the Scarborough Health Network Foundation where she gained a wealth of experience in fundraising, event planning, donor relations and direct marketing. She is passionate about driving social change for the rich diversity of communities that CASSA serves. As the Director of Development, she is dedicated to advancing the organization’s mission by implementing the annual fundraising plan to help secure funds for CASSA to continue building diverse and inclusive communities in Canada.
Tanzina Tahereen
POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER
Tanzina is a Post Doctoral Researcher (part-time) at CASSA. She is currently leading a project on the experiences of South Asian International Students in Ontarian Post Secondary Institutions, supervised by Dr. Elizabeth Buckner, University of Toronto, which is jointly funded by CASSA and Mitacs. She completed her BA in English and MA in Applied Linguistics and ELT from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. She also earned an MA in Advanced Linguistics (Comparative perspectives) with Great Distinction from Ghent University, Belgium. Then, she completed her PhD in cultural studies from Queen’s University, which focused on the politics of the standardized testing system in Bangladesh. Tanzina is currently the Associate Director of Faculty Curriculum at the Office of the Dean, Liberal Arts and Professional Studies at York University. In this role, she oversees and engages in the overall curriculum development process in undergraduate and graduate level in the Faculty. Prior to joining York, Tanzina taught for 7 years as a tenured faculty member at a renowned University in Bangladesh. Here in Canada, she has also taught in various contract positions. She published in peer reviewed journals and presented in multiple national and international conferences. Her research interest lies in social justice education, inclusive curriculum, internationalization, educational policies, anti-racist and anti-oppressive pedagogies, politics of education, South Asian studies, and postcolonial studies.
Amber Qureshi
I moved from Pakistan to Canada in 2007. In Pakistan, I completed my Bachelor’s in Education and Master’s in Arts. After settling in Canada, I continued my education by earning a Diploma in Social Work and another in Addiction & Community Services. I became intrigued by the complex Canadian immigration system, which led me to acquire an Immigration Consultant Diploma. In my 15+ years of experience in Canada, I have worked at various levels within social services, from grassroots to mainstream agencies. I have been actively involved in governance roles, having served on the board of directors of Maskan Women Shelter and currently holding a position on the board of directors of Calgary Single Mothers Society. I find great satisfaction in imparting knowledge, and thus, I took up a role as an instructor at community College, teaching ACSW and CYSW courses. I excel in building partnerships and creating effective collaborations within communities. I was honored to receive the United Way Bhayana Family Award for cooperation and collaboration. Learning is the key to success, and I always try to equip myself well, especially to work in social services; for that, I also earned a Registered Professional recruiter license and a Talent Management Practitioner. I also believe in innovation and entrepreneurial thoughts and bringing changes, which can be beneficial not only for projects but also for the organizational level. I also brushed up my skills and earned a Change Management Practitioner Designation.
As an immigrant, I deeply empathize with the needs of the South Asian community and passionately dedicate myself to its advancement. Witnessing the joy on the faces of the individuals and families I support is immensely rewarding. I take pride in my work with South Asian communities, assisting those in need.
In my downtime, I find solace in painting, culinary arts, exploring new destinations, delving into fashion, and cherishing moments with my loved ones.
Nayani
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Nayani Nandakumar (she/her) is the Manager of Community Development at CASSA. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a certificate in Anti-Racist Research and Practice, and a Master of Arts in Socio-Legal Studies. Her Major Research Paper focused on the Legal Construction of Tamil Refugees: A Case Study of Canadian Exclusion Cases Post-9/11. Nayani has previously worked with the Urban Alliance on Race Relations, leading the Coalition for Racial Equity in Education project, alongside UARR’s community partners: CASSA, CCNCTO, ONABSE and TCCCA. She has also worked at the Mosaic Institute leading community consultations in developing the Addressing Online Hate e-learning modules for youth to learn about how to identify, respond to, and combat online hate.
Harnoor Kochar
SENIOR OUTREACH OFFICER
Harnoor Kochar (she/her) is a political organizer and outreach coordinator working to make politics more equitable, inclusive, and accessible for women, immigrants, and racialized individuals.
Harnoor is a Senior Outreach Officer with the Alberta NDP Caucus and the Edmonton Lead for the South Asian Social Justice Network with CASSA. In her role with the Alberta NDP, she oversees strategic outreach for Edmonton and Northern Alberta. Harnoor has served in leadership roles on political campaigns at the municipal, provincial, and federal orders. Most recently, she was the Director of Field Operations and Co-Chair of Get-Out-The-Vote for Amarjeet Sohi’s mayoral campaign. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Alberta where she was the President of the Political Science Undergraduate Association. She makes her home on Treaty Six territory, proudly represents Mill Woods whenever she can, and loves going on walks with her dog Luna.
