MAC femPOWER is excited to present a two part Board Training workshop series. With women representing only 29% of board seats in Canada, and even less for women of colour, this series is aimed at changing this trend. This training program will provide women with informative and interactive sessions that will help them understand the inner workings of a Board in the non-profit sector as well as tips on how to successfully and confidently seek a position on a board. The two part workshops will provide participants with an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of board members and a deeper understanding of the processes and procedures that are essential to running an effective board. The program will also discuss:

How to be an effective board member
Board roles, responsibilities and liabilities
What is Board Governance
Conflicts of Interest and risk management
How to authentically be yourself while on a board
Tips on how to find board opportunities

The workshops will include a panel of highly qualified speakers with years of board experience who are excited to share their knowledge, tips and strategies with you. They will also share how they have been able to stay true to their identities and authentic self while serving on various boards. The interactive workshops will also give participants a chance to interact with the panel and plenty of opportunities to ask questions. See below for more information about our great line-up of speakers.

Sadaf Parvaiz 

Sadaf Parvaiz is the Director, Diversity and Inclusiveness Center of Excellence at EY.  As Director – Diversity and Inclusiveness Office at EY, Sadaf Parvaiz is responsible for developing and implementing strategies and initiatives supporting the firm’s efforts to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. Sadaf has led and facilitated several high-profile leadership development programs and training internationally. 

Sadaf was appointed by the Province of Ontario to serve as a board member on the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and previously served for six years on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Peel Region as the Secretary and Chair of the Nominations Committee. Sadaf is also active in the Canadian Muslim community. Sadaf led a group of citizens to organize the Town of Oakville’s first ever Islamic Heritage Month event and Eid festival which was attended by local MPPs, Mayor and Town Council. Sadaf has participated in panels and given talks to the Federation of Muslim Women, Muppies, MAX Women amongst many others. Sadaf often facilitates workshops and provides coaching and mentoring for women around leadership, board training, and career advancement.

Anjum Sultana 

Anjum Sultana is an award-winning public policy and strategic communications professional, sought-after media commentator, accomplished public speaker, and published health equity researcher with expertise in gender equity, public health, and civic engagement.

Anjum is the National Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications at YWCA Canada. 

She has been appointed to CivicAction’s Recovery Taskforce for Toronto. Anjum is the Founder of Millennial Womxn in Policy, a Founding Advisor with Progress Toronto, a member of several advisory committees and serves as an Executive on the Boards of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), Regent Park Community Health Centre and Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA).

Fatema Dada 

Fatema is a lawyer at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, where she focuses on issues of Racial Profiling and Discrimination within policing.  Prior to that, she worked at the Crown Law Office – Civil with the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Office before serving as a Senior Policy Advisor to then-Attorney General, Yasir Naqvi. Fatema is an Executive Member of SMILE Canada – Support Services, an organization dedicated to supporting children with disabilities in minority communities. She also sits on the board of the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association and the Canadian Association of Muslim Women in Law.  When the COVID-19 crisis began, she also joined the board of Conquer COVID-19 grassroots organization that helped supply healthcare and front line workers with over 3 million items of PPE.

Rania Lawendy

Rania Lawendy is a social activist that has dedicated her life to community development and activism. She currently serves on the National Executive Council of MAC and is the director of MAC Youth Juniors nationally. She was recently appointed the Voting Member at Large for the steering committee of the region of Waterloo’s children and youth planning table. She previously served on MAC’s Board of Directors. She is also one of the founders of the Kitchener Masjid, Islamic Centre of Waterloo, Masjid Aisha, Al Huda Weekend School and MAC Maple Grove School. Currently, she is the principal of MAC Maple Grove School as well as the first Muslim female Chaplain in Canada at the University of Waterloo.

Aziza Hirsi

Aziza Hirsi is a Partner at Phoenix Law LLP that focuses on, but not limited to litigation – civil and family, immigration law, corporate law, and real estate – commercial and residential. She is also an executive member of the Canadian Somali Lawyers Association, and previously served as a Steering Committee member of the Canadian Association of Muslim Women in Law. In addition, Aziza continues to work with newcomer, marginalized and vulnerable communities through her professional and volunteer work by facilitating public legal education workshops and providing free consultations.

Gilary Massa

Gilary Massa is a proud Afro- Latina Muslim who lives in Toronto Canada with her husband and two young children. She has a long-standing history in community engagement, public education,and activism related to equity, human rights, and social justice. With roots in both the labor movement and Student movement, Gilary has spent the last 15 years supporting school boards, advocacy organizations, labour unions, government agencies, and private enterprises with a better understanding of how to support human rights, equity, and inclusion in their organizations. Gilary works as the Human Rights Outreach and Engagement Officer for the Toronto District School board and is currently pursuing a Masters in Leadership and Community Engagement at York University.

Doha Soliman

Doha Soliman is one of the co-founders of the Female Finance Project, an organization which aims to empower women through financial literacy.  Doha has completed an Economics and Political Science degree at the University of Toronto. She then went on to earn the CFA Charter. Doha serves as the Finance and Operations director at Blueridge OMS and does consulting work for various start-ups and entrepreneurs. In her personal time, Doha acts as a director at the Canadian Muslim Vote, a charitable organization which aims to increase political engagement in the Muslim community.  

Event Details

Date:
Part 1 – January 10
Part 2- January 17

Time: 11am-1pm

By signing up below for the January 10th event, you will also be registered for the January 17th session.