Over the last 30 years, she has been working with non-profit organizations, public sector unions, governments, interfaith organizations and grassroots collectives. She encourages organizations to practise intersectionality understanding of how overlapping identities including race, class, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation impact the way oppression is experienced. For six years, she co-ordinated a coalition of internationally educated professionals called Capacity BC, which advocated for recognition of international credentials. In her work with the Interfaith Institute on justice, peace and social movements, she co-led innovative partnerships with diverse interfaith groups.
One of the most significant partnerships was with Indigenous communities. This relationship led to the creation of the film Hidden Legacies, which focused on the intergenerational impact of residential schools. Shah worked with Indigenous teachers to design a school guide to support teachers in using the film in their classrooms.
She also recently worked as a facilitator and wrote a school guide for Jabber, a play that invites students to understand their own power when confronting stereotypes, racism and Islamophobia. In , Shah took the lead in establishing a friendship centre in Coquitlam called Miracle Connection; it is operated by volunteers, without public funding, to assist in the integration of Bhutanese and Syrian refugees.
She is also the co-founder of Pratham, a B. An evaluation by an academic team found PTL to be a transformational program. PTL is now being used by many non-profit agencies in Vancouver. Her pursuit of justice and peace is her way of life. Paola Gomez is a trained human rights lawyer, community organizer, public speaker, artist facilitator, writer and dreamer. Gomez is the co-founder and director of Sick Muse Art Projects. In this role, she has developed an innovative way of integrating conversations about identity, inclusion and community engagement into community art programs.
Gomez writes poetry, essays and short stories. As a community leader, researcher and emerging curator, she has contributed to the access and visibility of other Latin American artists in the Toronto arts scene. Gomez is part of the TAC Cultural Leaders Lab and is a well-known community arts facilitator who develops a variety of community art programs aiming to support newcomers, refugee kids and women where topics such as identity and inclusion are at the centre of the arts engagement. Gomez was awarded the Toronto Community Foundation Vital People grant in recognition of her exceptional community initiatives.
Hamilton on the Status of Women. Harrison Hot Springs, B. Nikole Read is the Canadian chairperson of the International Trade Council ITC , a global not-for-profit association representing in excess of 29, companies, chambers of commerce, business associations, standards agencies and government trade agencies worldwide. Locally, she is involved with local community services and sits on various boards as a board director. SME Trade Financing group aims to take action on a global level to support the success of small businesses, and to engage the SME sector more fully in economic activity, particularly in developing and emerging markets.
Read draws on her previous business and legal experience in England and Canada. She has brought her unique combination of communication skills, legal and business acumen to clients facing a wide array of immigration and business issues and challenges. She advises public and private sector clients on a wealth of international trade issues, immigration within the realms of applicable laws. Read and her team serve diverse industries with the objective of promoting international trade while helping clients manage risks and remove barriers to trade and investments as they enter markets.
For the past couple of years, her companies have been multiple nominees in BC Diversity Awards. Read has been a support and volunteer for the local community services Agassiz-Harrison and Chilliwack for the past seven years. She has contributed her time to serve as a board member for Harrison-Agassiz Community Services and Disability Network.
He has not missed a home game since the inception of the team in He can be seen at the Air Canada Centre and quite a few road games sitting in his now famous courtside seat next to the basket. Arriving in Canada in with very little to his name, Bhatia worked his way to becoming the number one car salesman at Hyundai and eventually found himself the opportunity to own both the Mississauga and Rexdale Hyundai dealerships. The path to success was not without challenges; in particular Bhatia overcame many instances of racial intolerance as a visible minority.
Bhatia believes integrating our youth at a young age is truly the path to help change this perception and build a more tolerant society. With the start of the Superfan Nav Bhatia Foundation, he recently has accepted ambassadorship roles with Tissot, World Vision, Toronto International Film Festival TIFF and is working with the WE Charity; all organizations helping Bhatia and his Foundation bring kids together through the game of basketball by building basketball courts across the world.
Naseem Somani is the visionary leader behind Dynacare, one of the largest medical laboratories in Ontario with satellites in Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta. Fleeing political unrest and persecution in Central Africa, a young Somani, with her parents and younger brother landed in Canada. Very soon, her father passed away, leaving her to take care of her younger brother and a homemaker mother. With great tenacity, passion and courage she graduated with a bachelor of commerce and finance degree from U of T, then went on to become a chartered accountant.
She began her career in as a controller in a smaller medial lab which Dynacare acquired in In , she became the vice-president of operations and general manager of the Central Ontario Division. Somani provided leadership and vision and consolidated several small labs under the banner of Dynacare. The amalgamation of corporations comes with bridging different cultures, people and corporate philosophies. Somani tackles this with humility, compassion and pragmatism. In , she was appointed as CEO of Dynacare. Today it serves patients from all across Canada.
Currently, the company has 2, employees who perform 55 million laboratory tests each year. Dynacare is recognized for its quality of work and is considered a top employer. Today, she is transforming Dynacare from a lab company into a health and wellness solutions leader. The corporate wellness program ensures that the 2, employees are healthy and productive. Dynacare also does mobile testing for specialized services for the insurance industry. Somani is a strong supporter of corporate philanthropy.
Somani is a board member of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and C. Montreal Country of Origin: It aims to raise awareness about the issue of forced mar-riages in the Syrian refugee camps. Muzna work for social justice went above and beyond when recently she was one of the main forces to start series of workshops on lesson learned between indigenous and syrian refugees in Canada in hope to build stronger bonds for stronger Canada.
Syrian Canadian advocate City: Mohammed Alsaleh is a Syrian-Canadian human rights advocate, international keynote and TEDx speaker, and the refugee sponsorship trainer for B. After losing two cousins to cancer, Alsaleh dreamed of becoming an oncologist, however, the Syrian conflict interrupted his education. During his final year of medical school, he was arrested by the Assad regime for his involvement in the peaceful Syrian uprising.
Since arriving in Vancouver in , he has become a well-known public voice in matters related to refugee advocacy, private sponsorship and the Syrian cause. Later, he was seconded as the national youth worker to facilitate a national leadership program that empowers newcomer youth to participate in civic engagement. As the current refugee sponsorship trainer for B. He is also eagerly awaiting the arrival of his own family, who are currently refugees in Turkey and Germany.
From Syria to Canada, his journey was famously featured in in the documentary Welcome to Canada. Calgary Country of Origin: Milton Ortega, an immigrant from Ecuador, dedicated his academic and professional career thus far to the advancement of others and the pursuit of social justice. His numerous involvements on advisory boards, research projects and leading his own organization to better serve newcomers, all portray an individual that excels in his career, and strives to better support his community and other newcomers to Canada.
Prior to his life in Calgary, Ortega completed his international relations degree in Ecuador with honours.
Upon graduation, he received full scholarships to continue his academic endeavours in Oregon. In , Ortega relocated to Canada to launch his career in a new country. Initially working at an electronics retailer to support his family, he spent his non-working hours community building through his volunteer work. After a couple years working with local post-secondary institutions, Ortega joined the non-profit sector in his drive to advance social justice. Since then, he has aimed to empower systems that provide for the community.
He collaborates with multiple organizations on a local, regional and national level to advance the lives of newcomers, and to advance the sector that supports them. Full professor, University of Guelph City: Guelph, Ontario Country of Origin: Mario Monteiro is a full professor in the department of chemistry at the University of Guelph.
Monteiro is considered one of the most influential vaccine researchers in the world and is an important role model for students, especially those of Portuguese origin. Upon his arrival in Toronto from Portugal in , Monteiro entered Grade 9 and after some struggles he obtained his high-school diploma in and PhD degree in Immediately after, he was hired by the National Research Council in Ottawa to study the chemistry of microbes with funding from the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network.
Due to his accomplishments in Ottawa, Monteiro was then hired by Wyeth in the United States now part of Pfizer in to develop medicines against infectious diseases. In , the University of Guelph recruited Monteiro, and since then his scientific contributions have placed Canada on the world-map for vaccine research. For example, a recent worldwide referendum placed Monteiro in the Top 50 most influential people in vaccines — the sole Canadian researcher to be recognized at this level.
Monteiro has discovered key molecules capable of preventing bacterial infections responsible for deadly diarrhea in humans. A new vaccine discovered and developed by Monteiro at Guelph targets surface molecules exposed by C. This discovery has been widely acknowledged and is now the cornerstone of new fields in C.
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The vaccine created at Guelph was licensed by a U. The first vaccine target that Monteiro set his eyes upon was that against Campylobacter infections. The vaccine developed by him against Campylobacter infections was the first to show per cent efficacy and the first Canadian product for this ailment to enter human clinical trials, which are being carried out by the USA Naval Medical Research Centre. Monteiro uses his academic success to inspire students in the Portuguese community in Canada. Some studies have revealed that the graduation rate among Toronto high-school students of Portuguese origin is low.
Monteiro spends a significant amount of his time being an education advocate on local radio and TV stations. Within the Portuguese community he serves as a juror in the largest Portuguese-Canadian scholarship competition. Marina Ramalho is the founder of Joy of Less consulting. Through the company, she helps clients to change their consumption habits and reduce clutter in their homes and in their lives through in-person coaching and online courses.
She founded the business in after becoming the first certified KonMari Consultant in Canada. In addition, she is actively involved in social media groups supporting live-in caregivers from Brazil and other countries. She has been a mentor to caregivers making the transition to life in Canada. She herself came to Canada as a live-in caregiver, an experience that was both rewarding and very challenging. Making the transition to a professional career is not easy, and she had to persevere through many of the challenges faced by recent immigrants.
Her ability to stay positive and find ways to break open doors is a testament to her strong will. The book details the KonMari Method, which provides a step-by-step process to liberate yourself from accumulation. Ramalho has also been committed to volunteering, using it as a bridge to integrating into the community. Shortly after she arrived in Canada, she was a volunteer at the Winter Olympic Games, serving as multilingual VIP support in the operations centre. Her favourite volunteer role was at the annual Canada Day immigration ceremony at Canada Place where she witnessed the joy of new Canadians taking their oath of citizenship — an experience she hopes to share with them shortly.
She currently recruits students from around the world and this year visited Africa, Latin America, Russia and Southeast Asia on recruitment trips. Journalist, author and publisher City: Mansoor Ladha is a Calgary-based journalist, travel writer and author of Memoirs of a Muhindi: He has held senior editorial positions with daily newspapers in Canada, Kenya and Tanzania and was the only ethnoracial publisher of two weekly mainstream newspapers in suburban communities in Alberta. When he was told he would have to belong to the ruling political party in the one-party state to keep his job, he moved to Nairobi, Kenya.
He found work again at a daily, but he would soon move again, this time across the ocean to Canada. He landed in Toronto at 29 years old, hoping to continue his work as a journalist in Canada. After about three months of not being employed, he was recruited by the Edmonton Journal. He then bought a weekly newspaper, Morinville Mirror , and established another one, Redwater Tribune , both within commuting suburban areas of Edmonton. He owned the newspapers for more than 25 years before selling them in and moving to Calgary. Loizza Aquino is an year-old social justice activist.
She has been involved with social activism since the age of nine, but, in , she started to focus on mental health advocacy in 10th grade after she lost one of her best friends to suicide. He was one of four high school students in Winnipeg that died by suicide within the timespan of one month.
After a countless number of hours spent on trying to find answers as to why this was happening, Aquino realized that she needed to stop searching for answers, but instead, create solutions to ensure this would never happen again. This inspired Aquino to create her own youth-led non-profit organization at the age of 15 called Peace of Mind. Her organization holds events called Youth Against Metal Health and Illness Stigma YAMHIS , which provides a safe space and platform for students across the province to share their stories and experiences in regards to mental health.
A handful of high schools across Manitoba have created Peace of Mind groups within their school to sustain mental health conversations throughout the school year. Since , they have reached more than 2, students, and have expanded from Manitoba to Ontario. Aquino has worked alongside a branch of the Government of Manitoba on several projects. She is a public speaker who has received many different accolades for her work in the topic of mental health, online safety and media literacy, youth empowerment and human rights. Aquino also recently created her own scholarship fund to empower other youth mental health activists and support across Canada and the Philippines.
Aquino is a student at the University of Toronto, pursuing a double major in mental health studies and international development studies, with a minor in public policy and governance. She hopes to work for the United Nations one day to create policies for mental health across the world. Cazacu is a legal professional who worked in this field for about 20 years now.
In , Cazacu and his family moved to Canada without speaking any English. In , after 12 years of legal education, Cazacu started his own notary practice. Now, after four years since he founded the LC Notary Corporation, his team consists of seven people and keeps growing every year. During this time, Cazacu has been nominated and awarded with several prestigious local, provincial and national awards. He has won the B.
During this short period as an entrepreneur, Cazacu has also been involved in various community projects and organizations. In his role as a notary public, Cazacu provides non-contentious legal services such as estate planning wills and powers of attorney , real estate transactions and various types of notarizations. He is very passionate about promoting the financial and legal literacy in his community and he always welcomes new speaking opportunities to educate our communities about estate planning related subjects.
Cazacu, his wife and their four children live in the same community where he also practises as a notary public. Kundan Joshi is the award-winning founder and CEO of TheAppLabb, a leading product innovation firm focused on strategy, design and development of intelligent and immersive app experiences.
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Joshi is a serial entrepreneur, a sought-after motivational speaker, well-known community leader, avid youth mentor, passionate start-up advisor and active advocate for new immigrants. He was born in Mumbai, India, but moved to Canada in and graduated from Western University with a software engineering degree and founded his first business while he was still in university. He then founded his company TheAppLabb in Incubator — investing in high potential startups; 4. Joshi is a founding director of Startups Give Back charity.
He is also the founder of Toronto Innovation, a collective of the top innovators in Toronto from enterprises, startups, academia and the city, with the mission of making Toronto the global hub of innovation by During his term on the board of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, he established programs to help, mentor and foster professional growth of youth and new immigrants in the community. He regularly mentors young entrepreneurs, professionals and new immigrants, to set them up on a path toward success. He came from very humble beginnings and, as a young man, financial success was just a dream.
The Leungs landed in Vancouver in December of and soon after he would face the biggest challenges of his young life. After finding a scanty claustrophobic attic near Commercial Drive, the Leungs were set to make the best of their new life. For Kin Wah, this meant English classes in the morning and working as a dishwasher at a Chinatown wonton restaurant at night. This was his regular schedule until his family ventured into business in by opening an eight-foot long produce table in Granville Island Public Market; the place where he honed his skills in business.
After 30 years in business, Leung is a bona fide produce expert, talented display artist and driven business man. His unquenchable entrepreneurial spirit continues to flourish with aspirations of delivering fresh produce nationwide and growing the company to stores. Kin Wah Leung has undoubtedly made his nai nai proud. In his spare time, Leung loves listening to music, watching movies and spending time with his family.
He is also an avid spectator at tennis tournaments watching his very talented tennis player son, Brandon, compete. Hockey dad; author; retired school principal City: Nobleton, Ontario Country of Origin: In his powerful talks and in his brand-new memoir, How We Did It , he explores teamwork and leadership and offers a fresh take on what it means to succeed. In his 30 years of coaching, teaching, parenting and leading, Subban has learned how to inspire people. Hailing from the Caribbean, where he never played hockey, Subban has nonetheless raised three NHL players, including the now-Nashville Predators defenceman P.
His new memoir, How We Did It: As parents, Karl and his wife, Maria, have raised five accomplished children. Their two oldest daughters are teachers, one a record-setting university basketball star and the other an acclaimed visual artist. Each of their three sons, P. Victoria Country of Origin: Juan Navarro is an educator, researcher and an entrepreneur.
He enjoys promoting Canada as a great destiny to study, to do business and to partner with. He has extensive experience connecting opportunities, developing business and making things happen. Navarro is considered a business leader and expert on topics related to global trade, international education, entrepreneurship and finance.
As an entrepreneur, with his company CMX Partnerships, he has dedicated his efforts to promoting the construction of collaborative agreements, introducing and representing Canadian Institutions with counterparts abroad and organizing trade missions to visit British Columbia. As an entrepreneur, he successfully ran an international trade company together with his wife named Arriba Mexico Food Company, which introduced new authentic Mexican flavours to British Columbia and was recognized as one of the top 10 companies during two years in a row in the Small Business BC awards and As a researcher, his analytic reports have contributed to promoting a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges that Canada has in front in particular with the Asia Pacific Region and Latin America.
His research projects have been issued by leading universities, research centres and institutions. As an educator, Navarro participates actively in business conferences and educational forums locally and abroad sharing his business acumen, his research outputs and his life experience. Currently, Navarro serves as admissions manager for the study group in the International Study Centre located at Royal Roads University. In addition, Navarro served as an associate faculty at Royal Roads University where he teaches finance courses for undergraduate and graduate programs.
Navarro is always looking for ways to contribute to society and to volunteer for good causes. He founded the Mexican Forum in It aims to create synergies and to develop high-profile initiatives between Canadian and Mexican institutions and professionals. He is the founding president of Society of Mexican Talent of British Columbia, a non-profit organization that brought together Mexicans, Canadians and other people living in the province and interested in fostering strategic initiatives into the knowledge economy between these two nations. Despite her success, Yam and her husband, together with their two small children, made the difficult decision to leave their families, friends and lucrative businesses to come to Canada.
They wanted to raise their children in a world that was free from fear and anxiety.
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Landing in Toronto, Yam had to start from scratch. She had no family, no friends, no job — no safety net whatsoever. It was a lonely, humbling, confusing and dark phase of her life. In the beginning, she could not find a job — even a job as a legal secretary — because employers refused to consider her non-Canadian legal expertise. Going back to law school meant investing four years of her life as a law student, even if she was already an experienced New York and Philippine lawyer.
But Yam is the rarest of lawyers — one whose foreign credentials the Law Society of Ontario recognized as exceptional so that she immediately qualified as a Canadian lawyer. She has been admitted to practise law in Ontario and Alberta. She then became an extremely successful Canadian lawyer in the public, private and non-profit sectors in Canada and internationally. She is also a board director of various nonprofit organizations. She regularly provides educational talks and webinars, and participates in panel discussions and conferences, on non-profit board governance to the various groups and communities across Canada.
B3 is a purpose-driven social enterprise dedicated to increasing diversity and inclusion in corporations through nonprofit board service. It matches highly- skilled corporate employees to serve on non-profit boards for leadership development, diversity and inclusion and community building. In a relatively short time frame, B3 has garnered a roster of large corporate clients that belong to the Top Employers in Canada and Top Best Diversity Employers in Canada.
He is passionate about assisting students with career planning and school-to-work transitions, as well as helping newcomers realize their goals with fulfilling careers. Cabral holds a bachelor of computer science, a post-grad in computer networks, a diploma in career and work counselling, and certificates in project management and HR management. Since arriving in Canada, he worked in the IT field as a consultant and project manager, supporting the implementation of knowledge management systems across Canada and overseas, including Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and South Africa.
He embraced the Canadian values long before becoming a citizen, which helped him adjust to the new environment upon his arrival. He soon started giving back and assisting newcomers settling in Canada, as well as youth with their career development needs. Currently, as a mentor with Hispanotech, he assists internationally trained newcomers integrate into the Canadian society and find meaningful employment.
As a board member at the Federation of Portuguese Canadian Businesses and Professionals, he contributes to the student affairs and IT committees, and at the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce, as a member of the education committee, he supports partnerships and promotes cultural exchange between educational institutions in Canada and Brazil. Lastly, at the student affairs committee of the human resources professional association, he assists with events such as the case competition for students and info sessions on campus. Edmonton Country of Origin: Jianhua Zhu — scientist, educator, author, visionary, entrepreneur and industry leader — taught at universities in three countries and was a vice-dean of professors.
He came to Canada as a visiting professor in Five years later, he took a risk and started his own company with a goal of advancing human nutrition and wellness. Fifteen years later, his company has become a Canadian science and business success story. Zhu or his company received many awards, honours and recognitions in Zhu was his inspired to make a contribution to his life-time goal of improving public health by his family his parents and two sisters are all MDs.
He says he owes his success to the university and other government agencies.
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She is also a core member of Carlos Bulosan Theatre where she co-wrote and performed in Anak, a play that showcases the family life of Filipino-Canadian immigrants. She transitioned to musical theatre and started doing live theatrical productions by age When her family moved to Canada in , she discovered acting for film and TV. When she first arrived, she struggled with culture shock and thought she could never pursue her love of acting in a new country; but through hard work and dedication, she was able to achieve her goals.
She then got accepted into the Second City Conservatory and graduated in She has two brothers with autism and dedicates everything she does to them. She continues to work hard to show them that anything is possible. Nurse; refugee advocate City: Swift Current, Saskatchewan Country of Origin: Hussein Sammy Khalife came to Canada first to Nova Scotia where he completed his education in science.
Upon graduation, he found work in health care in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, and continues to work in area hospitals. He also is continuing his education and hopes to finish another degree soon. He found out about the group through Facebook and attended the preliminary meeting two years ago and simply offered his services as a translator. When a Syrian family of 13 arrived in Swift Current, Khalife began getting involved in many capacities other than translating.
Transportation, health care, co-ordinating things like English classes, grocery shopping, parent-teacher interviews, recreation activities and soon began to eat up all his waking and non-working moments. He also has developed a relationship with the Swift Current Housing Authority to provide low-cost housing for new and smaller families as they arrive.
He also has built relationships with food banks and work with them to help feed the hungry. Currently, he has arranged housing for an additional 13 former refugees and is hoping to raise support to bring in many more. Soon, other families both new to Canada and those who were already here as government sponsored families began to hear of the wonderful support that refugee families experienced here in Saskatchewan.
Khalife, just recently, has travelled to Lebanon and took the time to visit some refugee camps there to see the current conditions and to see the difference the people in Swift Current have made to the lives of those who are now here. He has recently been put on a new medication to hopefully avoid future heart surgery. Author, speaker, consultant City: Himanshu Narang believes the core purpose of his professional life is to help people and businesses produce legendary results in what they do.
He is an accomplished author, professional speaker and business consultant. Moving to Canada came with its typical set of immigrant challenges for him: Narang, however, persevered and embraced all his challenges with an openness to learn, grow and become the best version of himself. He is widely considered one of the most impactful consultants and trainers in North America. He has also been honoured with multiple international and national awards for excellence in business and public speaking, including the prestigious Graham Anderson Golden Eagle Award, by Toastmasters International for exceptional display of public speaking skills.
Narang is the founder and CEO of BEX Academy, a corporate training business that empowers organizations to achieve higher levels of performance and results through its world-class adaptive-learning based training programs. GoGetters Vancouver organizes monthly personal development and networking events in Vancouver to help highly driven working professionals and entrepreneurs produce breakthrough results.
He married in and became a Canadian citizen in He worked as sawmill labourer for 38 years before retiring. He has three grown children and three grandchildren, and resides in New Westminster, B. As a devout Sikh, Athwal has always followed the path of service to humankind as laid out by his religion. As such, over the past almost 50 years, Athwal has contributed greatly to the Canadian community through his tireless volunteer efforts and has been instrumental in providing many public services within the community.
As president of the Khalsa Diwan Society Sukh Sagar New Westminster since , Athwal volunteers hours per week creating and implementing programs to benefit and improve the lives of many people in the community. It provides the much-needed service of free nutritious meals to the vulnerable, needy, and homeless people of this area. Volunteers have been preparing, delivering and distributing the meals regularly every week for the past 12 years. Athwal knows and understands the need to empower and educate the youth in our communities.
As such, he has created many youth-oriented programs, events, workshops and camps geared at informing youth on many topics including: Athwal has also set up scholarships for high school students. He has also ensured that free nutritious hot meals are available at the temple for international students and homeless persons during every day of the week from 5 a. He has also created and implemented educational programs and workshops supporting pregnant women, new immigrants and seniors in the community.
Within the New Westminster community, Athwal has generously donated funds and participated in many events including the Annual Hyack Festival, the Queensborough street cleaning initiative, the improvement of the water drainage system and conversion of marsh land into a park now named Sukh Sagar Park, the renovation of the Queensborough Community Centre, the establishment of a new Fire Hall, and several school events at New Westminster Secondary School. Athwal has been a generous donor to many causes.
During the devastating forest fires in Fort McMurray, Alberta, in , Athwal donated non-perishable food items, clothing, hygiene supplies and other necessities to a fill a truckload of much-needed supplies for the displaced residents of Fort McMurray. Here in our province, Athwal also donated towards the relief efforts after forest fires in Northern BC affected northern communities last year.
Also, during a large power outage in New Westminster in November , Athwal was instrumental to the City of New Westminster by ensuring that hot meals were available to the homeless and to all residents of Queensborough at the Sikh Gurdwara Sukh Sagar. Many people were very grateful for this service. Around the world, in times of disaster and great need, Athwal has always contributed to the relief efforts. From the devastating earthquakes in Pakistan, in Chile, and in Nepal, to hospitals for the disabled in India, and to more recently, the plight of the Syrian refugees, Athwal has financially donated to all these causes and more.
Understanding the power and strength that comes from uniting and supporting different communities and cultures, Athwal was part of a Sikh contingent that attended the Truth and Reconciliation Forum at the PNE in to show solidarity with our First Nations and Indigenous brothers and sisters. Once she completed it in , she joined the University of Toronto, as the Korean Studies librarian. She served as acting director at the University of Toronto , , before heading west. In , she became the first head librarian of Korean origin of an academic Asian library in North America, as head librarian of the Asian Library at the University of British Columbia In North America, the majority of the head librarians of academic Asian libraries are of Chinese or American background.
In her current position at the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library at the University of Toronto, she manages a staff of 14 full- and part-time employees and many students in all areas of library operations and ensures responsive interactions with Asian communities and allied organizations, working locally and internationally to identify and implement mutual goals. She has published numerous articles and made presentations on Asian Canadian heritage, rare material management, library management, collection development and overseas Korean studies librarianship.
She successfully fundraised to build the first Korean online database collection at the University of Toronto in She also participates in and co-ordinates various cultural events to promote Korean culture and literature to Canadians. Located in diverse communities including Brampton, Orangeville, Scarborough, Fergus, Stoney Creek and Mississauga, the clinics offer cosmetic, family, implant dentistry, braces, sleep apnea and TMJ services. The company is a very inclusive business that hires employees from all backgrounds and cultures creating employment locally.
The company hires 30 employees, nine dentists and owns seven clinics making a sustainable and tangible impact in the region. The number of patients has consistently grown from 25 to 40 this year. He started the pro bono clinic in Fergus this year and saw 35 patients. The long-term vision is to have a community dental clinic that is open all year round and will serve clients who do not have access to a dentist due to lack of insurance or financial limitations.
Through his vision and creativity, Khanuja has published two peer reviewed articles in the leading dental journal published by the Ontario Dental Association. He was one of the recipients in the county to be recognized for his contributions to our community to make Dufferin-Caledon a better place for all citizens. Khanuja has a vision of connecting our great nation with individuals who take positive action and invest in social responsibility and become a role model community.
Hamilton Country of Origin: Engineer; Holocaust educator City: Korn is a retired civil engineer. After completing his education, Korn began working for the federal government in the Maritimes. In his position as a project manager, he managed the construction of major post offices, wharves and other infrastructure projects. In this capacity, in , he was sent by Canada to Venice in Italy to participate in a UNESCO-sponsored course, teaching state of the art historic restoration techniques of masonry structures.
He then used this experience to help with the emergency restoration of the Canadian Parliament Building in Ottawa from Since arriving in Halifax in the early s, he has been a passionate educator about the Holocaust, frequently talking about his experiences in schools and at community events.
Korn loves music and singing, and has sung many memorial prayers and tributes as part of Holocaust commemoration programs. Korn has also worked continually with the Atlantic Jewish Council to ensure that all Holocaust survivors in-need in Nova Scotia have restitution from the Conference on Jewish Materials Claims Against Germany to help cover the cost of their care as they grow older.
As a board member of this organization, Korn has been instrumental to the process of building a national Holocaust monument in Canada, and more. Korn was born in a Jewish family in in what is now the Czech Republic. In , one year after the Nazis invaded the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, his parents decided to take him and his brother Jacob and move in with relatives in Slovakia.
However, in , when the Nazis starting deporting Jews from Slovakia to death camps across Europe, his parents sent their boys into hiding with a farmer in a nearby village. The farmer kept the two boys for one month until deciding it was too dangerous to continue doing so.
Eventually, relatives decided to hide the two boys in an evangelical Lutheran orphanage in Slovakia where they remained for the rest of the war. Korn later learned that his parents were deported and murdered in Auschwitz not more than one week after putting the boys in hiding. After the war, he and his brother Jacob were placed into the care of an uncle and aunt who took them back to Czechoslovakia.
While at first, the family prospered, eventually they lost everything under communism and he and his brother Jacob ended up in orphanages both in France and in Israel. In , he was honoured in the Canadian Parliament along with 30 other Holocaust survivors by the Government of Canada. Dan Liu is an award-winning Canadian fashion designer with almost two decades of experience in the fashion industry. After obtaining two bachelor degrees psychology and computer science , Liu realized he had to pursue his love for fashion. In , he attended Aoyama Fashion College in Tokyo, Japan, and studied fashion design and marketing.
He started making his own knitwear accessories and founded his company Tatsuaki inc. He draws his inspirations for Dan Liu and Tatsuaki designs from both his Chinese and Japanese heritage. With emphasis on beauty and practicality, his debut knitwear collection was so unique that numerous Hollywood celebrities frequented his first Yorkville store in Toronto. His line evolved to couture pieces featuring knit, crochet and embroidery details, and his current chic yet elegant apparel can be worn from day to night.
He is known for contemporary designs and tailoring that accentuates the female form with a romantic flair. Working from concept to patterns, he incorporates colour contrasts and details to ensure every piece is perfect from any angle. The Shows and Shenzhen Fashion Week.
The Shows again, and he returned again in February Liu has a personal fashion and beauty consulting business that currently serves clients. He has been featured in many media outlets and, in , was the first Canadian fashion designer to be interviewed by British Vogue twice in a row. She finished her accounting degree in the Philippines. She is married to Edgardo A.
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Tapia, a mechanical engineer, and they have two kids, Odessa and Earl Von. Tapia is active in the Filipino community being the chairman of HISTORAMA, a re-enactment of Philippine History in short plays, songs and dances, which is being utilized as an ongoing educational road show for dissemination information about the rich cultural heritage of the Filipinos from Stone Age to the present Republic. As an active member of Rotary Club, she participated in various dental missions to the Philippines, first in and lately in , and brought Canadian dentists to treat those who can not afford the high cost of dental treatment.
She is the executive director of Asian Heroes Canada Foundation, which honours Canadians and Asians who dedicate their time, money and effort to help alleviate the plight of the poor and marginalized in Asian countries. The committee aims to bring awareness to various ethnic communities the role being played by the police force to keep peace and order in the community. From to , she was a provincial government appointee to the New Westminster Police Board. On the business side, she is president of Asean Canada Business Council, which acts as the bridge to promote trade and investments between Canada and the 10 Southeast Asian countries.
Previously, she was president of Philippines Canada Trade Council. The trade missions zeroed in on education, health and wellness, skilled workers and immigration, power generating plants, commercial goods, and mining for both Indonesia and the Philippines.
President and founder, Fervent Events Inc City: Calum McGuigan was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He moved to Toronto when he was 22 years old to play rugby for four months, after graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University where he studied events management. McGuigan put his academic qualifications to use at Daily Bread Food Bank, where he was events officer for 2. Once becoming a permanent resident in he started Fervent Events. Fervent Events first clients came from scraping through free classifieds and sending opportunistic emails and cold calls.
A lot of work for little monetary reward, but lots of experience. In the years that followed, Fervent Events hit various milestones and built a reputation as a leading experiential marketing agency in the boutique space. All new business opportunities are inbound, as well as referrals and client renewals. The company now has nine full time employees, situated in Toronto. Additionally, Fervent has part time brand ambassadors across Canada. Last year, part time brand ambassadors worked an accumulated , labour hours. This is the manpower of 65 additional full-time members of staff.
In the last year, McGuigan has become a guest contributor for Forbes. Dermatology resident physician, University of British Columbia City: Boluwaji Ogunyemi is a final-year dermatology resident physician at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He immigrated to St. He has backgrounds in epidemiology, sociology, medical education, communications and leadership. In addition to being a physician leader, Dr. Ogunyemi regularly writes about issues at the intersection of diversity and inclusion, social justice and medicine.
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Ogunyemi completed medical school at Memorial University of Newfoundland in his hometown of St. Ogunyemi has been published in the New York Times, the Huffington Post, the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun, and several other print and electronic mainstream media outlets. His original articles about the importance diversity and inclusion have been used in anti-racism workshops and his writing has been translated into French and Portuguese.
Ogunyemi has also been published in a number of peer-reviewed scientific journals and regularly gives presentations at major scientific conferences across North America. Ogunyemi has a long history of leadership within the medical community. He has served as director of communications for Resident Doctors of British Columbia and on the board of directors of the Canadian Dermatology Association.
Ogunyemi has received numerous awards for leadership, academics, research, writing and advocacy including honours from the National Institutes of Health, Canadian Dermatology Association, Canadian Dermatology Foundation, Canadian Rheumatology Association, and is the recipient of the Harry Jerome Award in Health Sciences. Boluwaji enjoys spending time mentoring youth and encouraging those form underrepresented backgrounds, including rural communities and immigrants, to pursue careers in health sciences.
Markham, Ontario Country of Origin: Otaraki came to Canada alone, unsure of the future and her next steps, and eight months pregnant with next to no financial resources.
She came with a 1st degree in chemical engineering, an MBA and a determination to succeed. Her journey has not been smooth, but one of courage, trust and perseverance. Upon the birth of her daughter on Canada Day , Bola started planning how to get back in the workforce and, when her daughter was four months, she started searching in earnest. She was featured in the Toronto Star in September for her resourcefulness, determination and drive when, new to Canada, and with no Canadian experience, Otaraki got a job with one of the top three financial institutions in Canada.
Within a very short time, Otaraki started giving back in a big way to the Canadian society, a society that welcomed her with open arms. She has a deep passion to make a positive impact with those around her and anyone she comes into contact with. Otaraki is not only passionate about state-of-the-art project management success, but also about impacting people around her positively in helping to transform organisations and communities and leaving a lasting impact and legacy! Her drive, passion, focus and energy are contagious, inspiring and motivational! This is one lady who has come a long way from starting from nothing to being a role model and source of hope for people around her.
Coach, speaker and teacher City: Vaughn, Ontario Country of Origin: Bernardo Riveros was born in Bogota, Colombia, in He also holds a certificate in film production from New York University. He came to Canada as an international student in not knowing that Canada will become his permanent home.
ILAC gives direct and indirect employment to more than 1, people in both cities. Riveros has a passion for helping other immigrants which is why since his early years in Canada, he has served at different not-for-profit organizations. He is the chair for CanadaForward Foundation, an organization that focus on leadership development for unprivileged communities in Canada and other countries.
Youth worker; founder, Dare to Be Different City: Etobicoke, Ontario Country of Origin: Bernard Laryea is an expert in inspiring young people by engaging with like-minded, enthusiastic go-getters in entrepreneurship. Laryea is a passionate team player with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, who enjoys networking and motivating young people to pursue excellence.
His true calling started when he lost both of his parents, and through that experience, he started to understand how to fully embrace his ultimate purpose in life and the many opportunities he has been given to fulfill them. His aim in life is to help young people in different communities to understand their identity and also to support them in starting their own business through entrepreneurship and mentorship programs.
He saw his mother struggle her whole life when he was a young boy in Ghana, West Africa. His mom used to work three jobs to take care of four kids and other relatives. At the time, the City Tourism division was considering options, such as limiting visits to the first two floors. The manufacturer, Mitsuoka Motors , is located in Takita's home prefecture of Toyama. It offers training in encoffining, embalming, and related practices.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Departures Japanese release poster. List of accolades received by Departures film. By the time he directed Departures , his more mainstream work had already gained international recognition and awards: Such a career path was not uncommon for directors in Japan in the s and s; the Japan Academy Prize winner Masayuki Suo , for instance, made his debut with Kandagawa Pervert Wars Suzuki Adams, James 11 June The Globe and Mail.
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