RBC bank bridges language barriers with new in-branch video interpretation app

CEO of IAB Group of Companies; Canadian chairperson of the International Trade Council
City: Harrison Hot Springs
Country of Origin: U.K.

Nikole Read is the Canadian chairperson of the International Trade Council (ITC), a global not-for-profit association representing in excess of 29,100 companies, chambers of commerce, business associations, standards agencies and government trade agencies worldwide.

Read received her LLB (Hons) Law in England, U.K. and studied international labour migration, politics and ethics at the University of Oxford, U.K. She is a proud member of organizations such as Amnesty International, Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce, Oxford Entrepreneurs and the Institute of Corporate Directors, Canada.

Locally, she is involved with local community services and sits on various boards as a board director. She is a part of two World’s Trade Board action groups: Sustainable Trade Action Group (STAG) and SME Trade Financing Group. STAG undertakes an audit with current industry partners to understand the current landscape of ethical trade and identify the opportunities where technology is able to improve or enhance existing ethical trade practices and/or enable new practices, and produces guidelines for industry to understand the conditions in which goods and services were created. 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.

She is also an avid entrepreneur, as the founder and CEO of IAB GROUP of Companies, where she leads a team of professionals and oversees the management and operations with strong ethical principles. 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. Her clients include quasi-government/state-related entities, multinational companies and small and medium-sized businesses. 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 volunteered her time to teach ESL and citizenship classes and immigration clinics for local immigrants and citizens and organized and facilitated first two Multicultural Days in Agassiz/Harrison community. She has contributed her time to serve as a board member for Harrison-Agassiz Community Services and Disability Network.

Car dealership owner; Raptors “Superfan”
City: Mississauga
Country of Origin: India

Nav Bhatia is best known as the Official Toronto Raptor’s Superfan. He has not missed a home game since the inception of the team in 1995. 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. In 2015, Bhatia was also appointed the role of Raptor’s Community Ambassador and asked to report to the Global Ambassador, Drake, as they look to spread the love of basketball and the Toronto Raptors.

Arriving in Canada in 1984 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.

Through his love of basketball, Bhatia looks to change the perception of Sikhs and South Asians to the mainstream audience hoping for a more united community where people won’t have to face the discrimination he dealt with over the years.

Bhatia believes integrating our youth at a young age is truly the path to help change this perception and build a more tolerant society. Each year he purchases tickets and brings thousands of kids of all backgrounds together to watch the NBA’s Toronto Raptors play at home.

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.

President and CEO, Dynacare
City: Brampton
Country of Origin: Rwanda / Zaire

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 1987 as a controller in a smaller medial lab which Dynacare acquired in 1991. In 1996, 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. She is constantly aware of the impact of changes in people’s lives and livelihood and the value added benefit to the health care system in Canada.

In 2005, she was appointed as CEO of Dynacare. After consolidating and strengthening the Ontario operations, she expanded into Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta transforming Dynacare as Canada’s largest provider of medical laboratory services. Today it serves patients from all across Canada. Currently, the company has 2,800 employees who perform 55 million laboratory tests each year. Dynacare is recognized for its quality of work and is considered a top employer. It received Canada’s Top Employer Award in 2009 and 2010
and the GTA Top Employer for the past seven years 2011-2017.

Today, she is transforming Dynacare from a lab company into a health and wellness solutions leader. Although the company’s roots lie in providing essential medical testing to screen, diagnose and monitor medical conditions, she is moving toward becoming a health and wellness solutions leader by expanding to comprehensive pharmacy genomics solutions, digital health products and services that empower consumers or patients to play a more active role in their own health care. The corporate wellness program ensures that the 2,800 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. Under her leadership, Dynacare has established a scholarship program as a means to help employees’ children with the rising cost of education. Dynacare has proudly awarded more than 240 students with scholarships totalling more than $300,000.

In 2012, she introduced Dynacare’s corporate giving program, which focuses on underfunded charities, thus fulfilling a mission of impacting lives and caring for people. Since its inception, several deserving organizations have been helped to the tune of $250,000.

Somani is a board member of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and C.D. Howe Institute, and
rotating chair of Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories. In 2001, she was given the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s Professional Woman of the Year Award.

Student; activist
City: Montreal
Country of Origin: Syria

Muzna Dureid is a Syrian refugee who arrived to Montreal in November 2016. Before arriving in Canada, Dureid spent five years of her life as an international activist for freedom, a lobbyist and women’s rights defender.

She is the founder and co-ordinator of Women Refugees not Captives, a campaign which is aiming to end the practice of forced child marriages in Syrian refugee camps.

After Dureid’s arrival to Montreal, Canada, in addition to her international advocacy work, in less than two years she was able to start a master’s degree in conflict prevention and dispute resolution and is now working as an intervener in Canadian Red Cross refugee health program with the Social Centre for Immigrant Aid.

Trilingual, Dureid is currently laureate of Women’s Future in the Mediterranean with Science Po University. She was invited to participate in the consultations of Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2017-2022.

Since Dureid’s first few months of her arrival to Montreal, she proved herself as a community leader and became a laureate of Groupe de Trente leaders of Montreal by the Ministry of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion.

Dureid is currently a laureate of the Sister to Sister Program with the Nobel Women Initiative. Her social justice work went above and beyond when she was recently one of the main forces to start a series of workshops on lessons learned between Indigenous people and Syrian refugees in Canada in hope to build stronger bonds for stronger Canada.

She is also part of the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program 2018- 2019 in Vancouver.

Syrian Canadian advocate
City: Vancouver
Country of Origin: Syria

Mohammed Alsaleh is a Syrian-Canadian human rights advocate, international keynote and TEDx speaker, and the refugee sponsorship trainer for B.C.

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. After surviving imprisonment and torture, Alsaleh escaped to neighbouring Lebanon, where he registered with the UNHCR and came to Canada as a refugee.

Since arriving in Vancouver in 2014, he has become a well-known public voice in matters related to refugee advocacy, private sponsorship and the Syrian cause.

Alsaleh’s first job in Canada was to assist newly arrived refugees resettle in B.C. as a refugee resettlement counsellor with ISSofBC — the same Vancouver-based NGO that assisted him when he first arrived. 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.C., Alsaleh travels across the province providing ongoing information and training for the refugee private sponsorship community. 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 2016 in the documentary Welcome to Canada.

Welcome to Canada from Go Project Films on Vimeo.

Executive director, Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies
City: Calgary
Country of Origin: Ecuador

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.

Ortega moved to Canada 10 years ago, and for the past six years has served as executive director of the Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA). With his efforts, operations of the organization grew and expanded services beyond Alberta to lead to AAISA’s inclusion on settlement efforts on a regional level, and as a recognized voice on the national stage.

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. He completed a master’s in public administration from Portland State University, and received many awards and accolades for his scholastic pursuits.

In 2008, 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. In an advisory capacity, he spent time volunteering as the former vice-president and director of policy with the United Nations of Canada Calgary Chapter, and with the Institute of Public Administration of Canada as the director of programs, and still made time to coach his daughter’s soccer team for several years.

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. He currently serves on the advisory council for several committees — such as the committee for community grants with the Calgary Foundation, the Canadian Council for Refugees, advisory committee member for Pathways of Prosperity, and on the board of governors for Immigration Research West, University of Calgary Newcomer Research Network and served as invited editor for the 2015 Canadian Diversity Journal and participated with the University of Calgary’s Public Interest Clinic.

Full professor, University of Guelph
City: Guelph
Country of Origin: Portugal

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 1981, Monteiro entered Grade 9 and after some struggles he obtained his high-school diploma in 1987 and PhD degree in 1996. 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 2001 to develop medicines against infectious diseases.

In 2003, 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. difficile and thus can control infection and colonization levels. This type of vaccine is a world’s first against C. difficile. This discovery has been widely acknowledged and is now the cornerstone of new fields in C. difficile research worldwide. The vaccine created at Guelph was licensed by a U.S.-based company that is now preparing the vaccine for clinical usage.

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 100 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. In 2016, the University of Guelph recognized Monteiro’s contributions to global health by awarding him the first-ever Innovation Award.

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. Monteiro was awarded the Professional Excellence Award by the Federation of Portuguese-Canadian Business and Professionals in 2015.

Monteiro’s work is in 100 scientific publications with more than 4,500 citations, and he has more than 20 patents (16 granted).

Founder of Joy of Less; manager of recruitment and admissions at UBC’s Sauder School of Business
City: Vancouver
Country of Origin: Brazil

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 and online coaching. She founded the business in 2016 after becoming the first Canadian certified as a KonMari Consultant.

She has been the subject of a front-page feature in the Vancouver Province. She was also featured in the Vancouver Sun, Chatelaine magazine and has been a guest on CKNW radio. 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. Her experiences as a caregiver were both positive and very challenging. Making the transition from this type of work to a professional career is not easy, and she had to persevere through all of the regular limits challenges faced by recent immigrants. Her ability to stay positive and find ways to break open doors is a testament to her strong will.

It was her experiences as a caregiver that actually spurred Ramalho’s interest in home organization. Her intimate view into family relations revealed the powerful, and often negative, role that “stuff” can play in the home. Whether it’s battles over messy rooms or massive credit card statements, the accumulation and storage of more and more seemed to lead to less and less happiness. When she read Japanese author Marie Kondo’s best-selling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Ramalho realized the solution to this problem. The book details the KonMari Method, which provides a step-by-step process to liberate yourself from accumulation. In August 2016, in New York City, Ramalho joined the first-ever cohort of non-Japanese trainees in the KonMari Method.

Ramalho has also always been committed to volunteering and community. Shortly after she arrived in Canada, she was a volunteer at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, serving as multilingual VIP support in the operations centre

Ramalho is also a manager of admissions and recruiting at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. She 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: Calgary
Country of Origin: Tanzania

Mansoor Ladha is a Calgary-based journalist, travel writer and author of Memoirs of a Muhindi: Fleeing East Africa for the West and Portrait in Pluralism: Aga Khan’s Shia Ismaili Muslims. 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.

Born in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Ladha moved to the country’s capital Dar es Salaam where he worked as a journalist with the country’s daily newspaper. 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, I 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 2005 and moving to Calgary.

Ladha has served on several volunteer bodies including the Calgary Arts Development, Edmonton Capital Health Board, Canadian Red Cross Northern Council, Alberta Press Council, Alberta Cultural Heritage Council, Morinville Chamber of Commerce and was chairman of the Edmonton Aga Khan Shia Muslim Community.

He was awarded Morinville Citizen of the Year, Silver Quill Award of the Alberta Newspapers Association for distinguished service to newspapers and the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award by the Governor General of Canada in recognition of outstanding and selfless contribution to the community and to Canada.

Student; activist
City: Winnipeg
Country of Origin: Philippines

Loizza Aquino is an 18-year-old social justice activist. She has been involved with social activism since the age of nine, but, in 2015, 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 2015, they have reached more than 2,000 students, and have expanded from Manitoba to Ontario. These events have inspired students to get help and have even saved students’ lives.

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. Her past awards include the Young Humanitarian Award of Manitoba, Global Bayaning Filipino Award, TD Scholarships for Community Leadership and the Youth Premier Healthy Living Award.

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.

Notary public; board director, BC Moldovan Community Association
City: Langley
Country of Origin: Moldova

Lilián Cazacu was born in the Republic of Moldova, located in Eastern Europe. There, he received his law degree, master’s in law, and PhD in law and criminology. Cazacu is a legal professional who worked in this field for about 20 years now. After he received his law degree, he taught criminology to undergraduate students, while working on his master’s and doctoral studies at the Moldova State University. In 2005, Cazacu and his family moved to Canada without speaking any English.

Since his nine years of legal education were not recognized here in Canada, he went back to school and received a second master’s degree in applied legal studies at Simon Fraser University, in order to become a notary public. In 2014, 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.C. Best Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year (awarded by the Small Business BC) and the Business Person of the Year under 40 (awarded by the Langley Chamber of Commerce).

Last month, Cazacu was shortlisted as one of the top three finalists for the highest award at the Cloverdale’s Business Excellence Awards – Bill Reid Memorial Business Person of the Year! During this short period as an entrepreneur, Cazacu has also been involved in various community projects and organizations. He is the chair of the Notaries Chapter in Fraser Valley, the vice-president of the Aldergrove Business Association, a board director for the Estate Planning Council of Fraser Valley, an advisory committee member for the Legal Assistant program at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University, a member of the Rotary Club of Langley Central, member of the Walnut Grove Business Association, and a member of Langley and Cloverdale Chambers of Commerce.

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.

Founder and CEO, TheAppLab
City: Mississauga
Country of Origin: India

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.

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 2000 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 2007.

TheAppLabb’s mission is to improve human experiences, while driving business outcomes for clients through technology innovation. Today, with more than 500 apps delivered in the last 11 years through eight global offices in Toronto, New York, Austin, Santa Clara, Hong Kong, Melbourne and India, TheAppLabb has created apps for top brands including Unilever, Samsung, Dell, Electrolux, Frigidaire, RBC, HBC, Teknion, TIFF, AutoShow, Rapala, ParkNFly, OREA.

Joshi powers innovation through TheAppLabb’s four divisions: 1. Services; 2. R&D — building hi-tech solutions with Artificial Intelligence, IOT, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Blockchain; 3. Incubator — investing in high potential startups; 4. Products, offering 20+ white-label B2B products, to clients in retail, media, health care and education sectors.

Joshi also serves as a partner, investor and advisor to 39 successful tech startups, including Urbery Grocery, Gift Jeenie, MyGreat — new immigrant chatbot — MEL nurses training, Buro rentals, Mentr — AI powered career guidance — and Payje — Doctor on demand.

Joshi has received the 2017 Technology Achievement Award from Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce; 2016 Innovator of the Year award at Transformation Awards; 2016 Grant’s Desi Achiever Award; Young Entrepreneur award at Midweek South Asian Awards; Honor W award by Western University.

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 2020.

Joshi serves as advisor on boards such as Centennial College, George Brown College, Peel College and Canadian College of Business, Science & Technology.

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.

President and founding director, Kin’s Farm Market
City: Richmond
Country of Origin: China

Kin Wah Leung hails from Guangzhou, a populous city in the province of Guangdong in southern China. He came from very humble beginnings and, as a young man, financial success was just a dream. In the spring of 1981, news of his family’s Canadian immigration sponsorship would not only take him on a physical journey to a new country, but also on a new path toward astonishing success.

The Leungs landed in Vancouver in December of 1981 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 1983 by opening an eight-foot long produce table in Granville Island Public Market; the place where he honed his skills in business.

By 1987, the first Kin’s Farm Market location opened its doors at Blundell Centre in Richmond. By 2017, there were 32 Kin’s Farm Market locations in British Columbia. After 30 years in business, Leung is a bona fide produce expert, talented display artist and driven business man. Those days at the market were modest indeed, compared to the multi-million dollar enterprise Kin’s Farm Market is today.

Leung’s enthusiasm, hard work and passion for Kin’s Farm Market has not diminished over the years. The advice his nai nai (grandmother) gave him as he left China is the life philosophy that he continues to live by — “Work hard on your career, build a great and bright future, be successful in business, and bring honour to the family and ancestors.”

Under his hands-on leadership style, Kin’s Farm Market is giving back to the community by supporting positive changes through diverse initiatives in the areas of wellness, healthy eating and sustainable living. His unquenchable entrepreneurial spirit continues to flourish with aspirations of delivering fresh produce nationwide and growing the company to 200 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
Country of Origin: Jamaica

Karl Subban is a former school principal in one of Toronto’s toughest neighbourhoods, and the father of five children, including three NHL players. He’s dedicated his life to helping others reach their potential — to be better at their careers, and as people. Today, he’s an author and popular speaker. 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.K. Subban — one of the league’s brightest stars and an Olympic Gold Medal winner.

His new memoir, How We Did It: The Subban Plan for Success in Hockey, School, and Life has become an immediate, national bestseller. It’s a personal story of a unique journey — a saga that begins in Subban’s original home of Jamaica, explores his achievements as a father and educator in Canada, and stands as a must-read account of one of hockey’s most fascinating families. It’s Subban’s proven approach to resilience, perseverance, and goal-setting — and how to bring the best out of everyone.

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.K., Malcolm and Jordan, have been drafted and signed by NHL teams.

Executive director, New Brunswick Refugee Clinic
City: Victoria
Country of Origin: Mexico

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.A

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 (2016 and 2017).

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. For instance, he completed a special report for the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada with the goal of being presented by Canada´s delegation during the International meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in Peru in November of 2016. His last research project entitled “Canada and Associate Membership in the Pacific Alliance: an important part of a Global Trade Strategy”, which did with a Former member of Foreign Affair Canada, was issued in January 2017) by the School of Public Policy of the University of Calgary.

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 2015. 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.

Navarro also volunteers as a mentor of young entrepreneurs for Futurpreneur Canada.

He also organized the Hispanic Literature Tour in BC initiative to promote Hispanic literature in British Columbia.

In 2016, Navarro supported the United Way of Greater Victoria different ways. For example, his company Arriba Mexico Food Company donated 30 per cent of one day’s sales to this institution and supported campaigns such as the Raise the Red.

Navarro is the winner of the Founders’ Award from Royal Roads University (2015). The Founders’ Award is presented to one student in each graduating cohort of a degree program, in recognition of having exemplified the qualities of leadership, sustainability and personal development.

Lawyer; CEO and co-founder, Building Breakthrough Boards (B3) Canada
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: Philippines

Before immigrating to Canada, Josephine Victoria Yam was already a practising lawyer admitted in the Philippines and New York. She practised law in an international law firm and became one of the Asia’s first internet lawyers. She was interviewed on international television such as CNN and CNBC and featured in the international magazine Newsweek and Cosmopolitan.

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. 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.

As a lawyer-entrepreneur, Yam leverages her deep tri-sector work experience in the private sector as a lawyer with international law firm Baker & McKenzie in Toronto, Hong Kong and Manila, and with the Asian Development Bank public sector, as senior legal counsel with the Alberta Government handling large, complex multibillion-dollar energy infrastructure projects. She is also CEO of the Environmental Law Centre of Alberta and a board director of various nonprofit organizations.

She is currently on the executive committee of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Toronto and a member of the Canadian Bar Association. 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.

Yam is also CEO and co-founder of Building Breakthrough Boards (B3) 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 100 Employers in Canada and Top Best Diversity Employers in Canada. B3’s team currently operates in Ontario, Alberta and B.C., and plans to expand to Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Maritimes and Quebec next year as well as in select U.S. cities.

Yam graduated from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. She also completed her master of laws (LLM) degree at the University of Calgary. She also pursued advanced education at Harvard Law School and the University of Toronto.

Career consultant, Ted Rogers School of Management
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: Brazil

José Cabral is a career consultant with the Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, where he supports the undergraduate bachelor of commerce students in the human resources, global management and health services programs.

Before Ryerson, he worked at George Brown College and community agencies such as Dixon Hall Employment Services and ACCES Employment. 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. He has more than 25 years of multinational experience in the information technology industry, in organizations such as Hewlett Packard, IBM, Xerox, and EMC Canada. 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. As a volunteer, he has helped multiple-barrier facing service users with their employment needs at the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) since 2007.

Initially, he taught MS Office and resumé writing and later job search skills. He has also volunteered with Polycultural Immigrant & Community Services (PICS) at a similar capacity. His previous engagements include TIFF and its partner film festivals, such as the Brazil Film Fest and InsideOut. In addition, he was a pre-games volunteer with Toronto Pan Am Games 2015, where he handled protocol and the arrival/departure of delegations from all Latin America.

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.

CEO, BioNeutra
City: Edmonton
Country of Origin: China

Jianhua Zhu — scientist, educator, author, visionary, entrepreneur and industry leader — taught at universities in three countries and was a vice-dean of 300 professors. He came to Canada as a visiting professor in 1998. 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.

His company, BioNeutra, has been called a leader by the federal government, the Conference Board of Canada and the Globe and Mail.

Zhu was winner of Canada’s 2017 outstanding Chinese Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year award sponsored by Roger’s Broadcasting. Judges for the country’s most influential Chinese business association, the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs (ACCE) made the choice and presented the award at a 1,000-person Oscar-style gala.

Zhu is a 2018 nominee of Canada’s equivalent of the Nobel prizes — the nation’s top innovation award which carries a prize of $100,000. Zhu or his company received many awards, honours and recognitions in 2017. He led a multi-million dollar international research program with links to major universities and research organizations that resulted in the award of two unique patents, which enables the production of a novel, highly regarded low calorie, healthy sweetener which has been approved for sale in 30 countries by the world’s top three regulatory authorities. The product, VitaFiber, is also a prebiotic, dietary fibre which is designed to help with two of the world’s growing health problems — weight management and digestive issues.

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 donated a $1.5 million pilot plant to the University of Alberta to enable other scientists to test the viability of their business ideas. He says he owes his success to the university and other government agencies.

Actor
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: Philippines

Isabel Kanaan is a Filipino-Canadian comedian, actor and writer best known for being on CBC’s sketch comedy show Air Farce. She was recently awarded the NBC Universal Bob Curry Fellowship and was named one of Toronto’s breakthrough stage artists of 2017 by NOW magazine.

She is now a member of Canadian Comedy Award wining sketch troupe The Sketchersons and performs weekly on their show Sunday Night Live. She is also known for her lead role in the LGBTQ-friendly series Haunted or Hoax, which won the NYC Webfest’s Audience Choice Award.

She toured North America with the sketch revue Hey 90s Kids, You’re Old, which won awards in Toronto and New York Festivals. She received rave reviews at the Reel Asian International Film Festival for her performance in the Filipino-Canadian film Ponytail. She has also worked on multiple projects with the Canadian Film Centre such as The Housekeeper and Philip.

She teaches improv to kids at the Second City Training Centre and is a member of Second City’s Educational and Family companies where she regularly performs sketch comedy revues and plays for young audiences such as New Show, Who Dis? and The Misfit League.

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 was born in Manila, Philippines, where she started dancing in Julie Borromeo Performing Arts Studios at the age of 7. She transitioned to musical theatre and started doing live theatrical productions by age 10. When her family moved to Canada in 2008, 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 enrolled in Seneca College’s Acting for Camera and Voice Program and graduated at the top of her class in 2014. She then got accepted into the Second City Conservatory and graduated in 2016. Quickly after, she got on to Second City’s House Company performing improv and sketch comedy every week onstage.

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
Country of Origin: Lebanon

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.

Khalife is a volunteer with the Swift Current Ministerial Refugee Committee. 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.

As time went by, Khalife’s passion to have Swift Current host more families began to become infectious. 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 has been instrumental in promoting refugee support here is Swift Current and has now become an unofficial spokesperson for the Ministerial’s work speaking at churches, service group and council meetings on behalf of the work.

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.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but Khalife suffers from a form of congestive heart failure and his heart is operating at around 30 per cent capacity. He has recently been put on a new medication to hopefully avoid future heart surgery.

Executive director, New Brunswick Refugee Clinic
City: Vancouver
Country of Origin: India

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.

Indian-born Narang moved to Canada six years ago in 2012, to pursue his master’s in business (MBA) at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Moving to Canada came with its typical set of immigrant challenges for him: difficulty in understanding the Western culture, lacking fluency in English, limited financial resources and no network. Narang, however, persevered and embraced all his challenges with an openness to learn, grow and become the best version of himself.

Since graduating from UBC, he has not only consulted for and positively impacted some of Canada’s leading companies in areas of business strategy and operations improvement, but has also trained more than 25,000 executives and entrepreneurs on effective business skills. He is widely considered one of the most impactful consultants and trainers in North America.

Earlier this year, Narang published his first book, Legendary Consulting – How to Consult Like the Top 1%, which is gaining a lot of popularity in the consulting community.

Narang has been judged as one of the top nine speakers in Canada by Toastmasters International, the world’s leading authority on communication and leadership. 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, 2016 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.

Narang has also cofounded and is the CEO of GoGetters Vancouver, which is Vancouver’s first Epic Achievement Club. GoGetters Vancouver organizes monthly personal development and networking events in Vancouver to help highly driven working professionals and entrepreneurs produce breakthrough results.

President, Khalsa Diwan Society Sukh Sagar
City: New Westminster
Country of Origin: India

Harbhajan Singh Athwal was born in India in March 1946 and immigrated to Canada in July 1968. He married in 1968 and became a Canadian citizen in 1974. He worked as sawmill labourer for 38 years before retiring. He has three grown children and three grandchildren, and resides in New Westminster, B.C.

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.

Athwal has volunteered for and has been a member of many non-profit and charitable organizations over the past 40 years including Akali Singh Society Vancouver (1979), Khalsa Diwan Society Vancouver (1995-1996), Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara Association Surrey (2002), Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar New Westminster (1985 to present), and Riverside Funeral Home and Crematorium (2004-present).

As president of the Khalsa Diwan Society Sukh Sagar New Westminster since 2006, Athwal volunteers 80-90 hours per week creating and implementing programs to benefit and improve the lives of many people in the community. In 2006, Athwal spearheaded the creation of the Guru Nanak Free Kitchen program for the homeless in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. 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. The program also extends their services to other neighbouring communities and to any other requests from Vancouver City Hall, New Westminster City Hall, Burnaby City Hall, Surrey City Hall and other organizations in the Metro Vancouver area.

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: the dangers of drugs and gang violence, the importance of eating healthy and staying physically active, and the importance and need for volunteering in our communities to name a few. 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.m. to 9 p.m. 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 2016, 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 2017, 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. He has also provided financial support to Royal Columbia Hospital and Surrey Memorial Hospital.

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 2014 to show solidarity with our First Nations and Indigenous brothers and sisters.

Director, Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library at University of Toronto
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: South Korea

Hana Kim is currently the director of the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library at the University of Toronto.

She arrived as an international student in Canada in 2001 to study for her master’s in library and information science at McGill University. Once she completed it in 2003, she joined the University of Toronto, as the Korean Studies librarian.

She served as acting director at the University of Toronto (2012, 2014), before heading west. In 2014, 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 (2014-2016). 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.

During her acting directorship, she led a team to prepare the library’s monthly lecture series “Asian Canadian Conference: Engaging Asian Canadians” and “Tides on Our Pacific Shore: Celebrating Asian Canadian Heritage,” which helped highlight aspects of Asian-Canadian heritage.

Kim has served as a member and chair of the Association for Asian Studies’ Council on East Asian Libraries; a member of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA); and secretary and chair of Korean Collections Consortium of North America.

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 2003. She launched the Korean Canadian Heritage Archives Project in 2010, in collaboration with the University of British Columbia and successfully received grants from the Korea Foundation. She also participates in and co-ordinates various cultural events to promote Korean culture and literature to Canadians.

Kim was recently honoured with the 2018 Korean Canadian Heritage Award (Culture), Toronto.

Cancer physician with CancerCare Manitoba
City: Winnipeg
Country of Origin: Nepal

Dr. Saroj Niraula was born in the Himalayan country of Nepal. After completing his specialist training under a government scholarship back in Asia, he came to Canada nine years ago as a trainee at the University of Toronto.

For the past five years, he has been a cancer physician and affiliate scientist with CancerCare Manitoba and University of Manitoba. Besides his everyday clinical responsibilities as the leader of breast disease site in the provincial cancer institute, he contributes to world-class cancer research for advancement of cancer treatment globally. He has designed, conducted and reported a few cancer clinical trials, and is the local principal investigator for several international collaborative clinical trials of women with breast cancer.

He is also extensively published in international peer-reviewed medical journals such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Lancet Oncology among others, where he enjoys reporting his research on importance of balance between the benefits and harms of new cancer drugs. He is keenly interested in navigating ways to improve access to cancer drugs in resource-deprived settings of developing nations, and about sustainability of increasing cost of cancer treatment.

Dr. Niraula’s desire to provide high-quality clinical care to cancer patients, and determination to improve outcomes of cancer patients through research have been recognized by many international awards and honours such as the international development and education award, and merit awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO).

He is an active member and volunteer at ASCO, the largest umbrella organization of 45,000 international cancer physicians and professionals. His volunteer and humanitarian roles are mainly through his field of professional expertise: he is deeply concerned by inequity in health care between the developed and underdeveloped world. He volunteers to mentor cancer doctors from low- and middle-income countries around the world through ASCO’s international outreach program. He is also a current member of the selection committee for ASCO’s IDEA award.

If he had to pick one out of countless perks Canada has to offer, he says that would undoubtedly be the universal health care system where all citizens can have access to the world-class health care regardless of their socio-economic status. He dreams of one day witnessing such system extend beyond developed countries like Canada and reach the poorest of nations in Asia and Africa where hundreds of thousands of people lose their lives every year in the absence of mere basics of health care.

Dentist
City: Brampton
Country of Origin: India

Dr. Raj Khanuja, who holds a dental degree and a master’s degree in health management, is founder of R. Khanuja Dentistry Professional Corporation, a progressive health corporation with seven dental clinics, under the names Castlemore Dental, Headwaters Dental and Flower City Dental. 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 company’s pro bono dental clinic, Doing Positive In My Backyard, a free dental day in the Community, has been serving the Dufferin-Caledon region for six years. 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. The article, “Computer-Guided Implant Surgery: A Flapless Solution for Ideal Implant Placement,” appeared in the January/February issue of Ontario Dentist 2017, which is distributed to 7,000 dentists in Ontario and all over Canada.

Khanuja’s business has been recognized nationally through the Canadian
Business Excellence Award for Private Businesses two years in a row (2016-2017) and (2017-2018).

On September 14, 2017, MP David Tilson of Dufferin Caledon presented Khanuja with a Canada 150 Medallion, a Medal for Community Service. He was one of the 150 recipients in the county to be recognized for his contributions to our community to make Dufferin-Caledon a better place for all citizens.

He also received the Toronto Region Board of Trade Community Influencer Award in 2017, the Business Excellence Award Centre-Wellington Chamber of Commerce in 2017, Brampton Board of Trade Teamwork Excellence Award 2017 and Business Excellence Award Dufferin-Caledon 2013, 2015.

Dr. 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.

Professor, medicine
City: Hamilton
Country of Origin: Guyana

Dr. Mohan Ragbeer came to Canada after five turbulent years as dean of Medical Faculty, UWI, Jamaica, applied for several dozen academic positions across the country, got two interviews, was deemed overqualified, but was finally employed by a start-up private Laboratory Co., which included forensic work in rural towns.

He has overcome obstacles from childhood, from near drowning (he was born and raised in Guyana, in the flood plain of two tidal rivers), to doing adult-level work daily — with four pre-teen siblings, on a small farm run by his mother, after the tragic loss of his father when he was seven —separation from family at 10, and near death from cerebral malaria at 15. He showed courage and resilience in extreme adversity, throughout his life, using the experiences to spur achievement. His education was acquired through scholarships, work, family gifts, the kindness of the three families who boarded him, and loans.

Dr. Ragbeer is an extraordinary immigrant, a polymath, with global experience brought to Canada as a medical professor, geographer, historian, journalist, forensic and laboratory scientist, former dean, administrator and family doctor, and solved laboratory problems in Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Guyana. He was the third person in the world independently to identify excess heart disease and diabetes in diasporal Indians, in 1962 (Guyana), following Wattley (Trinidad, 1958), and Danaraj and Muir, (Singapore, 1959), reported this, and worked at prevention for decades, inspiring others to do likewise. He was also first to identify the organisms causing Chromomycosis in Jamaica and Guyana, and one of two Guyanese who, in 1962, established the link between rubella and congenital heart disease.

He has fended racism in the Caribbean and Canada, ageism (high achievement at a young age); overqualification, stereotyping, and criticism for developing maintenance of clinical competence programs, now part of CPSO and RCPSC mandate.

He is a prolific author, with three books that rethink history of Guyana, the Caribbean, India and globally; one on the “brain drain.” He has more than 200 medical articles, 300 newspaper columns on current affairs, and has contributed significantly to Canada in social and race relations as an officer (past president) of several associations in Hamilton, and was part of Hamilton’s post 9/11 healing strategy. The many awards from sectors involved show this.

Engineer; Holocaust educator
City: Halifax
Country of Origin: Czech Republic

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. Eventually, he began working with Parks Canada, acting as the chief engineer for the $20 million major restoration of the Halifax Citadel from 1977-1985. In this capacity, in 1981, 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 1994-1997.

Since arriving in Halifax in the early 1990s, 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.

On a national level, Korn represents Atlantic Canada with Canadian Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants (CJHSD), a grassroots organization founded in 1999 to advocate on behalf of its members and represents Canadian survivors at the Jewish Material Claims Conference. The CJHSD is an independent organization affiliated with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of Jewish life in Canada.

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 1937 in what is now the Czech Republic. In 1938, 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 1942, 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.

Korn graduated from the Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology and completed graduate studies in engineering in Montreal where he focused on the design of hydroelectric dams. In 2001, he was honoured in the Canadian Parliament along with 30 other Holocaust survivors by the Government of Canada.

Fashion designer
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: Hong Kong

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 1997, 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. Liu has presented his collections at World Mastercard Fashion Week, L’Oreal Toronto Fashion Week, Tokyo Fashion Festival, NYFW: The Shows and Shenzhen Fashion Week.

On February 2016, he was first accepted by WME/IMG New York for New York Fashion Week showcasing his Fall/Winter 2016/2017 collection to the world. Because of the remarkable success, he was invited by them again for his Spring/Summer 2017 on September 2016. On February 2017, Liu showcased his Fall/Winter 2017/2018 Collection with NYFW: The Shows again, and he returned again in February 2018.

Liu is also a host/producer of Fashion Girls By Dan, a popular Chinese fashion makeover reality TV show filmed in Toronto. The show has been on air nationwide in Canada on Rogers Television Omni Channel 2 since 2014.

Liu has a personal fashion and beauty consulting business that currently serves 350 clients. He has been featured in many media outlets and, in 2015, was the first Canadian fashion designer to be interviewed by British Vogue twice in a row.

As a fashion designer, his life is in constant travel between Japan, China, U.S.A. and Canada.

Vice-president of finance, Odessa Manufacturing; executive director, Asian Heroes Canada Foundation
City: Vancouver
Country of Origin: Philippines

Carmelita Tapia migrated from the Philippines to Canada in 1988.

She finished her accounting degree in the Philippines. She is married to Edgardo A. 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. Successful shows were held at Queen Elizabeth Theatre in 2012, Sidney, Vancouver Island, in 2013, Seattle in 2014, Calgary, Alberta, in 2015, Portland, Oregon, in 2016, and the fifth anniversary, which was held July 8, 2017, in Burnaby, B. C.

As an active member of Rotary Club, she participated in various dental missions to the Philippines, first in 2003 and lately in 2010, 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.

Tapia underwent training at Vancouver Police Department’s Citizens’ Police Academy and was a past member of Vancouver Police Department Diversity Advisory Committee. 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 2011 to 2013, 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. She is the Filipino business representative to Asia Pacific Gateway Committee of the Burnaby Board of Trade. She is responsible for organizing trade missions to ASEAN, first in 2003, then 2008 to Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines; and July 2013, to Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. 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.

Tapia had been a director of New Westminster School District #40 BC, which operated secondary and ESL schools in Wenshou, China. and Seoul, Korea, aside from being the vice-president of finance of family-owned Odessa Manufacturing, the only pollution control parts manufacturing facility in Western Canada.

President & Founder, Fervent Events Inc
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: Scotland

Calum was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He moved to Toronto, ON, when he was 22 years old (2006) to play rugby for 4-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 2.5 years. Once becoming a permanent resident in 2009 he started Fervent Events. Launching the company with only $4,000 in savings, he worked in a call centre for the first year, six hours per day, then went home and worked on the business for eight hours. 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. The company has worked with Microsoft, Universal Music, BMO, Toronto Star and SickKids Foundation amongst many others. 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 900-part time brand ambassadors across Canada. Last year, part time brand ambassadors worked an accumulated 120,000 labour hours. This is the manpower of 65 additional full-time members of staff. One client said they see Fervent as “a small company with a giant reach.”

The company’s five-year revenue growth 2012-2017 was 1,622%, hitting $4 million in revenue last year.

In the last year, McGuigan has become a guest contributor for Forbes.com. His articles write candidly about his company’s growth, successes and struggles, and can be viewed here.

Dermatology resident physician, University of British Columbia
City: Vancouver
Country of Origin: Nigeria

Dr. Boluwaji Ogunyemi is a final-year dermatology resident physician at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He immigrated to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, from Nigeria at a young age with his parents and older brother.

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. Ogunyemi completed medical school at Memorial University of Newfoundland in his hometown of St. John’s, after undergraduate joint honours in sociology and medical science from Western University.

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. This began with serving as president of the Medical Student Society at Memorial University of Newfoundland. 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 sits on the American Academy of Dermatology Clinical Guidelines Governance Committee, was selected as a Canadian Medical Association Ambassador, and named chief resident at the University of British Columbia Department of Dermatology and Skin Science.

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. He has been named a TEDMED © Research Scholar.

Boluwaji enjoys spending time mentoring youth and encouraging those form underrepresented backgrounds, including rural communities and immigrants, to pursue careers in health sciences. He has volunteered extensively for the literacy organization Frontier College and as a therapeutic recreation volunteer at St Luke’s Homes in St. John’s, Newfoundland. His clinical experience spans from Lagos, Nigeria and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Inuit communities in rural Labrador, Refugee Medicine and working in community health clinics in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Project manager
City: Markham
Country of Origin: Nigeria

Bola Otaraki immigrated from West Africa in 2006 amidst turmoil fear and uncertainty and today, she is a senior project/program manager, scrum master, management consultant and chemical engineer with more than 20 years’ experience working in the banking/financial services, public sector and telecommunications sectors, focusing on infrastructure and application development projects both locally and internationally.

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 2006, 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 2007 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!

She currently sits on the board of directors of the Project Management Institute (PMI), Toronto Chapter and her numerous volunteer services and community involvement include her role as an advocate for Professional Engineers as a Political Action Network (PAN) volunteer with the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE); a mentor with the Toronto Regional Immigrant Council (TRIEC); a leader at her local church and a past board member with the Agincourt Community Services Agency; also with the TDSB Parent Involvement Advisory Council (PIAC).

She became a 2016 inductee into the Wall of Role Models, Canadian Black Women Role Model Awards. Otaraki’s successes are not only for herself, but for the many in the community that she reaches out to every day. 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
Country of Origin: Colombia

Bernardo Riveros was born in Bogota, Colombia, in 1968. He holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising and marketing from Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, and has more than six years of experience in Colombia in the advertising industry. He also holds a certificate in film production from New York University. He came to Canada as an international student in 1996 not knowing that Canada will become his permanent home.

Today, Riveros is the co-founder of International Language Academy of Canada (ILAC), one of the largest and most prestigious private English schools for international students, with locations in Toronto and Vancouver. ILAC gives direct and indirect employment to more than 1,800 people in both cities.

Riveros is also a certified coach, teacher and speaker with the John Maxwell organization.

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 was the director and president of the Colombian Canadian Professional Association (CCPA) for five years. He is the chair for CanadaForward Foundation, an organization that focus on leadership development for unprivileged communities in Canada and other countries.

Riveros has received numerous awards including the New Pioneer Award from Skills for Change, the Ten Most Influential Hispanics in Canada from the Hispanic Business Alliance and Award of Excellence from Colombia Abroad.

Youth worker; founder, Dare to Be Different
City: Etobicoke
Country of Origin: Ghana

Bernard Laryea is an expert in inspiring young people by engaging with like-minded, enthusiastic go-getters in entrepreneurship. He is a vibrant motivator, youth worker, INI award winner for “Youth Worker of the Year 2013,” Black Role model for 2015 award winner, Ghanaian-Canadian Achievement Award winner 2015 and also a Community Leader award winner for Lamp/United Way.

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. His passion comes from seeing his mother struggle; he learned to give not because he had much, but because he knew the feeling of having nothing.

Laryea was the co-founder of Young Entrepreneurs in Toronto, an organization that comprises young enthusiasts who are dedicated to helping youth in the city develop better entrepreneurial skills. The purpose of this group is to allow young entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs within the GTA to connect, interact and also share their stories of the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur. This organization helps young entrepreneurs in Toronto to interact with other business-minded entrepreneurs within the community, get free mentorship and accountability sessions, and also receive information about entrepreneurial events within the community.

He was also a member of Creating Global Citizen (CGC), starting as a participant and taking part in various leadership training activities, fundraising, travelling around the world implementing programs like Primary Education for Kids, Poverty, Women’s Equality, reporting back to his communities about what the impact it had on participants and our larger community.

After travelling with the group to Ghana where they worked with several schools and community groups, he continued to involve with CGC in the capacity of mentor to new youth members of the group, helping with fundraising and delivering workshops in Toronto.

He was also one the members who started a young men’s program at Rathburn Area Youth Community Centre to help support young people with cooking and life skills programming. This program helped young people learn how to cook and also be responsible in their respective communities.

In 2016, he founded “Dare To Be Different/Mindset’’ mentorship program. This started as an idea to support youth living in marginalized communities who are experiencing difficulties in finding, access to resources and mentorship. The vision of “Dare To Be Different’’ mentorship program offers young people a voice and a platform to learn through workshops, networking, goals mastery, one-on-one mentorship and role models. It also promotes the importance of staying in school, goal setting, entrepreneurship, healthy relationships, instilling trust and self-confidence in order to make healthy decisions, encourage leadership skills and independent thinking, and instill determination and resilience. Above all, make a difference while having fun are all areas of focus.

Laryea’s passion is to change young people’s lives and families because he feels like a blessing is not a blessing until you give!

Owner, Smiles on Wheels
City: Brampton
Country of Origin: India

Balbir Sohi is a registered dental hygienist and founder and owner of Smiles on Wheels, a unique mobile dental hygiene practice.

After immigrating to Canada in 2002, not knowing where to start like most immigrants, she worked in a factory. Later that year she started her journey in the dental profession by enrolling into school to become a dental assistant. While still in school, she started working part time and landed a full-time job as soon as she completed her studies.

Sohi progressed to a dental treatment co-ordinator and then a dental office manager. She then went back to school and became a dental hygienist and started working at a traditional dental office practice. While working at various roles she recognized that there was a need to transform the traditional dental office model into one that better addresses the needs of those who do not have the time or means to regularly obtain preventative oral care services especially families with young children, seniors, people with disabilities, those without access to transportation, busy professionals, workers with odd hours and the like.

With this goal in mind, she founded Smiles on Wheels, a personalized, at-your-doorstep oral care service. In this role, she manages a team of dental hygienists who provide preventative oral care services to clients in the parking lot of their home or work in a luxurious, fully equipped, retrofitted Mercedes sprinter vehicle. She, along with her highly qualified team of hygienists, also help educate clients on proper oral hygiene care and prevention strategies by answering basic questions, demonstrating proper brushing and flossing techniques and providing high-quality treatments.

She took Smiles on Wheels to the next level, applied to participate in CBC’s Dragons’ Den and was able to successfully pitch her business on season 11.

The business has received many accolades from professional organizations, community leaders and media sources who have recognized it for its impact on promoting affordable and accessible oral care for all. She has two mobile dental hygiene offices and is working to set up franchises across Canada and globally.

Sohi also founded a non-profit organization, My Dream Smile, which focuses on providing awareness about oral health and its impact on overall health. Through this venture, she has visited India six times since 2009 and attended more than 45 schools for oral health presentations. Those visits have impacted and touched the lives of more than 20,000 children to whom the organization gave out free toothbrushes and toothpaste after the presentations.

She has been nominated as Brand Ambassador by “Colgate,” a leading oral hygiene brand, and has attended more than 30 schools in Ontario for oral health and nutrition education presentations. She actively participates in seniors’ events providing education on importance of oral health and its impact on overall health.

Sohi founded the Let’s Walk Health event, which brings different health organizations under one roof to raise awareness of various health issues. The last event organized was attended by more than 300 residents and primarily focused on issues prevalent in the South Asian community with the presenters speaking in various South Asian languages.

She is also a host on health and education television program called Health Talk with Balbir on SSTV, a 24-hour South Asian television channel. On the show, she discusses burning community medical concerns with various guests from the medical profession. She is also the co-host of a live television program, Your Health, another South Asian show focusing on health issues with medical experts.

Sohi is also a member of the board of directors of the Indus Community and Gift from the Heart. She is also involved with the Brampton Board of Trade, Peel Regional Police, Indo Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Stop Diabetes Foundation.

She has been recognized for her contributions and received several awards, including the Volunteer Recognition Award – City of Brampton (January 2018), the Community Service Award by Ontario Dental Hygiene Association – 2017, and the Women Hero Award by ICACI 2017, among others.

President and CEO, Imperial World Inc.
City: Oakville
Country of Origin: Philippines

Norma Carpio arrived in Canada in 1967 and is the owner and operator of Imperial Travel and Tours Inc. She grew the business into one of the most respected and reputable travel agencies that serves the Filipino-Canadian community. She also initiated efforts to have the Philippines be the feature country at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in 1998 and in the same year, was appointed to be the Toronto Chapter president of the Philippine Centennial Movement by former Philippine President Fidel Ramos.

She has been very active in the Filipino-Canadian community in Ontario, having held various positions in numerous organizations, including founding president of Club Filipino Oakville, director of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, president of the Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC), and more.

Carpio is truly an outstanding immigrant and exemplary community leader, with great examples of generosity, including having initiated several fundraising events to assist the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) that brought untold devastation in southern provinces of the Philippines in 2013.

Under Carpio’s leadership, PIDC was able to raise $150,000 of generous contributions from AT&T, the Chinese community, the Korean community, other Asian-Canadian communities and individuals for Gawad Kalinga (Give Care) an international charity organization and the ABS-CBN, a Philippine-based broadcast network.

A recipient of many awards, Carpio, in 2017, received the Canada-Wide first Golden Balangay award “Senior Achievement” and the Canadian Fashion Week (CFW) community Excellence Award in 2016, as well.

After serving six years as president, she was recently designated chairman emeritus of the PIDC and chair of PIDC-Mabuhay Philippines Festival – 2018, the largest celebration of Philippine heritage and culture in Canada.

The word retirement is not in her vocabulary as she is always looking forward to continuing her passion and dedication of considerably contributing her best toward the social transformation and development of the Filipino-Canadian community.

Artistic director, ProArteDanza
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: Italy

Born and raised in Rome, Roberto Campanella trained at the Scuola Italiana di Danza Contemporanea. In 1985, Campanella joined the Compagnia Italiana di Danza Contemporanea and later joined the prestigious Aterballetto. In 1993, he joined the National Ballet of Canada where he was soon promoted to soloist and was cast in many classical and contemporary roles.

Campanella made his choreographic debut at the National Ballet of Canada’s 1995 Choreographic Workshop and, upon retiring from the National Ballet in 1996, he trained from the National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program from which he graduated with distinction. He is now a sought-after guest teacher for companies such as the National Ballet of Canada and Stuttgart Ballet as well as companies in Italy, Korea and Japan.

Although Campanella choreographs predominantly for his company ProArteDanza, he also choreographs a wide variety of commissioned works for companies at home and abroad. In 2001, Campanella was nominated for the Bonnie Bird Choreography Award in London. In 2007, he received the Fellowship Initiative Award from the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of the New York City Ballet and, in 2008, he was awarded a Chalmers Professional Development Grant.

Campanella’s first full-length work Alice in Wonderland premiered at Ballet Augsburg in Germany in October 2008.

Campanella was awarded the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography with co-choreographer Robert Glumbek for … in between…, which premiered at ProArteDanza’s Season 2010.

Today, Campanella is a highly sought after choreographer/director for film and TV, creating movement and dance choreography for The Strain, Pompeii, Mortal Instruments, Nikita, Silent Hill and last year’s four-time Oscar winner The Shape of Water, to name a few.

Student; environmental activist
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: India

Winner of the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize, 17-year-old Kehkashan Basu, has been impacting the global fraternity since she was eight years old with her work on peace, children’s rights, education for sustainable development, gender equality and climate justice. Basu is the founder president of youth organization, Green Hope Foundation, which educates and empowers children and youth globally and engages them in the sustainability process through ground level community-centric projects on mitigating climate change, stopping land degradation, promoting sustainable consumption, biodiversity conservation and gender equality, promoting renewable energy and social justice.

Green Hope now has more than 1,000 members across Canada, U.S.A., the Middle East, India and Nepal and has engaged thousands of young people and adults through their workshops and conferences in the implementation of the sustainable development goals. Her special focus is to educate marginalized children and she has visited Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon and several villages and orphanages across India and Nepal carrying books, clothes, toys and solar lamps to facilitate their education.

She is a United Nations Human Rights Champion and a United Nations Child Ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals. When she was only 12, she became the global co-ordinator for UNEP’s (United Nations Environment Programme) Major Groups for Children and Youth, making her the youngest person in the world and the first minor, ever, to be elected into this position. Social media website, MOGUL, chose her as one of the Top50 Highschoolers in the world.

She is a Climate Reality Leader and her work was featured in a film on former U.S. Vice -President Al Gore’s 24 Hours of Reality global broadcast in 2017. The U.K. Youth Climate Coalition named her as one the eight global Climate Heroines of 2014 and in June 2017, rock band U2 featured her as one of powerful women changing the world at their Toronto concert.

In her role as the voice of children and youth, she has spoken at more than 75 United Nations and other international summits, travelling to over 20 Countries. She is the youngest member of Canada’s Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE) Executive Business Development Subcommittee, the Youth Ambassador of World Future Council and the Honorary Advisor for the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development – New York.

She is a poet and prolific writer and her maiden book on sustainability, Tree of Hope, was launched at the 2015 United Nations Childrens’ Summit in New York.

For her advocacy at a global level, Basu has received international awards from

UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) in 2012, the 2012 Korea Green Foundation award, the 2013 International Young Eco-Hero award from Action for Nature, U.S.A., the 2014 Kids are Heroes U.S.A. award , 2014 GESS award as Ambassador for the Environment, the 2014 Solar Pioneer Award, the 2015 Non-Resident Indian of the Year award, the 2015 International Diana Award, the 2017 Energy Globe Award and the 2017Turner Social Change Prize. Most recently she received the 2018 Rising Star Award in Toronto on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Educator, activist
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: Palestine

Sara Asalya is a Palestinian immigrant, a proud wife and mother, human rights advocate and a student leader. Asalya was born and raised in Jabaliya, the largest of Gaza’s eight refugee camps and home to more than 120,000 Palestinian refugees. She witnessed firsthand the impact of violence, displacement and trauma on the lives of war refugees and was extensively exposed to the lived experiences of these vulnerable communities. This has shaped her understanding of social justice and human rights by instilling her with a passion to effect change by helping others.

Since moving to Canada six years ago, she has encountered various challenges and barriers that newcomers and immigrants typically face when trying to access education and employment. However, these personal struggles helped her connect and ease the transition process with many fellow newcomers during her work in the settlement sector at Toronto.

She started her career from scratch when she arrived to Canada six years ago with her husband and a little son. Soon she became a well-known community leader and advocate for newcomers and immigrants in post-secondary institutions leading her to found her own non-for-profit student-run organization Newcomer Students’ Association of Ryerson (NSAR). Asalya identified gaps in the way we approach newcomers and adult immigrant students in post-secondary institutions, particularly around creating a robust and accessible transition system. This was the impetus that drove her to establish this organization, the first platform of its kind at Ryerson University to empower newcomer students to build fellowship, capacity and community through their shared experiences. Through this initiative, Asalya provided a safe space for newcomer and immigrant students to be active and contributing members of the community.

In the short time of six years, Asalya has worked with many organizations and held different positions including being the information and referral specialist at YMCA Newcomer Information Centre, the constituency commissioner at the Canadian Federation of Students and the vice-president, events and outreach, at the Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson.

She currently works as the student engagement and leadership assistant at Ryerson University. She is also the president elect for the Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson for the year 2018-2019.

Student; entrepreneur
City: Vancouver
Country of Origin: Iran

Mohammad H. Asadi Lari is a student, researcher, social entrepreneur and youth engagement advocate with a strong-rooted passion for health care and educational initiatves. He immigrated to Canada in late 2013, in the middle of grade 12.

Throughout his time in Canada, he has lived with and relied on the crucial support of his younger sister, Zeynab, and cousin, Saba. He was awarded with the Governor General Academic Medal upon graduating from Ecole Alpha Secondary School in Burnaby, B.C. He went on to pursue the sciences program at the University of British Columbia (UBC). His time as an undergraduate student allowed him to further the volunteer and civic work he was doing at local community and health care centres as a high school student. Through his community-related work, he’s helped organize inter-faith dialogues between Muslim, Jewish and Christian students — the first of its kind on campus, as well as teaching at weekly school in a North Vancouver mosque.

The hallmark of his work in Canada has been as the co-founder and managing director of STEM Fellowship, a non-profit focused on providing mentorship and experiential learning opportunities to high school and undergraduate students, particular those with backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Over the past three years, the organization has grown to almost two dozen campuses and even more high schools in almost all of Canada’s provinces. Their work has been endorsed or supported by the federal government, leading non-profits and charities, academic and research institutions, corporations and banks.

Asadi Lari has also led or advised youth-focused initiatives with the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Red Cross, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, Science World BC and the League of Innovators, all of which have helped him connect to like-minded youth from coast to coast.

During his undergraduate degree in the honours physiology program at UBC, he has engaged in various fields of research, most recently in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). He hopes to pursue a career as a clinician-researcher, balancing his passion for serving individuals in need of care, with the necessity of innovation in technology and practice. One of his favourite things about the Canadian psyche is its global mindedness. He is grateful for the many opportunities he’s had over the past years and hopes to build on them to serve the most vulnerable in society.

President, Access Empowerment Council
City: Toronto
Country of Origin: India

Diana Alli D’Souza left her birth home in Mumbai in her early teens and took the bold step of travelling to London, U.K., to complete her academic studies with high hopes of entering medical school. Instead she was forced to give up her dreams having lost her dad and brother in two separate tragedies. She moved on to Guyana, and finally reached Canada, which she calls her true North Strong and Free. As a single mom of three, and a doting grandma of nine kids, she proudly embraces her multifaith families.

She has distinguished herself as a woman who has blazed trails, whose strength, courage, wisdom and her profound impact to do what is right, makes her an extraordinary individual who has reached out to diverse populations globally.

Alli D’Souza served the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (UofT) with distinction as an administrative leader for 38 years. Very few staff or academic faculty are bestowed with such great honours during their lifetime, yet in her stead two awards were set to honour her contributions in perpetuity by medical students at retirement in June 2012 — “Diana Alli graduation award to a medical student with extraordinary service to student life and community service” and a national Canadian award “Diana Alli CITAC Award to an MD/PhD student for global service.”

She is also the recipient of numerous distinguished honours and accolades including the most prestigious Order of Ontario and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. She now runs accessempowermentcouncil.org — empowering youth and engaging the elderly globally — as president.

A torch-bearer for more than 30 years, she is known to have impacted disenfranchised communities long before the phrase “social responsibility” became a buzz word in the academic and business world, founding/co-founding/facilitating 21 ground-breaking outreach programs for disadvantaged and underrepresented populations (isolated seniors, homeless including co-founding a clinic, tutoring programs for high-risk youth).

She led the development of “Earthtones” the traditional musical concert raising tens of thousands of dollars for children globally. She co-founded the Summer Mentorship Program (SMP) for Black and Indigenous youth now 25 years strong with nearly 100% success rate. And the list of her contributions goes on.

Her daily mantra is basic — an individual can work miracles, can save lives, can make a true difference. She considers herself a Canadian with a global lens reaching beyond our borders and believes we need to stand in solidarity!

Wrestler and coach
City: Ottawa
Country of Origin: Syria

Mohammed Al Karad is a volunteer coach at the National Capital Wrestling Club (NCWC).

The 35-year-old from Dara’a, a city in southwestern Syria, rose to prominence for his wrestling skills during more than a decade as Syria’s 12-time national champion in men’s 65 kg wrestling freestyle and a former coach of the national Syrian team.

Al Karad brought an invaluable volunteering experience to Ottawa’s community from his extensive volunteering experience in Za’atari refugee camp where he spent four years. Committed to changing youth’s lives in the camp, he started a wrestling program that began as a rag-tag group of three, and eventually, with the help from Mercy Corps, it became a training program that coached more than 25,000 youth over a period of four years. “We did not use medals to show achievements,” he says. “We did it to provide emotional and mental support —to add a dream or hope to young people’s lives.”

In 2016, a group of eight friends in Ottawa heard about Al Karad and his young family in Za’atari. The group partnered with a local church, raised necessary amount in only three weeks, and was able to bring Al Karad’s family to Ottawa.

Within a week of his arrival in Ottawa, Al Karad started coaching at the NCWC, a non-profit organization that offers wrestling coaching and mentoring to children and youth from ages six to 20, and is committed to keeping the sport of wrestling accessible to those with economic or cultural barriers.

Al Karad was eager to share his knowledge of and passion for wrestling with youth, despite the fact that he spoke little English when he first arrived. Through NCWC Arabic-speaking wrestlers who acted as translators, as well as the universal language of sport, Al Karad was able to engage with the community and teach important lessons to the teenage athletes.

Al Karad continues to grow as a professional, applies professional knowledge and technical skills including coaching, sitting on boards, sport event management, training program preparation and thus makes a significant contribution to preparing professionals, strengthening recreational activities and help engage and motivate the next generation.

“Mohammed uses his technical knowledge and passion for the sport of wrestling to instill in youth of all sizes, shapes and walks of life the values of perseverance, inclusion, sportsmanship, courage, confidence and joy. I am continually inspired by the values he embodies through his actions,” wrote Erica Weibe, reigning Olympic champion in women’s 75 kg freestyle, winning gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Artistic director, Academy of Middle Eastern Dance
City: North Vancouver
Country of Origin: Iran

Pooneh Alizadeh is the award-winning artistic director of the Academy of Middle Eastern Dance (AMED). She established the academy in North Vancouver in 2004 and it continues to be a leading school of Middle Eastern dance in the Vancouver area and beyond.

Alizadeh immigrated to Canada in 2000. She brought with her a strong dedication to Middle Eastern folk and classical dance forms from her cultural heritage. Her academic background includes a masters’ degree in art from Tehran University. She is an accomplished performer, master instructor, choreographer, director and producer. She has utilized her artistic passions and expertise to develop innovative performance and teaching programs.

Alizadeh has performed at a wide range of venues and events. She is often invited to perform for multicultural festivals, presenting dances from Middle Eastern traditions, while at the same time choreographing fusion performances of Middle Eastern and other cultural dance traditions.
Alizadeh’s teaching programs at the AMED reflect her commitment both to preserving traditional dance and ensuring that these traditions are passed on to new generations of Canadians, no matter what their cultural background is. Her classes draw people of all ages and all cultures, some with advanced dance skills and some just beginning to develop their skills.

Alizadeh uses dance movements as a form of therapy — a true full body and soul workout! She strongly believes that dance can play an important role in creating a feeling of relaxation and peace, in developing healthy relationships and behaviors, creating better self-image in her students and releasing negative energy overall. She believes that every person has the right and deserves to feel good about themselves, to accept who they are and to be happy.

Named a B.C. Culture Ambassador in 2016 by City of North Vancouver, Alizadeh uses her art to create connections within her community. Some of her efforts include: organizing and leading a large group of artists at the Culture Day 2015 and 2017 in Lonsdale Quay; organizing and choreographing a large group for Canada Day Parade from 2013 to 2017 in collaboration with Canadian Iranian Foundation; and participating in many local festivals from Caribbean Day Parade and Festival to North Shore Folk Festival, Korean Festival and beyond.

Alizadeh has been teaching dance in different community centres across B.C. and her own studio for the last 15 years. She has more than 100 students who come to her classes.

President and CEO, Akran Marketing
City: Ottawa
Country of Origin: India

Raman Agarwal is president and CEO of Akran Marketing, which he founded in 1997. Agarwal has worked hard to develop strong relationships with suppliers, clients and the community. He is an award-winning entrepreneur with a great passion to help people achieve their marketing goals with successful promotions.

Agarwal came to Canada from India at the age of 19 with no money in his pocket. He attended high school and university while working almost full-time to support himself financially, not to be a burden on his parents. After studying electrical engineering at the University of Ottawa, he launched one of Canada’s most successful startup IT companies, Akran Systems, employing more than 250 people, including more than 100 new immigrants. In 2000, he took his experience and pivoted to found Akran Marketing. Akran Marketing represents one of Canada’s many success stories, employing more than 55 people in Canada with revenues exceeding $13 million.

In 2014, Akran Marketing was honoured by its industrial sector with the One of the ‘50 Best Places to Work distinction by the Advertising Specialty Institute, and Agarwal was honoured with the Best Boss of the Year award by PPAI.

As an advocate for the importance of corporate social responsibility, he was awarded the Torch Awards for Ethics by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in 2009. He believes a new, more sustainable measure of business success needs to be implemented in Canada: one that goes beyond a company’s profitability to take into account the impact a company has on society and the environment in which it operates.

Under his direction and initiative, Akran runs the Akran Employee Charity Matching Program to support the causes important to our people and to encourage their community involvement. His company’s Promotional Product Gift Program donates imprinted products to charities for those in need and for fundraising events.

Agarwal has a big heart when it comes to corporate giving. Ten per cent of all of Akran Marketing’s profits, without exception, go directly to charities. Agarwal also created the Akran Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization that pools the charitable efforts and resources of Akran Marketing, his employees, customers, the Akran supply chain and of private donors to support a variety of charities here in Canada, India, Africa and Asia to help those less advantaged, especially children living in poverty. It contributed $50,000 in emergency aid to Indigenous communities harmed by the Alberta fires; $25,000 in Texas hurricane disaster aid.; $10,000 in relief to help people after the Nepal earthquake; $20,000 for Philippines hurricane aid, and most recently, Akran has joined the Bell Let’s Talk Campaign, providing $10,000 in funding to improve mental health access, care and research.

Agarwal also serves on many charitable boards such as Habitat for Humanity, the Children’s Wish Foundation and the Better Business Bureau.

He also helps new immigrants settle in Canada and provides mentorship, guidance, financial support and assistance as well as employment. He has established a network with other business leaders and Indian community associations to connect new immigrants with jobs and to provide mentoring.

For all his efforts, Agarwal has won many honours, including Entrepreneur of the Year award by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) – 2011; Top 50 under 50 in Ottawa by Ottawa Life Magazine – 2004, National Role Model Entrepreneur by Citizenship and Immigration Canada – 1995, and more.

Architect; Owner, Aomega Group Inc.
City: Calgary
Country of Origin: Ghana

Margaret Adu was born in Cape Coast, Ghana, the firstborn of four siblings.

During her high school and university days, Adu was a great athlete. In high school she was nominated the Sports Prefect and represented her school in 100m, 200m, 100×4 really, hurdles and long jump. She went on to inter-regional’s to represent her high school.

She took her graduate and undergraduate studies at the University of Science and Technology, in Kumasi, Ghana and was awarded the prestigious Ghana Institute of Architecture Award for the top portfolio of the class. She graduated with second class honours in the upper division.

To serve her nation, Adu was a teaching assistant at the university she graduated from for two years. At this same time she was the senior architect for Enningful Design Services, the main architect for Ashanti Gold Fields Corporation.

Adu then worked in London, England, from 1989 -1991 as an architect and was part of the design team for Glouster Park developments.

She moved back to Ghana to start her own business in architecture, exhibiting great knowledge in the world of architecture due to her diverse experience. She stood different from other architects because she paid great attention and detail to the needs of her clients. Adu still possesses this trait as she is compassionatly detailed in the business she runs today.

In January 1993, Adu moved to Edmonton to join David Nyarko. In 1997, the couple moved to Calgary. They are parents to Danielle, 21, Debbie 19, and Kobby 16.

When she couldn’t find work in architecture in Edmonton, she volunteered for a firm that quickly saw her worth. But to make ends meet while volunteering, she found paying work in home care. The architecture firm then hired her on, so she juggled architecture work during the day, and home care work in the evenings.

Although architecture was Adu’s foundation, she had a newfound passion in working with people and she developed a vision for a company that combined both. Adu founded Aomega Group Ltd., a company that builds and runs personal care homes in Calgary. Different than a nursing home, these are real houses designed to accommodate four to six clients, and 24/7 staff. She is also manager of operations of Secura Care Homes and More Ta Life Homes.

Adu has also been heavily involved in her community, as:

• vice-president: Ghanaian Canadian Association of Calgary 2006-2013
• president: Ghanaian Canadian Association of Calgary 2013-2017
• president: Personal Care Homes Council of Calgary 2011-2017

She has received several honours, including:

2010: Recipient Ghanaian Canadian Achievements Award for Community Service.
2014: Obsidian Award for business leader of the year.
2014: Immigrant of Distinction Award for business, Calgary AB
2015: 20 most Compelling Calgarians