Staff

Samya Hasan
Executive Director
Samya has been working with the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians since 2015 in different capacities including as a Project Coordinator, Project Manager; and has been the Executive Director of CASSA since 2017.
Samya attained her Masters of Public Policy degree from the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance in June 2013. Prior to her Masters, Samya attained an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Toronto. She has written policy papers on transportation, immigration & race relations, child care, housing, international development, economic development & innovation, and health care.
Prior to her employment at CASSA, Samya worked at the Affordable Housing Office at the City of Toronto as a Research Associate and Policy Consultant. During her time at the Affordable Housing Office, she worked on various housing-related portfolios supporting low-income and marginalized communities including Toronto Community Housing, and Affordable Homeownership. As a Toronto Urban Fellow for the City of Toronto, Samya worked at the Municipal Licensing and Standards division, conducting by-law reviews of business industries in Toronto.
samya@cassa.on.ca
Farhat Hasan
Finance Manager
farhat@cassa.on.ca

Gurbinder Jaspal
Human Resources Generalist
gurbinder@cassa.on.ca
Qurat Al Ain
Administrative/HR Assistant
Qurat Al Ain is the Administrative/HR Assistant and Membership Coordinator. She has done Diploma in Accounting and Business, Certification in Audit and Taxation (UK) (ACCA). Qurat Al Ain creates and coordinates engagement activities for staff. Maintain membership documents and database, Research and secure new memberships where possible. Support the HR Generalist and Executive Director with recruitment, hiring and team building activities.Scheduling meetings and taking minutes. Assist with meeting preparation with Executive and Board of Directors.Liaise with external stakeholders.

Dinoba Kirupa
GBV Project Manager
dinoba@cassa.on.ca

Yomna Omar
Legal Education for Refugee Women Project Coordinator
Yomna Omar has been working with CASSA since 2020, initially as the Project Coordinator for CASSA’s ‘Legal Education for Refugee Women’ project, and since January 2021 as a Projects Manager. She earned a Master of Science degree in Global Health from McMaster University and holds staff and volunteer positions at various nonprofits. She is currently a Resettlement Senior Legal Officer at St. Andrews Refugee Services (StARS), a refugee service provider in Egypt that works to enhance the quality of life for refugees and vulnerable migrants through four broad program areas: education, psychosocial, legal, and community outreach. Prior to this, Yomna served as the Senior Global Programs Associate at Millie’s Bookshelf, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring displaced people worldwide have access to adequate reading resources to promote literacy and health education and as an Emergency Responder with the Canadian Red Cross; taking part in the COVID response. She further provided logistical coordination and interpretation services and delivered training on sexual and reproductive health and SGBV in Greek refugee settlements with The Unmentionables, a nonprofit that provided sexual and reproductive health education, protection, and access to resources to refugees around the world.

Wardah Malik
Vaccine Engagement Project Coordinator
Wardah is a graduate of the University of Cambridge where she completed her master’s thesis on citizenship and ethnic minority rights in Pakistan. Her research also explores diaspora experiences, the intersection of ethnicity & gender, and South Asia’s place in history-writing more broadly.
Invested in community-building, Wardah believes in empowering local activists to ensure sustainable social change. With past experience working for Toronto-based organizations, she is committed to encouraging dialogue and advocating for the interests of South Asians.
At CASSA, Wardah co-ordinates COVID-19 vaccine engagement which she styles as a collaborative, grassroots effort to ensure the equitable access of information resources.
wardah@cassa.on.ca

Maiura Muralitharan
Project Coordinator - Hate Crime Reporting

Maryam Faisal
Anti-Hate Project Manager
maryam@cassa.on.ca

Akhila Appadurai
B.C Outreach Coordinator for Gender-Based Violence Research

Naima Raza
Hate Crime Reporting Team and Equity in Education Co-Coordinator

Mahdiba Chowdhury
Vaccine Engagement Project Manager
Mahdiba Chowdhury is a graduate student specialized in Mental Health Studies from the University of Toronto. Currently at CASSA, Mahdiba is the Project Manager for Vaccine Engagement, where she ensures equitable access to culturally competent and vaccine-related resources for South Asians. Her previous role at CASSA was the Health Equity Coordinator. For three consecutive years, she was responsible for coordinating CASSA’s Annual Health Equity Summit and producing comprehensive reports based on the outcomes of the summit. She also supported the Coalition for Racial Equity in Education project, where she coordinated events aimed to increase public awareness about racial inequities and related solutions in education. Prior to CASSA, Mahdiba worked with University Health Network as a Qualitative Research Analyst. She worked with an interdisciplinary team to investigate psycho-social, ethno-cultural, and religious barriers to accessing living donor kidney transplant in the South Asian community. She also worked closely with community partners in the development of ethnocultural education and promotional materials. Mahdiba also works as a freelance graphic designer and web developer. Her most notable work is with CASSA; Mindfully Muslim; and Safe Mind, Safe Body.

Samaha Kureshi
Communications Coordinator

Valerie Lin
Communications Coordinator

Noor Imran
Toxic Masculinity Project and Hate Crime Reporting Project Associate

Tanvi Rathi
Health Equity and Vaccine Engagement Project Associate

Jenane Jeyaseelan
Vaccine Engagement Project Assistant
Jenane completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology (Bachelor of Science) at York University. Her purpose in life is to work with local community-driven non-profits and social enterprises using research to understand the experiences of youth, women, and racialized communities. As a lifelong learner, she is always looking to educate and improve herself through new experiences and opportunities. Jenane has three years of professional experience in the non-profit sector, gaining skills in public-speaking, research, and project management. She has experience working with underrepresented communities through her work with Science Engagement Programs, and Youth Culture Inc. She loves reading ancient history, autobiographies, and psychology.