January 13, 2023 – Celebrating South Asian Communities
Dr. Najma Ahmed Najma is the Surgeon-in-Chief at St. Michael’s Hospital. She completed Medical School and General Surgery Residency at McGill University. Following her Residency, Najma pursued fellowship training in Trauma Surgery and Critical Care at the University of Michigan and the University of Toronto. Najma was recruited to St. Michael’s Hospital in the Division of General Surgery in 2001. Her clinical focus and practice is in Acute Care Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care. From 2008 until 2018, Najma was the Residency Program Director for General Surgery. Najma holds the positions of Vice Chair of education, Department of Surgery at University of Toronto and Professor of Surgery. In this role, she provides leadership and training to medical students, residents and fellows, as well as surgeon-teachers within the Department of Surgery. Her contributions to post graduate surgical education have been recognized by numerous awards, including the prestigious Royal College AMS/Donald Richards Wilson Award in 2016. Her scholarly activities relate to Resident duty hours, Resident wellness, the application of a competency based framework to surgical training and gun violence prevention. Dr. Ahmed is a member of the Board of a grass roots organization called Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns and she recently was awarded the CMA Canadian Medical Association, Sir Charles Tupper Award for her work on physician advocacy related to gun violence prevention.
Mr. Surjit Babra is a serial Entrepreneur and philanthropist, he was born in India, raised in Kenya and lived in Britain, before settling in Toronto, where he established the first SkyLink Travel office in 1979 – Mr. Babra and partners expanded acquisitions and reach and the Skylink Travel Group’s global presence and leadership became well know under its multiple brand name companies. In 1991 Surjit Babra and Walter Arbib started SkyLink Aviation, an international air charter and leasing service that provided aircraft and logistical support to organizations such as the United Nations, the Red Cross, the Canadian Armed Forces and many other government agencies. SkyLink Aviation became revered for its reliable and timely deployment of aircraft during emergency and aid missions and had donated generously to many of the world’s war-torn regions, providing much needed medical supplies and relief. Mr. Babra is a recipient of many awards, including the Mother Teresa Humanitarian of the Year Award, B’nai Brith Canada’s “Award of Merit”, Gulland Excellence Award, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Transformation Enterprise Award, “World Travel Mart” Award in the UK. And the “Navigator Award ” – Surjit is also one of the founders and the first Chairperson of the Canada India Foundation. Mr. Babra is also is well known for his philanthropic activities and helps children through his “SkyLink Children’s Charity” – His new venture in 2020 called “Langar for the Mind”, is a non-profit organization conducting free motivation and self-improvement seminars based on the belief that besides money, wisdom and knowledge must also be donated. In 2021 he contributed a large sum towards getting Oxygen Generators shipped from Canada to Sis Ganj Sikh Temple New Delhi to help Covid patients and continues to generously support irrigation projects and female education efforts in India.
Sourojeet Chakraborty is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, specializing in complex fluids, and holds an MSc. from Imperial College London, a BSc. from Jadavpur University, India, a Finance Certificate from McGill University’s Desautels School of Management, and a Diploma in Inclusive & Social Business from HEC Paris. He served as the department’s representative at the UofT’s Faculty council, and was the VP-Finance, and the President of the Water Environment Association of Ontario UofT, which was recognized as the best Chapter in Ontario, both in 2021 and 2022. Prior to pursuing his Ph.D. studies, he worked as a Process Engineer in the UK, and as a Research Associate in Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School. His other interest lies in engineering education, where he has published articles that explore strategies to bridge the gap between Education 4.0 and Industry 4.0, and on minimizing doctoral attrition rates among graduate students. He also holds a keen interest in Tibetan Buddhism and was trained by several High Rinpoche’s (teachers), including the Dalai Lama and His Senior and Junior Tutors; he was awarded a Khyentse Fellowship by the Government of Bhutan in 2022, for further philosophical studies and research. Sourojeet is also trained in Indian Classical Music, and painting, for over 15 years and holds bachelors’ degrees in both. Souroujeet is a third year non-resident Junior Fellow at Massey College and sits on the Finance and Audit Committee – a subcommittee of the Massey College Governing Board.
Narmin Ismail, Founder and CEO, The Spark of Hope Foundation. Narmin’s passion lies in empowering young women from the developing world through education, which is what led her to establish The Spark of Hope Foundation in 2014. Her focus has been on establishing a network of on-ground partners, as well as partnerships and co-funding arrangements with universities around the world. She has attracted a growing pool of donor funds necessary to support the next generation of female leaders. Over eight years, the Foundation has provided 219 scholarships to university level students from 31 countries, studying at 63 universities worldwide, at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, professional and PhD levels. Narmin is the recipient of the Outstanding Women Leadership Award by the World Women Leadership Congress in 2015 in Mumbai, The International Alliance for Women World of Difference 100 Award in Washington in 2015, the RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award in 2016, and the Town of Markham and the Social Services Network’s International Women’s Day Award in 2018. In 2021, Narmin was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada. Narmin has a B.A. in Psychology and an MBA.
Professor Ali Kazimi is one of Canada’s most distinguished independent documentary filmmakers. Kazimi’s work demonstrates a deep-rooted humanism, and a commitment to shedding light on often difficult truths – while tackling issues of race, social justice, history, and memory. Kazimi’s feature-length documentary, Continuous Journey, not only brought the little-known history of the arrival and turning away of the Komagata Maru in 1914 into public consciousness, it catalyzed academic research, artistic creation, and activism. The film, followed by a critically acclaimed book Undesirables: White Canada and the Komagata Maru played a key role in the federal apology in 2016. One of Kazimi’s first films, Shooting Indians: A Journey with Jeffrey Thomas, engages with indigeneity from a unique cross-cultural South Asian diasporic perspective. The film continues to inspire national conversation on reconciliation between Indigenous people and communities of colour. His most recent award winning feature, Beyond Extinction: Sinixt Resurgence, follows the decades-long struggle of the Sinixt people in British Columbia to overturn their bureaucratic extinction as a people. Kazimi is the recipient of several awards and honours including, Donald Brittain Award for Best Social and Political Documentary, the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, and a Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) from the University of British Columbia. Ali is a Senior Fellow of Massey College and has been a great mentor and inspiration to the Junior Fellows, and we look forward to his continued contribution to the College.
Rukhsana Khan is an award-winning author and storyteller. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan and immigrated to Canada at the age of three. She grew up in small town Ontario and was bullied at school. She read books to survive. She now has fifteen books published and more on the way. In 2013, her book BIG RED LOLLIPOP was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of the 100 greatest children’s books in the last 100 years. She has appeared on television, radio and been featured at festivals around the world. She lives in Toronto with her husband and family.
Aditi Maheshwari is a first-year Resident junior fellow pursuing a master’s in Computer Engineering. Her research focuses on using machine learning for cybersecurity of the smart grid. She completed her undergraduate degree in Engineering Science last year where she majored in Robotics and was awarded the UofT Student Leadership Award for her leadership contributions. Being a life-long learner, Aditi continues to broaden her understanding of cross-disciplinary issues through engineering design challenges she has won and by interacting with diverse people. She hopes to use her strengths for untapped developments that make a positive impact on society. This fall, Aditi co-organized the Massey College Diwali celebration – which was enjoyed by members of the entire Massey community.
Senior Fellow Nurjehan Mawani is champion of justice, gender equity, and inclusive development who has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees in Canada, and to advance rights and educational opportunities for women and girls internationally.Her work as the Chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in providing protection for women refugees fleeing gender-based persecution transformed the treatment of women and girls in refugee determination internationally. She was the first South Asian (woman) to be promoted to the rank of Deputy Minister in the Federal Government. In her role as Commissioner of the Public Service Commission of Canada she was a strong advocate for a merit-based, non-partisan and representative public service, speaking to her conviction that diversity strengthened the merit principle. Following her 20 years in the Public Service, Nurjehan went on to serve as Ambassador of the Aga Khan Development Network to the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia and subsequently in 2013 to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan until 2019. Nurjehan has been honored with many prestigious awards including honorary degrees from the University of Ottawa, the American University of Afghanistan and Simon Fraser University. She has received the Order of Canada and was the first South Asian to receive the Public Service of Canada’s Outstanding Achievement Award. Nurjehan serves on a number of boards and advisory councils, including Massey College’s Anti-Black Racism Advisory Council, the Governing Boards of the International Development and Research Centre and the Vancouver Foundation.
Avnee Paranjape – is an alum of Massey and a graduate of the Faculty of Law. Prior to law school, Avnee received degrees in English and Biology from the University of Regina, in her hometown. She completed her Masters in English at the University of Toronto before spending a year working on Parliament Hill through the Parliamentary Internship Programme. As a Junior Fellow, Avnee was House II co-captain and chair of the association of fellows in law. She also sat on the Governing Board, the Governance and Nominating Committee, and the Senior Membership Selection Committee. Avnee is currently Crown counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General, where she litigates criminal appeals at the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Anupama Sharan is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry and a Massey Alum. Her current research is focused on adding value to lignin – one of the most underutilised, renewable by-products from the forestry sector in Canada. For her PhD research, she received one of the two national Chisholm Awards for Innovation in Forestry last year. This award recognizes research that has the potential to strengthen the forest sector and help Canada meet its net-zero climate change goals. She holds a Master of Applied Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of British Columbia. During her masters, she was nationally recognized through the IC-IMPACTS Pradeep Khare Memorial Award among outstanding Indian graduate students in Canada and also received the Du Pont Pulp and Paper fellowship for her research. Anupama is from India where she completed her bachelors in Biotechnological Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology. In addition to global bioeconomy development and sustainability research, she is also passionate about DEI in STEM workspaces and science outreach. She co-founded and was the past president of the graduate chapter of Society of Women Engineers at the University of Toronto
Pranjal Tiwari is a resident Junior Fellow and is a 4th year PhD student studying the fundamental physics of exotic materials. He also has a podcast called More than Abstract where he tells stories to make science more accessible to a general audience. He is assistant producer for The JCR, a Massey Podcast a new venture of the junior fellows which will launch Jan 27 – stay tuned! Pranjal holds a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University and a Masters of Science in Condensed Matter and Materials Physics from the University of Toronto. When not doing physics, you can find him on the field crushing the competition in ultimate Frisbee.
Raj Viswanathan is the Group Head and Chief Financial Officer at Scotiabank. He was appointed to the role in December 2019. In this capacity, the Group Head & CFO has unfettered access to the Audit and Conduct Review Committee to ensure independence of the Function. Raj oversees the Finance Department, including Business Line finance groups, Finance & Strategy, Economics, Taxation, Chief Accountants, Procurement, Investor Relations, Group Treasury and Strategic Transactions & Review. Raj first joined Scotiabank in 2002 and has held progressively senior positions in Internal Audit and Finance. Raj was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2018. In 2014, Raj was appointed Senior Vice President & Chief Accountant. In this role, Raj was responsible for overseeing the Chief Accountant’s group which included group responsibilities for: Capital Management, Accounting Policies & Procedures and Financial Analysis and Reporting. In this role, Raj also led the Bank’s multi-year Finance Transformation project. Raj is married and has one son.
Dr. Kumanan Wilson is the interim CEO/Chief Scientific Officer, Bruyère Research Institute and VP Research & Academic, Bruyère Continuing Care. Dr. Wilson is also a specialist in General Internal Medicine at The Ottawa Hospital and a Full Professor and Faculty of Medicine Clinical Research Chair in Digital Health Innovation at the University of Ottawa and is also a member of the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics. He is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of CANImmunize, a science-based technology company specializing in immunization software. Dr. Wilson is the CEO and founder of CANImmunize a pan-Canadian digital immunization tracking system available as a mobile app and through a web portal. Dr. Wilson and his team are currently focused on digital immunization solutions to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Wilson’s research focuses on digital health, immunization, pandemic preparedness and public health policy and innovation. Other research interests include blood safety and newborn screening, health ethics, law and policy.He has received support from multiple organizations including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the World Health Organization (WHO), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Canada’s Immunity Task Force.
