Farheen Khan is a Consultant, Writer and Social activist. Currently the Operations Manager at the Sexual Assault/ Rape Crisis Centre of Peel, she is an advocate on issues regarding Violence Against Women. Farheen is a DiverseCity Fellow 2010 and currently sits on the Board of Directors of CASSA (Council of Agencies Serving South Asians) and is co-founder of Way to Inner Peace (WiP) – A South Asian Women’s Support line. Her book titled “From Behind the Veil: A Hijabi’s Journey to Happiness” speaks to her experience as a Muslim woman experiencing gendered Islamophobia post 9/11 and her journey from Corporate Canada to Social Justice as a result.

www.farheenkhan.ca

Maya Bhullar has over 10 years of professional experience in such diverse areas as migration, labour, urban planning and community mobilization. She has a particular interest in grassroots engagement, effective representation of constituent's interests and in helping organizations to better achieve their results. Her experience comes from the public sector and from working with labour unions. She has held research and policy positions with Habitat International Coalition & UN Centre for Human Settlements, American Federation of Labour- Congress of Industrial Organizations and Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Since 2007, Maya has held the position of National Research Coordinator with SEIU Canada.

She also has over seven years of volunteer experience including Neighbors Consejo, Washington D.C., a community led project to address implications of gentrification and rapid development in a neighbourhood and with National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum. She has also served as Volunteer Coordinator with ACLU/ANSWER Community Working Group on Civil Liberties where she worked with film makers and activists. Maya has been a speaker at the World Social Fourm in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

Amarjeet is an organizer with a labour union and has extensive experience mobilizing immigrant communities and young people so that they can fight the status quo and be a voice for themselves. She strongly believes in the power of grassroots activism and is dedicated to initiate, build and strengthen grassroots movements by mobilizing communities and creating coalitions. She is actively involved in political action and social advocacy initiatives in areas of social justice including human rights, anti-poverty, immigrant and refugee rights, youth empowerment and gender equity. She has led a very active student life at University of Toronto at Scarborough and has held numerous elected positions, including the Board of Directors of the Student Union.

She also has a strong interest in electoral politics and have not only worked on many campaigns but have had the opportunity to run municipally for Toronto City Council, after winning the title of "Scarborough City Idol", a volunteer run grassroots project in 2006 that encouraged people with new ideas and energy, a sense of optimism and a little imagination to come to the forefront and talk about local politics. Recognized as a "Promising Tomorrow" leader she is often called upon to share her experiences and empower and inspire women of colour/people with disabilities to run for elected office.

Thayan is a producer and host of an interactive call-in show called Crossroads on Tamil Vision Inc. He also hosts and produces shows for Canadian Multicultural Radio CMR FM 101.3. In addition, he works as the director of community development for both CMR and TVi. He has assisted in coordinating the South Asian Business Festival at International Centre in the past four years. This festival draws tens of thousands of attendees. He is looking forward to utilizing his media and event coordination skills and knowledge to assist CASSA with its strategic priorities.

Anusha Sarvanandan is a social worker dedicated to social justice and improving the quality of life for all people. Born in Sri Lanka, Anusha came to Canada as a child with her parents. They lived and struggled through the new immigrant experience in Toronto. The family lived and thrived in the Scarborough area. She has completed degrees at McMaster University and York University. Currently, Anusha is enjoying a career with the City of Toronto's Social Services.

Anusha has stated, ‘Through hard work, my family and I have been able to find opportunity, success, security and happiness in this community. I believe we live in a great City and we are an example to the world of how people from many diverse backgrounds can live in harmony and prosperity.’ Anusha is looking forward to an eventful and productive association with CASSA.

Atulya Sharman works as a Community Legal Worker at the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO), which is a speciality legal clinic that serves low-income South Asians in the Greater Toronto Area. He represent clients in several areas of law including immigration, disability (provincial and federal), and criminal injuries compensation. He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M), in Environmental law and policy, from the University of Victoria, British Columbia and a Law degree with honours (B.A.LL.B) from Devi Ahilya University , India . He is the recipient of Law Foundation of British Columbia Graduate Fellowship (2004) and POLIS Project on Ecological Governance Fellowship (2005). He is also a founding member of South Asian Law Students Association’s (SALSA) Victoria, chapter. Before joining SALCO he worked on Sustainable Transportation Project for the Clinton Global Initiative in association with a trade and investment law firm, to rank US and Canadian cities on sustainable transportation.