PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Hani is the Founder, President, and Executive Director of the Canadian Advisory of Women Immigrants (CAWI). Hani immigrated from a small town in Pakistan and settled in Regina, Saskatchewan. Hani completed her B.Sc. in Psychology at McGill University, and she is now pursuing a Master of Science in Epidemiology at McGill University. Moreover, Hani serves as the Co-Chair of the Youth Working Group at the Canadian Partnership for Women’s and Children’s Health and as a Youth Advisor for UNICEF. Hani is passionate about sexual and reproductive health, access to healthcare, and the well-being of vulnerable populations.

TREASURER

Ana is the Canadian Advisory of Women Immigrants’ Treasurer and serves on the Board of Directors. Ana is a second-year law student at the University of Sherbrooke who wishes to pursue immigration law and has previously focused their research on the sociological impacts of policy on Canadian immigrant populations during their studies in political science at McGill University.

VICE PRESIDENT

Rehma Khan is a Master of Science in Public Health student at the University of Alberta specializing in Health Promotion and Socio-Behavioural Sciences. She recently received her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology from the University of Alberta. Her work focuses on promoting initiatives surrounding sexual and reproductive health advocacy and improving health outcomes for immigrant women and girls. She is passionate about creating culturally sensitive learning materials and developing programs for students with diverse learning needs.

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Harini P. Aiyer has a Ph.D. in Community and Population Health Sciences from the University of Saskatchewan. Harini also has a Master of Health Science in Reproductive and Cancer Biology from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, USA. Her research examines the areas of health equity, anti-oppressive methodologies, global health, and health professions education. She draws on her experiences as an immigrant in Canada while being mindful of the relative privileges and power dynamics in the spaces she navigates – both within and outside academia.

DIRECTOR OF FUNDING & DEVELOPMENT

Sheraz is a second-year Master of Public Health student at the University of Alberta, with a particular interest in global health and communicable diseases. Drawing on her experiences as a second-generation immigrant, she is passionate about helping create spaces where immigrant women can feel empowered and have opportunities to pursue their interests.

RESEARCH & EDUCATION VOLUNTEER

Zara Ahmed is a Master of Public Health graduate from the University of Alberta and received a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Guelph. She also holds a Graduate Embedded Certificate in Community-Based Research and Evaluation from the University of Alberta and a Certificate in Health Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University. As a second-generation immigrant from Ghana, she is extremely passionate about improving sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for faith-based, immigrant and refugee communities, gender-based violence, and HIV/STBBIs. Zara has experience assisting in research and projects on various topics, including adolescent immigrants’ experiences with SRH in Canada and mental health and psychosocial supports for children who have experienced exploitation and abuse. 

RESEARCH & EDUCATION VOLUNTER

Yuvika Dandiwal is an MSc Epidemiology student at the University of Alberta. Prior to this, she completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours Psychology) at McGill University in 2022. Her interests in health research are interdisciplinary with the underlying goal of advancing health equity. At CAWI, she draws from her experiences as a first-generation immigrant in Canada to research and advocate for immigrants' health and well-being.

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION VOLUNTEER

Radha Maradiya is a current medical student at the University of Alberta. She recently completed her Master's in Public Health, specializing in Epidemiology at the University of Alberta. Born in India, she immigrated to Canada when she was three years old. She is incredibly passionate about advocating for sexual and reproductive health education and rights for vulnerable immigrant populations.

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION VOLUNTEER

Shubhangi Bhardwaj completed her bachelor's in psychology with honors from India, master's in educational psychology at McGill University and is now pursuing her PhD in the same field at McGill. Dedicated to re-defining feminism, her research focuses on the role of women in abuse/internalized sexism, resilient mindset, unconditional self-acceptance, and feminist solidarity. This pretty much stems from her experience of spiritual awakening in her 20s and cultivating self-love, the fragrance of which she aims to spread around the globe. She also aims to contribute in ways that can help improve the lives of immigrant women in Canada. In her words, “every drop of an effort constitutes an ocean of hope, vision, and opportunity for others”!

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION VOLUNTEER

Natasha Rehan is a Master of Public Policy student at the University of Toronto. She had previously completed her Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto with a Specialist in Political Science and a Minor in Sustainability. As a first-generation immigrant, her policy interests focus on social and environmental issues where she strives to address the concerns of marginalized communities through community engagement, advocacy and research. Natasha is fluent in Urdu, and takes a keen interest in South Asian history and politics. In her free time, she enjoys watching cricket, cooking and gardening.

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION VOLUNTEER

Donel Kadima is a graduate of the University of Calgary and a current MSc student in Health Systems Research at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Her research experience revolves around women and child health alongside equity, diversity and inclusion research in the public health care system. Notably, she is a community advocate in local and national arenas through her work in promoting youth engagement as a part of multilateral collaboration and research-centered interventions to various issues. Her graduate research revolves around Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) for women in African/Immigrant communities, barriers to Sexual and Reproductive health (SRH) services, as well as technology-facilitated gender-based violence and online safety. Similarly, through the DYLOTT’s Black Diplomats’ Scholar, she examined the limited representation of African women in UN organizations and proposed pathways to strengthen meaningful inclusion. Additionally, Donel is the Lead Research Coordinator for Children First Canada’s Raising Canada 2024 and 2025 report, highlighting the top ten threats to childhood wellbeing, emphasizing the Online Child Sexual Exploitation crisis for youth, the Online Harms Act and need for diverse Digital Literacy education. Her active leadership with Alberta's first African Domestic Violence Shelter Ruth's House, the University of Calgary's Refugee and Immigrant Health Education (RISE), The Canadian Partnership of Women and Children Health etc., she vigorously maximizes her efforts to advocate for the needs of various communities.