Meet Our Board

IslamicFamily's Board of Directors is comprised of a group of diverse, dedicated, and highly skilled professionals in the community, ranging from lawyers to social workers to accountants and business managers. IslamicFamily's board are the backbone of the organization's successful services. Every month, board members dedicated countless hours, time and expertise to ensure IslamicFamily continues to grow and serve.

Shaista Ali

President

Shaista has been living in Edmonton since 2010. She is an Industrial Engineer by training and after spending almost 10 years in Process Improvement and Technology in the financial industry, she is now working in a machine learning startup. Shaista’s work experience has provided her with the opportunity to apply her knowledge of process improvement, lean and design thinking. In the last few years, she has been a board member for the Edmonton chapter of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women. Last summer, Shaista volunteered as a docent at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden to guide visitors through the Kurimoto Japanese garden and the Aga Khan Garden. Over the last few years, she has also volunteered with the Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board to help with Positive Youth Development. Shaista is impressed with all the good work that IslamicFamily is able to accomplish for the Muslim community, and would love to be involved with the board to help in any capacity possible.

Ahmed Rana

Vice-President

Ahmed is grew up on Treaty 8 territory in Fort McMurray and now reside on Treaty 6 territory in Edmonton. He is the youngest of four siblings and has been blessed with parents that have instilled the values of compassion, consciousness and service. Ahmed is passionate about addressing health inequity and injustice through grassroots organizations as well as public policy. His education background includes a Masters of Public Health specializing in Health Policy and Management as well as a Bachelors in Kinesiology. He has been actively involved in Alberta’s health and social sector, particularly being involved with the Indigenous population, the Muslim community and with young people at large. Ahmed's work spans multiple levels of government, health service delivery organizations, community organizations and academic institutions.

Ibrahim Babikir

CPA
Treasurer

Ibrahim is a Canadian-Sudanese resident of Edmonton. He moved from Abu Dhabi (where he was born and raised) with his wife in 2015. He and his wife are blessed with two young kids & love spending time with the family wherever possible. Graduating from the University of New Brunswick with a bachelor of commerce and obtaining his Canadian and US CPA, Ibrahim is a Chartered accountant and has spent the past fourteen years working in the industry. Ibrahim has always valued giving back to the community and contributing through volunteer work: including running tax clinics and providing financial education courses to youth. Ibrahim is very excited to join the IslamicFamily team and to further expand the programs' outreach.

Amaly Rahman

Secretary

Amaly is an American-Canadian-Muslim mother and physician. She has lived in Edmonton for 15 years, and now calls it home. Amaly is always inspired by the creativity around her, and loves exploring this side of her, as demonstrated by her constant flow of projects and ideas. Creativity is where she flourishes. Since a young age, her parents have always made volunteerism an important part of her life, and she has tried to follow in their footsteps. Some projects she has helped create include: the "One ummah, One Eid” gift program, and the Edmonton Volunteer Society. Amaly also loves giving back to the community. Over the past few years, she has been a board member of Muslim Woman’s shelter, and has traveled abroad multiple times offering medical care to refugees and those in need in foreign countries.

Jabir Devjee

Jabir is a small business owner with 6 years of managerial and administrative experience. He also has a BSc in Civil Environmental Engineering from the University of Alberta and 2 years of industry experience working in private and public organizations in an engineering capacity. As a small business owner he has gained a general knowledge of many disciplines such as basic bookkeeping and accounting, tax law, sales, business administration, sales, promoting organizational efficiencies and project management.

Ahsan Tanveer

Ahsan is a senior finance professional having worked with both MNCs and small and medium businesses. He has volunteered previously with WildNorth and PCAE as a board member. Ahsan is excited to volunteer with IslamicFamily in a role where he can use his commercial finance skills to build strategies that will continue to develop the organization's donor base and continue to improve on the reporting, budgeting and forecasting to better serve the community clients.

Howaida Hassan

Howaida obtained her Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo in 1999. She is currently the General Supervisor of Transportation working on Edmonton’s long-term strategic plan - The City Plan. Howaida’s skills and experience span strategic planning, providing oversight and leading technical teams to achieve goals on complex projects, strategy monitoring and reporting, and survey development. Howaida has 13 years of experience working in Transportation Planning including transportation modelling, household travel surveys, policy and strategy development. She hopes to serve on the IslamicFamily board by offering her skills in strategic planning, program monitoring, and governance. Howaida and her two brothers were born and raised in Toronto. She is the proud daughter of Egyptian immigrants to Canada. Howaida, her husband, three kids, and cat have called Edmonton home for many years.

Naz Mellick

Naz currently resides in Edmonton with her spouse and two sons. She graduated from the University of Alberta (Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy, 1992; Juris Doctorate, 1996) and is currently a poverty law lawyer and civil litigator, providing ProBono services to low income individuals exclusively through the Edmonton Community Legal Centre. Access to justice is Naz's preoccupation. She has lectured at the University of Alberta and taught the law of negligence to federal government employees. In 2017, Naz was appointed by the Government of Alberta to serve on the Complaints Review Committee for the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Nazneem Wahab

Nazneem is a full-time physician living and practicing in Edmonton for over 15 years. Throughout her career, she has been committed to developing strategies that create access and sustainable infrastructures for under-served communities. This commitment encompasses all spheres of her work, including her role in civic leadership. In addition to her professional medical qualifications, Nazneem has a Master’s Degree in Global Health. She has been involved in leadership in the healthcare sector both in Edmonton and overseas. Currently, she sits on the board of directors for an American Muslim women’s non-profit organization.

Youssra Badr

Youssra was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology, a Bachelor of Education, as well as a Masters of Educational Policy from the University of Alberta. Her professional experiences include frontline Mental Health Services, at Alberta Hospital Edmonton, Youth Support Work with nonprofit human service organizations, as well as 10+ years serving learners as an educator with the Edmonton Public School Board. Currently she works as an ESL Consultant, supporting both educators and English Language Learners with best practices. Aside from her husband and four children, her greatest commitment is supporting students and educators.

Mariam Osman

Mariam is a Somali-Canadian born and raised in Canada who spent parts of her youth in the Middle East. She is fortunate to speak both Arabic and Somali. Mariam is deeply connected to the Edmonton community and the opportunity to serve. Mariam is an Epidemiologist by training, currently working with the Government of Alberta. She has had the opportunity to act as the lead for Infectious Disease epidemiology for many years and now serves a role in workforce planning. Her most cherished role is teaching Qur'an and she is blessed to serve both as a Teacher with the Imam Al Shatibi Institute, and in a volunteer capacity during her spare time.

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Meet Our Staff

IslamicFamily's staff embody and live our value of "Created To Serve" and are the dedicated force behind the organization's professionalism and genuine care for the clients we see. IslamicFamily's staff reflect the diversity of the community, speak various languages, and bring passion to their work every single day.

Omar Yaqub

MBA, BSc
Servant of Servants

IslamicFamily has been an integral part of Omar’s service journey. Omar has worked in non-profit management, global development and for-benefit consulting. He holds an MBA and BSc from the University of Alberta, where he also teaches Corporate Sustainability to MBAs. Before joining as staff, Omar played a key role in the development of IslamicFamily's youth program, and partnership development. He is proud to have worked alongside exceptional leaders who helped the organization expand to serve more people in more ways and more places.

Lubna Zaeem

Registered Psychologist
Clinical Director

Lubna is a registered psychologist with a Master’s in Psychological Studies in Education from the University of Alberta, and a Counselling Certificate from Athabasca University. Lubna first joined IslamicFamily 12 years ago as a board member, and has provided cultural competency training to community leaders, governments, law enforcement and service organizations. She has been recognized for her outstanding volunteer commitment, and has been awarded the Athabasca Volunteer Service Award, the YMCA Peace Medal, and the Governor General's Sovereign Medal for Volunteers.

Lena Awwad

Building Roots Manager

Lena received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Neurobiology and a Master’s in Business Management from Harvard University. As an undergraduate, she received a number of awards for her activism and advocacy including the Harvard College Women’s Leadership Award and the Harvard Foundation Award for Race and Intercultural Relations. Prior to joining the IslamicFamily team, Lena has worked with and developed close relationships with numerous non-profits throughout the city, and internationally.

Trent Daley

Operational Excellence Driver

Trent has called Edmonton home since 2011 and is a 2020 graduate from the University of Alberta having completed a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Sociology. Trent received an appointment for the Anti-Racism Advisory Committee to the City of Edmonton in February 2020 and currently serves as Vice-Chair. During his free time, Trent enjoys walks in the river valley with his wife, Maria, and sons Ilyas, Yusuf and daughter, Ranya

Raymond Soussa

Community Relationships

Ray has been working in fundraising in the Canadian non-profit sector for over 5 years after "stumbling" on this beautiful path while studying industrial engineering. His focus and drive is to get community members excited about projects and to make visions come to life. Ray is passionate about helping people and bringing love, joy and faith to their lives. He is specifically passionate about international development, namely helping his home country, Lebanon.

Sumaira Farooq

Essential Care Manager

Sumaira graduated with a degree in Human Ecology from the University of Alberta, and began her work with IslamicFamily two years ago. Currently, she is helping to grow IslamicFamily's volunteer base and establish long-lasting relationships with those who love to give back to their community. She is also the Creative Director of the brand Shubinak and loves all things handmade, eco-friendly and ethnic fusion.

Raj Rajakumar

Product Manager

Raj is passionate about service through leveraging technology for the greater good. He holds a BURPI in Urban and Regional Planning and a Certificate in Project and Product Management. He is also a Fellow at On Deck. Before joining Islamic Family, Raj spent 6 years in the public sector with various organizations working as an urban planner and then transitioned into technology. He built a B2C mobile application that made it as one of top 20 most downloaded apps in Canada and built a B2B saas-based platform that raised 7 figures in funding.

Outreach Team

The IslamicFamily Outreach Team is comprised of highly competent Outreach Workers with various professional and ethnic backgrounds. Our Outreach Workers have strong backgrounds in Social Work, Counselling Psychology, Social Service Work, Human Services and Psychology. Our team also speaks numerous languages, including Somali, Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Hindi. The team assists individuals who are refugees, newcomers, and immigrants by providing supportive counselling to clients experiencing settlement, mental health, barriers to access, and family violence. The Outreach Workers are our most front line staff, excellent advocates, adhere to high levels of confidentiality all while providing support that is both culturally and spiritually appropriate. IslamicFamily's Outreach Workers are truly fundamental to serving our clients with both efficiency and compassion.

Naheed Amjad-Minhas

Programs Lead

Naheed has been involved with IslamicFamily since 2012. She holds an MS in General Psychology and an M Phil in Applied Psychology from Pakistan, and carries a wealth of experience in working with families experiencing violence. Naheed sits as chair of the Ethno-Cultural Family Violence Committee, is involved with the "Family Violence Across the Life Span” team which provides family violence training to service providers in Edmonton and area, and has also worked at Edmonton John Howard Society. In 2018, Naheed was the recipient of the Peace in Families Award for her outstanding work in ending family violence. Currently she resides in Edmonton with her daughter and husband.

Ibrahim Long

Youth Wellness Lead & Chaplain

Ibrahim is a passionate advocate for the integration of spirituality and mental health. Throughout his education, he has blended religious studies with training in spiritually-integrated mental health care and counselling. He holds a BA in Religious Studies, an MA in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, and a Graduate Certificate in Islamic Chaplaincy from the Hartford Seminary - the first graduate institution to offer accredited training in Muslim chaplaincy. Ibrahim is one of Canada’s only clinically-trained Muslim chaplains, having completed intensive training in spiritually-integrated mental health care and counselling. Ibrahim is presently pursuing a Masters in Social Work with a specialization in Community-Informed Practice for Health and Well-being.

Fatimah Dini

Building Roots Lead

Fatimah is a Somali-Canadian who grew up in Egypt. She completed her Bachelor's in Applied Medical Science (Radiology) and is currently completing her Master's in Public Administration at Johnson Shoyama Public Policy School (JSGS). Fatimah has a strong passion for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and has served on the workplace DEI Advisory Committee and BIPOC Graduate Students Committee. She is driven to help implement and support inclusive policies that build partnerships and strengthen community capacity while ensuring every individual is comfortable and confident in bringing their authenticity at all times.

Timiro Mohamed

Youth Initiatives Manager, The Green Room

Timiro is an artist and organizer with 5+ years of experience in managing and delivering youth programming. Some of this work included developing summer programming for youth of diverse backgrounds, working with youth at citywide drop-in programming, and developing a mentorship program for BIPOC artists. As a first-hand beneficiary of the Green Room’s programming and support, Timiro understands the role that The Green Room plays in the community. The values of connectivity and of healing the self through service to the community that ground IslamicFamily align with Timiro’s passion and vision as an artist. As the 2019-2020 Edmonton Youth Poet Laureate she is committed to creating platforms to empower youth and facilitate storytelling.

Reem Al Hag

Frontline Navigator

With a passion for math, Reem comes to us with an engineering degree from the University of Damascus and several years of experience as a Civil Engineer in Syria, the UAE, and Canada. Reem continued her education at NAIT and was designated as a Provisional Engineer by APEGA. Her work with IslamicFamily aligns with her values of strengthening her faith, and she believes that fairness and dignity are the most important values that the organization represents.

Naila Mohamed

Client Services

Naila was born in Karachi but raised in Bahrain. She holds a diploma in Commerce from the University of Bahrain, and a certification in Montessori Education. Naila lived in the UAE for 18 years before moving to Canada. She has held various volunteer roles, working with newcomers teaching English and conversation skills. Naila joined the IslamicFamily family in 2013 as a volunteer, and soon after became a staff member and a familiar smiling face for many in our Southside Warehouse location. Naila loves to travel, make friends and in her spare time, she enjoys reading mystery novels and writing poems.