Board of Directors
Najia Haneefi
Co-chair (2020 to present)
Najia has 3 + years of Research and Administrative experience at Carleton University. She has 10+ years of experience in executing sponsored International Development projects from proposal development to implementation and award closeout in the areas of Education, Human rights, Gender Equality, and Child Protection. She has also decades of experience in fundraising and event management for Non-Profit Organizations. Najia is well versed in developing curriculum and delivering training on gender equality and development topics.
She holds a Master’s degree in Education, Leadership, Evaluation, Curriculum and Policy Studies from the University of Ottawa, Canada in 2015-2016. Additionally, Najia also holds Honors degree in International Development and Globalization with Minor in Women’s Studies from the University of Ottawa, Canada 2011-2015.
Hailey Graham
H. Hailey Graham (she/her) is a family law lawyer practicing in downtown Vancouver. Hailey holds a degree in political science from UBC and graduated from UBC’s Allard School of Law. While in school, Hailey was actively involved in various campus projects, including as the president of the Political Science Student Association, as a facilitator at UBC’s Institute for Future Legislators, and helping to establish UBC’s chapter of Equal Voice. Currently, Hailey volunteers with Access Pro Bono and chairs the Emerging Family Lawyers Forum. She is a mom to a teenager, an avid reader, and an enthusiastic feminist.
Annie Ohana
Annie Ohana is a nationally recognized anti oppression curriculum specialist, public school educator, and Indigenous Department Head in the Surrey School District. She is also a community organizer for both local and international organizations, building solidarity based empowerment through identity that work to transform systems.
Shashi Goel
Shashi Goel, Born and grew up in India. She has done her doctorate and several writing work and studies in her career life. She is known for her passion for the empowerment and development of women and children. Due to her passion and strong work commitment, she worked internationally, like in the USA, Canada, Qatar, and India.
Today she is a very well-known person across many countries for her work and for creating diversity, inclusiveness and equity for women. Since she started working for women’s empowerment through her global women’s dialogue talk show, she has given a platform and represented more than 73 countries’ women so far. And her vision is still growing and reaching more countries. She feels it is time to find new ways to create women’s empowerment, as technology is reaching out to more and more people. Similarly, women’s voices and stories should reach through media to empower others. She is specialized in Communication & Media, and she brings her specialization to women and creates diversity and empowerment.
Having a solid academic background with vast experience in communication management helps her create more ways to help people., she was awarded by the City University of New York, the USA, for advanced research learning.
Earlier, She was awarded by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) for her Ph.D. work and later in continuity, she got awarded, only very get this prestigious award by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) for her work on Gender Budgeting and her Post Doctorate work.
She has published many Research papers, Newspapers magazines Articles, and book chapters. In addition, she has published two books on women’s issues: the first book on Domestic Violence Against Women and the second on Gender-responsive budgeting. In it, she brings comprehensive gender-inclusive budgeting policy and methods.
Friba Rezayee
Founder and Executive Director (2018 to present)
Friba Rezayee is the founder and the Executive Director of Women Leaders of Tomorrow and its leadership in sports project GOAL (Girls of Afghanistan Lead). She was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. At the age of 18, she made history by competing in Judo at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens as Afghanistan’s first ever female Olympic athlete.
Friba’s participation in the Olympics brought Afghanistan back to the world stage in sports after the fall of the Taliban. She inspired hundreds of other Afghan girls to join different sports, in a sports revolution for Afghan female athletes.
Friba has resided in Vancouver, Canada since 2011 and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, Canada.
Friba has been an outspoken and passionate advocate for women and girls’ education, gender equality, human rights, and women’s rights in Afghanistan and worldwide from an early age to present. She is currently working as an educator in the Vancouver, Canada public school system.
Dr. Brian Glyn Williams
Advisor (2020 to present)
Dr. Brian Glyn Williams is Professor of Islamic History at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. He is the author of seven books dealing with warfare, terrorism and ethnicity in Islamic Eurasia including The Last Warlord. The Life and Legend of Dostum, the Afghan Warrior who Led US Special Forces to Topple the Taliban Regime. Dr. Williams has travelled extensively throughout Afghanistan doing his own field research and working for the US government. Dr. Williams has also carried out considerable research in Central Asia and the greater Middle East region including helping Yazidi girls captured by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria terrorists to return them to their families.