With over 20 years of experience in healthcare, I have held many nursing leadership roles. In addition to being a CNA BOD member, I am currently the Senior Vice-President in Patient Care Services at Trillium. I am also an Adjunct Lecturer for the Faculty of Nursing at UofT. A recipient of numerous awards including recently a Clinical Teaching Award in Nursing, I was also the recipient of the Mayor’s COVID Hero Civic Award for the work I did related to our hospital’s pandemic response, and also the relationships I bridged with the community, including the Canadian Muslim COVID19 Taskforce.
I am also the first hijab-wearing recipient of the RNAO’s President’s Award in Clinical Leadership. I have a BScN from TMU, a MN from UofT, and a healthcare strategy certificate from Harvard Business School. Prior to my current role at Trillium, I have held roles in Quality, Risk and Patient Safety, and the Regional Cancer Program Director. Prior to this I was the Senior Director of Surgery and Oncology at Mount Sinai, and have served in numerous nursing groups, including as a Board Member for OPANA, who was integral in the advancement of the first Perianesthesia Nursing certification with the CNA.
Statement of philosophy
Excellence in nursing is my passion, and with over 20 years of experience in healthcare, I have seen firsthand the important role nurses play in influencing policy and practice through engagement, promotion, and advocacy. My experience in this was reinforced over the past 2 years as the first hijab-wearing member of the CNA BOD, and it positions me well to serve as the next Vice-President. My diverse experience and inclusive perspective will continue to add a unique voice to the CNA.
I am a child of immigrant parents who had to find unique ways to be included at the table and often felt like my voice was not heard or represented. Through my own learning I have realized the important role I personally play in mitigating some of these biases and taking part in advancing this at the system level. Whether it be on issues of advancing equity and inclusion or anti-racism or advancing the role and scope of nurses including recruitment and retention, my diverse experiences in enterprise risk, quality and safety, clinical operations, and government relations, will bring an important voice and perspective to the table, with a mission to bring more inclusive representation with me.
Platform message
Having worked in one of Canada’s hardest hit hospitals by COVID19, I have witnessed firsthand the experience of the impacts of this pandemic on the profession of nursing, the disparities of health, inequities in health care, and the effects of healthcare system level decision making. With this context, coupled with dynamic geo-political issues across Canada and the globe, I am confident I can continue to bring level leadership, and play an ever-important role in advocacy and influence on policy and practice-related priorities that the CNA too has committed to. Thus, I am positioned well to serve as the next VP on the BOD.
I also bring a unique contribution to the CNA through my own lived experience as the first hijab-wearing CNA member of the Board, and as a woman of colour. Also through my extensive involvement in advancing equity and anti-racism in healthcare and in the academic settings, I bring a passion to elevate diverse perspectives and voices to the table. I am currently a co-chair of the UofT Faculty of Nursing’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenous Reconciliation Committee. As an Adjunct Lecturer with the Faculty, I also play an integral role in mentorship, community engagement, and have a longstanding track record of building bridges between sectors in academics and healthcare, and look forward to leveraging these experiences and my skillsets to continue to advance the priorities and partnerships of the CNA, and advance nursing excellence and the profile of the profession of nursing across Canada.