Lisa stepped into an interim board member position at SALCO in 2019. Lisa is a human rights, employment, and labour lawyer, and has worked throughout her career to improve access to justice for marginalized Ontarians. Having worked with a few Toronto legal clinics since her call to the bar, she truly understands and fully supports the vision and the daily practice of community legal clinic work. As a South Asian person, Lisa has also personally witnessed and understood the limits of these community legal clinics in their ability to provide appropriate legal services to our diverse South Asian communities.

Alizeh is a CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) and is also a CA and CFA. She currently works with the Ontario Securities Commission with a focus on compliance and risk management. Alizeh has also volunteered her time with War Against Rape in Pakistan, and is connected to the work that SALCO does in multiple South Asian communities in Ontario.

Jaspal is a construction litigation lawyer from Brampton, Ontario and proud member of the 2017 Windsor Law School graduating class.  Jaspal has been a SALCO board member for just under two terms and is the board’s current secretary.  He provides support on SALCO’s governance and is currently working on making sure that the clinic is compliant with the new requirements for the Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act.  , and with connecting SALCO to the growing South Asian bar in Ontario.

Kish Mahmud is currently a Commercial Account Manager, RBC Commercial. Her role includes the implementation of robust market plan to achieve and exceed growth targets ensuring client centric execution and the analysis of financial statements for Not for Profit Clients. Kish has an extensive background in banking and financial management. Kish is hoping to leverage her education, work experience in the not for profit sector as well as her personal life experience with an organization whose values aligned with her own. She hopes to bring her own diverse background to the Board. Having both South Asian and Indigenous heritage, she feels strongly that the work the SALCO does is essential to create a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for an equitable future for all.

Swarna is currently pursuing her Masters in Social Work at the University of Toronto as an international student from India. She is also assisting Dr. Rupaleem Bhuyan on a project on ‘Promoting Economic Inclusion among Racialized Migrant Women through Transformation Resilience’ funded by Institute of Gender and the Economy. Swarna recognizes the important work that SALCO continues to do for South Asian newcomers to Canada. As an international student from India, moving to Toronto during the pandemic was not an easy task. Swarna was able to see how, in addition to the financial burden, our legal status affects various aspects of our lives including access to housing, health care, and employment, coupled with the compounding psychological and emotional effects of emigrating from our home country. Swarna hopes that joining SALCO’s Board of Directors will help to amplify the issues that international students and newcomers grapple with including access to justice / legal supports.

Rashmi’s passion for criminal law is fueled by the experiences of her family growing up in Malvern, a marginalized neighbourhood in Scarborough. During law school, Rashmi focused on studies in criminal law, participated in the Gale Cup Moot Competition, and volunteered with the Queen’s Legal Aid Clinic and Prison Law Clinic, in order to gain as much practical experience as possible. After law school, Rashmi worked at Hicks Adams LLP, where, she conducted preliminary hearings and trials, numerous pre-trials, contested bail hearings, guilty pleas, sentencing hearings, and parole hearings. Rashmi now runs her own practice in criminal law. Rashmi is also one of the founding members of the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty. It gives Rashmi great satisfaction to advocate for vulnerable and marginalized clients and recognizes that there is so much more to be done.  Rashmi currently works as a Crown Attorney in Ontario.

Shivali is a litigation lawyer specializing in employment and human rights law, who believes that creating greater access to justice is essential for positive change. She believes that the most meaningful change is born from work that integrates empathy and advocacy, and it is this belief that brought her to SALCO. Having experienced and observed the challenges faced by members of the South Asian community, Shivali values the opportunities, security, and guidance that SALCO’s initiatives provide, and hopes to be an ally in its mission. As a member of the Board of Directors, Shivali is eager to utilize her transferrable skills and passion to contribute to the ongoing growth and success of SALCO. In her spare time, you can find Shivali tackling sudoku puzzles and caring for any animal she comes across.

Sultana Jahingir is the founder of SAWRO and has been its Executive Director since 2007. South Asian Women’s Rights Organization (SAWRO) is a grassroots member-led non-profit community-based organization operated by community women to serve the Bengali community and other South Asian communities.  SAWRO has undergone a transformation and is now known as XXX.  Sultana has 23 years of diverse experience building grass-roots organizations among equity seeking groups, including work with impoverished Bangladeshi urban workers, undocumented immigrants in New York City and marginalized immigrant women in Scarborough, Ontario. Sultana is deeply aware of the legal issues that impact low-income South Asian communities in Canada.

Chrishyami is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) who is now the Director of HR at the Canada Revenue Agency (Ontario Region), after several years as Assistant Director of Staffing and Recruitment. She served as the Employment Equity Champion as well as the Recruitment champion at the CRA and is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion.

She has also been involved in a variety of volunteer initiatives over the years, including being a former member of the GenNext Cabinet at United Way Greater Toronto and serving as chair of Golden Future South Africa, a volunteer led initiative aimed at empowering South Asian Youth to be leaders in their community. Chrishyami is committed to supporting the important work that SALCO does and ensure their continued success in supporting the most vulnerable. Her extensive HR experience is a significant asset to the board.

Thaniya is a second-year law student at the University of Windsor. Having completed her Social Justice Fellow-ship placement at SALCO as a Summer Student, she saw firsthand the importance of the advocacy and work that SALCO does. This encouraged her to explore advocacy through mooting and is a member of the Wilson Moot team. Thaniya has always had a passion for being involved in her community. She was a member of the Hamil-ton Youth Advisory Council and has volunteered as Chair of the Junior Board for Hamilton and District Extend-A-Family, an organization that helps families who have children with special needs and the. She has also volunteered with John Howard Society of Niagara’s justice services. During her undergraduate studies, Thaniya volun-teered at the Lorch Refugee Camp and UNICEF Frankfurt while living in Germany. She is currently the second-year representative for Windsor’s chapter of Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) and the Co-Chair of the Women In Law’s law needs feminism campaign. She is looking forward to beginning a career in advocacy and litigation.

Sukriti is an advocate for equitable access to justice for socio-ethnic minorities living in poverty with an immense respect for SALCO’s advocacy, legal representation, and education work. Sukriti brings experience in non-profit fundraising, partnership development, and business development to support and guide fundraising efforts at SALCO. Sukirti also has experiences leading executive teams, campaigns and programs with organizations like Vena Solutions’ environmental equity resource group, and Brampton Mastermind – Strong examples of planning and strategic capabilities that support SALCO’s own strategic planning and governance.

Husein has a strong understanding of the Canadian policy landscape and how SALCO can use its resources to influence public policy and public opinion through securing internal and external buy-in. For the first five years of his legal career, he advised and litigated on behalf of all three levels of Canadian government. Next, he served for three years in a dual role at one of Canada’s top public affairs firms, as legal counsel and a government relations manager. Today, he is a legal counsel at the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC), the provincial regulator for the car sales sector.  Husein focuses his community involvement on issues related to access-to-justice. He hosts his own legal podcast series and, since 2019, has served as a board member for SALCO as well as the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association (CMLA).