Meseret Haileyesus

Meseret is an entrepreneur, ambassador, advocate for gender equality and social justice, quality of midwifery care and wellness. She is the founder and Director of Maternity Today. From 2002-2015, Meseret Worked in various national and international nonprofit organizations for more than 20 projects on Gender Equality and Global Health, for the last 16 years. Funded by Global Affair Canada, USAID, The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Concern Worldwide, Netherlands & Spain Embassy, UNFPA &UNICEF. She has served on numerous international advisory boards & panels. She also worked with Alberta Council on HIV & Ethiopia-Canada Maternal, Newborn Health project under University of Alberta which was funded, by Global Affair Canada. Besides this, she is involving on various community-based Women Empowerment initiatives including the City of Ottawa. She is a graduate of Midwifery, Clinical Nursing, Economics, and Management and Masters of Public Health(MPH).

Meseret is honored to have the opportunity to work with women in Africa and assist them through the amazing journey of pregnancy, birth and new motherhood. She is an advocate for universal, equitable access to high-quality midwifery care, gender-based violence, reproductive health right and strategies to reinforce the reproductive health component in health sector reform programs in developing countries. In her earlier role as a midwife and public health expert, she has been consistently committed to identifying and overcoming the underlying barriers to care and meeting the needs of the neediest and most excluded women and children, wherever they may live. Meseret has a strong management background with vast experience in project management. Meseret received the award at Africa Food and Nutrition Forum in 2009 for establishing our standing community of practice supported by the World Food Program.

She is also Ambassador for World Pulse, a global network to amplify women a voice and Ambassador for RHEALYZ Global Empowerment Initiative Africa, a Nigerian organization helps individuals, families, and organizations achieve Sustainable Development Goals. She is also an Advocate and speaker against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) at Laurentian University – Université Laurentienne, Faculty of Health Sciences.

Meseret is the founder of Canadian Center for Women Empowerment, a charity that supports domestic violence survivor’s wealth through mentorship to achieve long-term safety and financial stability. She also founding committee for Ethiopiaid Canada – Sister to Sister project, it’s an initiative to generate awareness and provide education about a variety of women’s issues in Ethiopia, mobilize the diaspora community in Canada, identify important issues related to women’s empowerment and to address ways to provide positive support through grassroots initiatives, including fundraising events, speaking engagements, and networking.

Meseret is the owner of Novigo natural skincare and Nacre Organics- wellness and skincare brand based in Ottawa and New Jersey, USA.
Meseret is the program Advisory committee to Algonquin College as for the Esthetician and Spa program. She is also an honorary member of the Canada Pakistan Affiliated Chamber of Trade, Society of Cosmetics Chemist and Canadian Federation of Aromatherapy. She also supports various causes through the fashion modeling industry with CTV and Rogers TV.

Sanga Achakzai

Finalist for Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award, Sanga Achakzai has a bilingual specialized Honors in International Relations from York University and over ten years of experience in community and international development.

Some of her community work involves her appointment as a Grant Review Member at Ontario Trillium Foundation, her membership in Local Immigration Partnership (LIP), Professional International Networking (PINs). Furthermore, she is a steering committee member of Color of Poverty- Color of Change.

As chair of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), she provides leadership in projects and initiatives that promote health and employment equity in collaboration with educational and health sector partners such as Ryerson University, CAMH, and William Osler Health System. Under her leadership, CASSA has twice been the recipient of the “Diversity is our Strength Proclamation” by Mayor John Tory.

Achakzai also provided leadership and guidance to initiatives such as the Organ Donation Campaign that raised awareness to more than 1 million South Asian Canadians and registered 10,000 people for organ donation. She engages with policymakers and key politicians for recommendations and policy advocacy in matters that affect marginalized and racialized communities. Issues she has been involved in include the Poverty Reduction Strategy, Housing Strategy, and human rights. She also contributed to the Racism Free Ontario Campaign that resulted in establishing Ontario’s Anti-Racism Directorate.