Ali, currently the CEO of Saskatoon Open Door Society, is an award-winning community leader & refugee advocate. His personal experience as a former refugee along with his education and work experience serve him well in the various roles he plays in the community. He has fostered relationships between newcomers to Saskatoon & employers, community partners & members of the Indigenous community. He is passionate about social justice, addressing inequity through engagement in courageous conversations, collective action, and support for social justice movements.

Ali is engaged in community building and strives for a global community where everyone matters, particularly those marginalized and vulnerable in our communities. Ali sits on various local and national advisory committees and working groups to support the work of immigrant serving agencies, advocate for refugees and immigrants and promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Ashraf Mirmontahai graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1996 with a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. She has completed various training programs and earned certificates, including Program Planning and Evaluation, Coaching for Development and Performance, Program Evaluation, Managing Employees in a Unionized Environment, and certification by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the Global Alliance for Professional Leadership Development (GAPLD).

Ashraf has worked for the University of Saskatchewan and the Government of Saskatchewan. She has held the positions of Executive Director of International Women of Saskatoon and Acting Executive Director of the Saskatoon Open Door Society, where she is currently the Director of its Employment Services Unit. While with the Government of Saskatchewan, she received the Premier’s Award for Excellence in Public Service.

People who have worked with Ashraf in the past describe her as having an influential presence, being a strategic thinker who can see the big picture and develop long-term strategic planning, and as a compassionate and professional individual with extensive experience and a genuine desire to work with others and see them succeed. She brings compassion and empathy to her work with clients and colleagues alike and has a deep understanding of the many challenges clients experience in their career planning and job search journeys.

For the past seven years, Ashfaque Ahmed has been working with the Saskatoon Open Door Society as the Director of its Settlement and Family Support Unit. In this role, he has expanded the unit’s portfolio, improved program delivery by scaling up the core programs with increased human and financial resources to meet a growing demand, and introduced new projects in the course of expansion. He has provided leadership for three major waves of refugees and displaced populations in the last five years, notably from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. He has taken initiatives to manage core partnerships and build new partnerships for program delivery and to expand the unit with new resources. He is continuously engaged in the organization’s strategic planning, goal setting, implementation strategy, dialogue and negotiations, to make SODS a trusted resource for services.

Ashfaque brings 23 years’ experience in the settlement, international development and education sectors. Prior to working with the Saskatoon Open Door Society, he held front-line and senior management positions with settlement sector agencies in Canada, international NGOs and government departments overseas. In the course of his career, he has managed projects and programs with a total value of over $60 million in settlement, education and international development sectors.

Ashfaque has earned a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from the University of Saskatchewan with a thesis stream, a Master’s degree of Social Anthropology from overseas, also with a thesis stream, and a post-graduate diploma in Community Based Development grounded in core principles of Community Based Project Management.

He has received a list of professional certificates from Canadian and international institutions for continued learning and professional development. They covered executive leadership; project management (PMP Essentials); finance and accountability for non-financial executives and managers; supervision and leadership; understanding the world of the non-profit sector; and opportunity for growth.

He has participated in and made presentations at a number of Canadian and international conferences. Some of the key areas of interest to be engaged with via conferences are the Settlement Sector through Metropolis Conferences and the Education Sector through the Comparative and International Education Society.

Ashfaque has volunteered to serve in governance and contributed to Saskatchewan by joining various boards. Currently he sits on the Board of Directors of the SaskTel Centre. In the past he has served as a board member with the Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation (SCIC) and contributed his time to a community board.

For his work and leisure, Ashfaque has travelled in Canada from coast to coast, in the US, South Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He finds that travelling makes learning faster and connects people with different cultures. He has raised his family in Saskatoon and calls this city home.

Henri completed a BA Honours degree in Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Saskatchewan, with a double major in Languages and Linguistics. During University, along with working as a Teaching Assistant, he started a journey in English as a Second Language Teaching, working with International Students at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. Henri then worked in language program administration overseas for 10 years before starting with Saskatoon Open Door Society in 2011.

While running programs for Saskatoon Open Door Society, Henri’s program innovations and passion for advocacy on behalf of language training clients and programs gave him the opportunity to advise the federal government on language program policy as part of an expert consultative body, the Newcomer Language Advisory Body. Additional opportunities to inform national program policy arose as he was chosen to represent language on the National Settlement and Integration Council, and later as the sole language expert on the Settlement and Integration Program Policy Committee.

He has been active on the provincial scene with the Saskatchewan Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies for several terms as board member, President, and Past President, as well as being part of important collaborative efforts in the community on behalf of language training clients.

Language being the key to unlocking participation in Canadian society, Henri hopes to see SODS continue to provide high quality, targeted language services to clients. He is proud of the organization’s reputation of serving some of the most vulnerable clients.

Henri comes from a culturally diverse background, and has an immediate family that was not born in Canada. He is also proud to have served on various boards for community organizations, most recently SaskAbilities

Leanne May (She, Her) began working at the Saskatoon Open Door Society in September 2016 when its Daycare service split off from its Language Training Unit to become Childcare Services. As Director of the new unit, Leanne oversees two licensed childcare centres that serve SODS clients and community members, as well as the Home Instruction for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) Program.

Leanne is passionate about working with programs that serve families with young children and has gained work experience in a variety of early learning settings, including:

Preschool
A teen parent centre, in a high school
Licensed childcare centres, as an Early Childhood Educator and member of management
Private Licensed Childcare, as a home provider
Early Learning and Child Care, Ministry of Education’s Early Years Branch, as a Program Consultant

Leanne’s years of experience in the childcare sector support her capacity to sit on the Boards of Directors and Advisory Committees of other organizations. She is currently a member of the executive teams for the Saskatchewan Early Childhood Association (SECA) and the Saskatchewan Federation of Early Learning, and she sits on advisory committees for the Saskatoon Family Resource Centre, Early Years, and the Saskatoon Women’s Business Hub. She continually volunteers on working groups in the childcare field, given the many changes resulting from the Federal Early Learning and Childcare agreements.

Leanne believes that a good relationship is the basis for all learning. Children learn through their relationships with their educators, and a safe environment is necessary to encourage learning. She is hopeful that the changes today will make for a better tomorrow. Her efforts are for a better future for ECEs and quality learning environments that are accessible and affordable for all families with young children in Saskatchewan.

Muhammad Shakeel Qayyum is an accomplished Finance Manager with over 10 years of diverse experience in Financial Management, Financial Planning and Analysis, Financial Reporting, Budgeting & Forecasting, Risk Management, Internal controls, and financial strategy across Canada, the UAE, and Pakistan. With a proven record of driving operational excellence, system implementations, and financial efficiency, Shakeel brings deep expertise in financial planning, budgeting, MIS reporting, and audit compliance. At Saskatoon Open Door Society, he leads the finance function with a focus on efficiency, transparency, and alignment with long-term organizational goals.

Throughout his career, Shakeel has held pivotal roles in organizations such as Federated Co-operatives Limited, ISW Accounting Services, and Ittihad International Investment Group in the UAE. His expertise spans financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, internal controls, and ERP system implementations, with a proven track record of enhancing profitability and streamlining operations. Notable achievements include successfully deploying ERP systems, optimizing cash flow strategies, and driving cost-saving initiatives.

He holds a Master of Business Administration (Finance) and a Master of Commerce, complemented by certifications in Federal Income Tax Level 1 (Canada), Management and Administrative Skills , Communication Skills and Advanced MS Excel. Shakeel is highly skilled in systems such as SAP, Sage 300, QuickBooks, Tally, Hyperion, and Excel, and has a strong command of IFRS, GAAP, and ISA standards.

Known for his integrity, analytical acumen, and collaborative leadership, Shakeel plays a vital role in supporting the mission and financial sustainability of Saskatoon Open Door Society.

Ahmad Majid is an Iraqi Canadian and has been working within the Settlement sector in various capacities for the last decade. Inspired by the firsthand accounts of his parents’ struggle to settle and integrate into Saskatchewan, he has dedicated his professional career and personal passion to supporting newcomers and refugees in their journeys.

First joining SODS as a volunteer in 2014 with the Youth Programs, he became a staff member in 2015 as a Youth Employment Counsellor and then a couple of years later as a Team-Lead. He left SODS in 2019 to pursue a leadership opportunity as Executive Director of SAISIA, the Saskatchewan settlement sector’s umbrella organization, and then as HR and Employee Engagement Manager at the Saskatchewan Intercultural Association. He is now extremely excited to be coming “home” to the Saskatoon Open Door Society and contributing as the Fund Development and Communications Manager.

Ahmad is also an active Master of Ceremonies, hosting various events that include multiple Contact Conferences, PNT Summits and Annual Diversity Award Galas. He is also a Spoken-Word poet, facilitating workshops and performances for audiences of all backgrounds and ages with the goal of building bridges and inspiring the next generation.

Ahmad is the very proud father of three beautiful children and tries to spend any downtime exploring nature and the outdoors with his kids.