T E A M
Sameer Ali
Co-Chair & Head Curator
Sameer is the Founder and Co-Chair of TEDxDonMills. He is a Partner at TransformationLoop, where he consults clients on leadership, innovation, and change management. Sameer is passionate about developing mindsets, creating a space for changemakers to share their ideas, and increasing community engagement. He attended TEDWomen in 2018 and hopes to help make TEDxDonMills a catalyst for change.
Erika Pedersen-Lorenzen
Co-Chair
Erika has been passionate about TED and TEDx since her university days, where she planned multiple TEDxRyersonU conferences and Salons. The experience opened up her career options; she followed her love of event planning to Hackworks, where she currently runs innovation events for global clients. Being part of TEDxDonMills is an exciting opportunity to return her efforts to the importance of ideas worth spreading, and help create an exceptional event experience for this diverse community to enjoy.
Noureen Ali
Executive Lead, Program Design, Curation, Coaching
Noureen is the Executive Lead for TEDxDonMills. Noureen is a Senior Manager, HR Business Partner at TD Bank Group and sits on the Board of Directors at Flemingdon Community Health Centre. Bringing to life her passion for innovation, sharing knowledge and connecting people, she will be co-designing and curating an unforgettable experience for you all!
Hira Mubasher
Co-Executive Lead, Program Design
Hira’s curiosity and passion for thought-provoking conversations and experiences is a big reason to be part of TEDx community. With over a decade of experience in the recruitment world, Hira's career has been driven by entrepreneurial passion for storytelling combined with a deep focus on ROI. By day, she heads up executive talent and scouting for Colliers International. When not figuring out how to become the next big food critic, Hira can be found fine tuning her next travel itinerary.
Marilyn Mani
Co-Executive Lead, Program Design
Marilyn currently leads the HR Technology Data Control team at Manulife, a global insurance firm, where her team offers global support across all HR Information systems. She calls herself a global citizen having grown up in different countries and also worked in England, India, Singapore, Philippines and as of 2019, Canada. She hopes this global exposure and sensitivity to different communities and cultures will help her give back to society even more in the coming years. In her spare time, Marilyn is an avid reader, traveler, photographer and an aspiring writer (currently working on a book of short stories inspired by true events). She has been a fan of TED talks and admires this platform to share ideas and inspire people and is thrilled to be part of her first TEDx event
Misbah Lalani
Co-Executive Lead, Program Design
Misbah is the co-Executive Lead for Program Design for TEDxDonMills. Misbah is an Associate in the Wealth Consulting practice at Mercer and is an active volunteer in her community. Bringing to life her passion for sharing ideas worth spreading!
Mobeen Lalani
Co-Executive Lead, Conference Design
Mobeen Lalani is an undergraduate student who has been a part of the TED community for many years, as a delegate/associate for TEDxToronto, TEDxUofT, and TEDxUTSC to being the executive lead for the 6th TEDxUTSC conference. His academic interests include, molecular sciences, medical anthro., and health policy. Don Mills has been his home as a child and now being a part of this team, he hopes to engage the community through collective leadership and effective collaboration!
Sharmeen Somani
Co-Executive Lead, Conference Design
Sharmeen has always had a keen interest in listening to people's stories and sharing them in the hopes of inspiring change. Her passion for sharing stories has led her to telling stories for living. Sharmeen currently works at Global News as a Journalist. She has spent the last five years in the news broadcast industry, working behind the scenes, creating an experience for viewers through production, as well as being on the air, bringing viewers the weather and impactful news stories. Sharmeen attended her first TED conference, with TEDxDonmills in 2019. She was inspired to get involved and help elevate the mindset of the Don Mills community, where she grew up.
Jason Chong
Executive Lead, Project Manager
Jason Chong is the Project Manager for TEDxDonMills and is leading the delivery of the overall project. His background is in the HR Transformation space where he helps organizations drive new processes through technology enablement. He was inspired to join TEDxDonMills to be part of a platform in a diverse and growing community that will inspire others to take action.
Sabrina Sourjah
Project Manager
Sabrina is one of the project managers assisting with the delivery of this year's conference. Her background is in intelligent process automation, emerging technology, and finance transformation projects, and she currently works in the banking sector. She is an avid TED Talk fan and her favorite talk is 'If I should have a daughter' by Sarah Kay. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, going on picnics, practicing yoga, and getting lost in a good book.
Suzanne Seto
Project Coordinator
Suzanne is the Project Coordinator for TEDxDonMills. She is a Supply Chain Professional by trade and also enjoys event planning and designing spaces in her spare time. She loves travelling, enjoying the outdoors and always has time for her friends and family. She is passionate about always learning and personal growth to uplift those around her.
Bernice Hau
Project Manager
Bernice is a Project Manager at TEDxDonMills and works to ensure all the pieces of the conference come together. She is a Human Resources Professional and is inspired by vulnerable and courageous work cultures. As an avid TED watcher, Bernice wants to bring TEDxDonMills to her community to create a space where people can hear real stories from real people with extraordinary ideas. In her spare time, she is often seen dancing to a new jam, hitting the slopes to snowboard, and planning her next trip.
Zunash Ashiq Ali
Creative Director, Marketing
Zunash is a design professional and enjoys crafting creative solutions for businesses of all sizes. She developed digital expertise in all things design, strategic advertising and branding. She holds a Bachelor of Fashion Design, Masters of Fashion Management and a Post Grad in Advertising and Graphic Design. She currently works at Collier’s International as a Graphic Designer and supports ITREB Ontario as a Director of Advertising and PR. She also has co-published a coffee table book as an Illustrator. She believes in lifelong learning and giving back to society. When she is not working, she can be found watching movies, painting, or hanging out with her friends and family. At TEDxDonMills, she is a part of the dynamic marketing team, supports TEDx as a Creative Director, and develops ideas around the themes of TEDx. She designs compelling visual design solutions for print, web and social campaigns.
Zeeanna Ibrahim
Marketing Lead
As the Marketing Lead, Zeeanna’s role is to oversee all activities and communications used to promote TEDxDonMills. This includes designing marketing strategies, as well as curating the experience on the conference website and social media channels. Zeeanna has been working professionally in Digital Media Marketing for the past 6 years and enjoys creating a smooth user experience and engaging content for her audiences.
Nicole Danesi
Social Media and Content Manager, Marketing
Nicole is a creative and strategic digital marketer and communications professional with a passion and commitment for purpose-driven work. Outside of work, Nicole is an active community volunteer leading MississaugaGives, a city-wide campaign encouraging charitable giving in Mississauga on GivingTuesday. Nicole is also a mentor at Girls E-Mentorship and is a recent University of Toronto alumni. When Nicole is not working, she can usually be found drinking coffee, catching up on the news of the day, or watching Gilmore Girls reruns.
Imra Ali
Digital Design Manager, Marketing
Imra Ali is the Digital Design Manager for TEDxDonMills. She is an undergraduate student who is studying User Experience Design. She is passionate about creating experiences that empower people of all abilities. Imra prides herself in being an inclusive designer because everyone deserves an equal opportunity. When Imra is not working, she is expanding her design portfolio, volunteering, discovering new foods, and listening to podcasts.
Alykhan Suleman
Director of Community Engagement
Alykhan currently manages Social Services Network for York Region as their Executive Director, where he oversees staff and volunteers to empower, support and encourage seniors to live an independent and enriched life through programs, services and advocacy work. Alykhan has joined the TEDxDonMills team as the Director for Community Engagement because he feels strongly about the TEDx platform being a great vehicle to encourage collaboration by stimulating the sharing of ideas and the shaping of minds to promote meaningful change over time.
Rahim Rahim
Director of Community Engagement
Rahim is passionate about helping people and making a difference. He is currently working as the Lead for Healthcare Professional Marketing at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, dedicated to finding creative solutions to help make the lives of patients better. He joined TEDxDonMills because of how TEDx represents a unique platform to shape the future today.
Amyna Kanji
Director of Arts
A mental health professional by day, Amyna is passionate about creating environments for meaningful dialogue. As a dancer, she uses her art as a means of storytelling and values the connections fostered through artistic expression. Amyna spends her free time travelling and indulging in the arts and culture scenes of the destinations that she visits.
Shiraz Bhanji
Director of Partnerships
Shiraz is a subject matter expert in Public Health. Shiraz completed his Masters of Public Health with a dissertation in infection control practices. When he is not working or running around for his two children, he likes to play video games and watch sports. Upon retirement, Shiraz is planning to work with NGOs to build water treatment systems in the rural areas of Tanzania.
Amirali Vadsaria
Director of Partnerships
Amirali likes to network with new people and make friends. He works as Systems Analyst at Sick Kids Hospital, but in his spare time likes to DJ, and organize and plan events & shows that are related to music. He believes there is therapeutic power in music.