Please join CJPME in welcoming eight new Board members to the organization. These brilliant individuals join our existing Board to begin a new era for the organization. Each of our board members, both current and new, brings expertise to strengthen and empower our organization. In the month ahead, the expanded Board will take on several important new initiatives related to the future of the organization, including the creation of a new strategic plan. Read the bios of our Board leaders below, and please join us in giving a hearty welcome to the newcomers and in thanking our long-serving veterans.
Building a solidarity organization for the future
The past 12 months have been intense ones for CJPME staff and the Board. We have responded to Israel's genocide in Gaza, its war on Lebanon, and its brutal crimes in the West Bank. If you support our critical work, please consider making a donation to CJPME. Monthly donations are especially helpful, as they sustain our ongoing work. If you don't like to give by credit card, you can give via email transfer, over the phone (438-380-5410), or by completing and mailing in this form. Thank you.
Get to know our new Board members
Khaled is currently Founder & CEO of Open Screenplay, as well as the CEO & Vice Chairman of UCI, TABO Palestine. Khaled is also the recipient of the University of Waterloo Young Alumni Achievement Medal. In addition to his entrepreneurial projects, Khaled is also a screenwriter and executive film producer. He co-wrote the short film EXCEPTION about Palestinian-American professor whose career is put in jeopardy after a leaked video surfaces of his political views. Khaled’s origins are from Gaza, and he worked and lived in Palestine from 2007 to 2014, and visits regularly. Khaled manages various businesses (real estate, tech; etc.) in both Canada and Palestine (including 30 employees in Gaza) and has a strong network in Palestine. Khaled is a long-time friend and supporter of CJPME and has worked collaboratively with CJPME on several different independent advocacy projects over the past few years. In terms of what he can bring to the Board, Khaled believes he can help with fundraising, strategy, and leverage his strong network in both Canada and Palestine. Khaled also has lots of experience working collaboratively with large teams.
Saba is currently a supervisor with the Government of Alberta, a position she has held for the past 12 years. She has a background and graduate degree in social work. Born in the UAE to Palestinian refugee parents, Saba immigrated to Canada in 1995 and has lived in Calgary ever since, while maintaining strong ties to Palestine. She has been involved with the “Justice for Palestinians” (JFP) Palestine Solidarity group in Calgary since her university days. In her role with JFP, she has worked with CJPME in joint national-Calgary advocacy projects. In terms of assets, she believes she’ll bring to the Board: she believes can bring a strong connection to the Palestinian cause and lived experience. She also believes that her background in community and social work can be useful, not to mention her professional focus on inclusivity and diversity.
Omar has worked as a bargaining and policy researcher in Canada’s labour movement for the last 8 years. Prior to his career in Labour, Omar has worked in public health as well as on Parliament Hill as an MP’s assistant. His late grandmother was a Nakba survivor from Haifa, and he has been involved in Palestine Solidarity organizing and activism in Canada for almost 20 years. In 2012, he volunteered with a Canadian charity teaching English and French to children and adults in and around Nablus in the West Bank. He was profoundly impacted after witnessing the injustices of the apartheid system and realizing how the Canadian government has enabled the oppression of Palestinians, often in ways that remain unknown to most citizens of Canada. Omar has helped organize an academic symposium on Palestine at the University of Ottawa in 2019 and has been a supporter of CJPME for many years, including as an informal advisor. He is a firm believer in grassroots organizing and the pivotal role of organized labour in the advancement of democracy and social justice locally and globally. He is committed to identifying ways to amplify the voices of Palestinians and local community groups, working together to dismantle systems of oppression and advocate for the liberation of all people.
Dalia is currently Senior Advisor, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Centre for Human Rights, York University, completing a master’s in social justice. Dalia is a Palestinian with origins in Gaza. She is currently active doing anti-Palestinian racism workshops; actively engaging on social media; and doing a lot of behind-the-scenes networking/connecting to mobilize among allies to influence school boards and riding associations. In terms of the assets she brings to the Board, she believes in a consensus model; believes in broad skill set and diversity on the Board; is very anti-ego; brings a strong and practical EDI lens; and is well-connected in GTA.
Mohammed is currently the chair of Maple Leaf Angels, a Canadian investor group that supports promising early-stage tech startups. His main vocation is as a corporate innovation advisor, and he has previously worked in renewable energy and management consulting. Mohammed is Palestinian with roots in Ramla and Gaza. He has been actively engaged in advocacy for Palestine through his participation in riding group associations that mobilize constituents to contact and pressure MPs, draft and promote petitions, run email and social media campaigns, canvass, and organize vigils and community forums.
Nora is currently a director at a post-secondary institution in the Greater Toronto Area. Prior to that, she worked at the Peel District School Board for 15 years, eventually becoming a principal in the school system. Nora has a master’s degree in public policy, Administration and Law, where her focus was on Islamophobia in public schools. She also recently started her PhD in Educational Leadership at UofT’s OISE. Nora has family origins in Egypt and has been involved in activism for a long time, starting years ago with the Muslim Youth Fellowship (now called the “Diversity Youth Fellowship”) and having served on the board of Urban Alliance for 8 years. More recently, Nora started a coalition to advocate with the Peel School District Board (the Coalition for Muslim and Palestinian Students and Families) to advocate for student rights. In the past, she has collaborated with CJPME on various campaigns. In terms of assets, she believes she’ll bring to the Board: she is well-connected in the education sector in Ontario, and the Muslim sector in the GTA. She is also very collaborative, having previously been involved in strategic planning with public sector and non-profit organizations.
Shauna is currently an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories (where there are no political parties; it is a consensus government system). She previously served on Yellowknife City Council for two terms, including a period as Deputy Mayor. Shauna’s background is in community development, Indigenous rights and sustainable energy solutions. She got involved in Palestinian advocacy in university while living in Toronto. She holds a master’s degree in international Affairs specializing in conflict analysis. From 2002-03, Shauna worked as an intern with grassroots cross-cultural peacebuilding movement in the Philippines, amidst a longstanding civil war. She is a longtime supporter of CJPME, having been involved since the 2000s. Since moving to Yellowknife in 2008, Shauna has been involved in local Palestine Solidarity work. She has worked as a resource person to Indigenous governments and communities across the NWT on projects ranging from renewable energy, housing, cross-cultural environmental research and monitoring, to navigating major resource extraction projects.
Michaël is currently Assistant Professor and Director of the School of Leadership, Ecology and Equity at Saint Paul University in Ottawa. Michaël became interested in Palestine following two interfaith visits to Palestine in the 2000s, one of which involved accompanying Palestinians at checkpoints in East Jerusalem. These experiences led him to examine Israeli colonialism and its ideological underpinnings during his doctorate in sociology and encouraged him to become involved in solidarity with Palestine, particularly within Christian circles. Michaël completed two advanced internships with CJPME in early 2010 and a few visits to Parliament Hill. His current research focuses on equity and inclusion in Canadian settlement agencies. In terms of the assets he brings to the Board, he has a solid background in EDI, and his experience in higher education positions him well to reach out to the next generation.
Please thank our long-standing Board veterans
The above "new" CJPME Board members join several veteran Board members who have served CJPME faithfully over several years. We are deeply thankful for their time, wisdom and perspective as the organization has navigated through different challenges.
Dr. Abu-Zahra speaks five languages and has worked in multiple spaces of colonial and neocolonial conflict. She has collaborated on two books and over 30 other publications on freedom of movement, community mobilization, systematic oppression, and resistance. She is Professor of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa and the former Joint Chair in Women’s Studies at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. She is co-facilitator of the Community Mobilization in Crisis project and Voices: Activists in Exile, a contributor to the work of the Feminist Foreign Policy Working Group, and a recipient of a uOttawa Award for Activities in the Media and the Community. Dr. Abu-Zahra earned her doctorate from the University of Oxford and was previously a SSHRC Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellow, and a Research Fellow at the Oxford Refugee Studies Centre.
Nasser is an academic, chemical engineering, and long-time CJPME supporter. He has over a decade of experience in student organizations focused on human rights and social justice during his undergraduate and graduate studies. He is currently involved in supporting scientific research and teaching in Palestine, along with supporting academic freedom at Canadian universities. He also serves on the University of Waterloo’s Board of Governors.
Nada has a Computers B.Eng from McGill University. She is a Director of Engineering at a tech company. Prior to that, she was a startup entrepreneur. Nada is a Palestinian Canadian. Her family comes from Yafa and Akka. Her ancestors fled their homes during the Nakba in 1948, found refuge in Tulkarem, and then were forced to flee again in 1967. Like all Palestinian refugees they do not have the right of return. Nada feels strongly about advocating for Palestinian human rights, and that Canada can do a lot more to contribute to the achievement of justice in Palestine and ending the Apartheid, as well as to counter Anti-Palestinian Racism within Canada.
Amal has a B.A. Honours in Criminology and Political Science and a Juris Doctorate. She has worked as a lawyer in the public sector for over a decade. In addition, she has experience on various non-profit boards that focus on advocacy work.
Libby served as Member of Parliament for Vancouver East from 1997 to 2015, and as the Deputy Leader of the Federal NDP from 2007 to 2015. Before her time in federal politics, Libby was a community organizer in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and elected to Vancouver City Council for 5 consecutive terms. She has written a political memoir called “Outside In” about her political experiences. She was awarded the Order of Canada in 2016. Libby has always been an outspoken advocate for Palestinian human rights, and she brought a principled and courageous perspective to the issue while on Parliament Hill. She was a member of the Canada Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Association, and helped plan events on the Hill to foster awareness of Palestine. After Israel’s war on Gaza in 2009 resulted in the deaths of 1400 Palestinians, she was part of a small group of two Canadian MPs who visited the territory. Following her visit, she introduced a statement and report to Parliament calling on Canada to support the Goldstone Report and its conclusions, which found evidence of Israeli war crimes.
Chris has a rich mix of talents and skills, and has worked professionally as a consultant, coach, facilitator, and engineer. He often works with leaders to help them engage effectively with different types of audiences. Chris also trains individuals and organization on how to create workplaces that enable equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. He has also been actively involved in the Green Party of Canada for many years. Chris is pursuing a Masters of Science in Communication, Behaviour, and Credibility Analysis with a focus on deception detection and leadership. In his spare time, Chris enjoys photography, studying performance psychology and linguistics, and trying new traditional and modern Palestinian recipes.