hosai Qasmi
M.A., Ph.D. Co-founder & Research Director
Hosai Qasmi has a Ph.D. in Feminist and Gender Studies and a Master of Arts degree in Communication from University of Ottawa.
Hosai’s research focuses on postcolonial feminism, media, gender and representations with a particular focus on gender and media in global south. Hosai has worked as researcher on developmental and academic projects in Canada and Afghanistan.
She has been actively engaged in areas of women’s empowerment, media, immigration, resettlement, and reintegration. Her areas of research expertise include Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA +), international development, curriculum and training development, and immigrant and refugee communities. She has over eight years of experience of designing and implementing developmental and research projects.
She has worked with well reputed organizations as a consultant and worked closely with leading immigrant-serving organizations including Muslim Family Services of Ottawa. She is fluent in English, Persian, Pashto, and Urdu.
Samoon Tasmim
Ph.D. (Cand.) M.A., R.P (Q)
Co-Founder & Psychotherapist
Samoon Tasmim is a Registered Psychotherapist.
As a mental health professional and researcher, Samoon focuses on the mental health of immigrants and newcomers to Canada.
Samoon has worked closely with leading immigrant-serving organizations including Muslim Family Services of Ottawa, Jewish Family Services of Ottawa, Ottawa Muslim Community Services and REPFO (Ottawa’s Black Francophone Serving Organization), Afghan Network for Social Services (Toronto based organization serving immigrants and newcomers from the South Asia region).
He has expertise in qualitative research design for social sciences and has led multiple qualitative research projects
Zuhra Aman
Researcher, Monitoring and Evaluation
Zuhra Aman is a monitoring and evaluation expert with a successful track record in humanitarian sectors. She has extensive international development experience in Canada and South Asian countries, including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and has worked towards women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming, child protection, poverty alleviation, and disaster risk reduction and management.
Zuhra has a Post-graduate diploma in Development Leadership specializing in facilitation and training for community development from Coady International Institute, Nova Scotia, Canada. She has over ten years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, program management, and results-based management (RBM) with various institutions including UNICEF, the World Bank, CIDA/GAC, CARE International, USAID, NRC, Agha Khan Foundation, and Christian Aid.
Zuhra has served as Co-chairperson for the South Asian Initiative to End Violence Against Children, a subgroup of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Onay Payaam
M.A.
Researcher, Economic Research and Quantitative Analysis
Onay is an economic research and quantitative analysis expert with over 10 years of progressive experience in development programs focusing on gender equality and inclusion. Onay has worked with USAID and DAI as Gender Equality and Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) expert leading and managing a project portfolio of 5 million US dollar aiming at straightening the position of woman led businesses and associations in the private sector.
As GRB advisor to the Ministry of Finance in Afghanistan, Onay initiated and led the process of integrating GRB guidelines in the budget formulation process of the Afghan government. She is also certified EVAL evaluator for GIZ central Asian projects.
Onay’s research focus is on understanding the gender wage gape described by tangible and intangibles factors across north America. Onay has a Master of Arts in Applied Economics from Georgetown University and Bachelor of Business Administration from American University of Afghanistan.
