Board Members
Board of Trustees
Anil Wasif is Co-Founder, Trustee and Director of Management at BacharLorai Global (BL). Doubling as a senior state policymaker, he currently manages a research team for PPP infrastructure in Ontario, Canada. Anil has held successive senior roles over the past ten years at the Ontario Government, including as a senior economist for the treasury and senior policy advisor to Deputy Ministers and executives.
Anil sits on the Max Bell School Advisory Board at McGill University, the Governing Council at the University of Toronto, the OECD Network of Infrastructure Delivery Professionals and the World Bank Economic Development Community of Practice. He is on the Masthead at Policy Magazine, a 2025 World Bank Government Analytics Fellow and has contributed to three university-level economics textbooks.
Anil is a public speaker, with keynotes at the United Nations, UofT, and McGill University. He also runs an independent consultancy, advising Ministers and executives on socioeconomic policy. Anil holds a Bachelors with Honours in Economics from the University of Toronto, and a Masters in Public Policy, Summa Cum Laude, from McGill University. Throughout his career, Anil has held multiple fellowships and honours, including most recently being named as the 2025 Desmond Parker Outstanding Alumni (Under-40) by UofT.
Co-Founder, BacharLorai Global (BL)
Anil Wasif
Farhim Zaman
Co-Founder, BacharLorai Global (BL)
Farhim Zaman is the Co-Founder, Trustee, and Director of Operations at BacharLorai (BL) Global, where he drives initiatives that empower communities through processes, technology and innovation. He also serves as the Manager of Cyber Services at KPMG US, bringing over a decade of experience in the technology and cybersecurity industry.
Farhim holds a Master’s degree in Enterprise Risk Management from Columbia University, where he deepened his expertise in technology, risk, and cybersecurity. He is passionate about applying these principles to create meaningful, real-world impact.
In addition to his corporate and community leadership roles, Farhim also sits on the Global Board of Alternative Paths Training School (APTS), where he provides strategic guidance for their expansion across Bangladesh, Ukraine, Syria, Egypt, and the United States.
Farhim is the Co-founder of EduTechs, an edtech startup transforming the learning experience through digital innovation, and ZenythLabs, a technology company dedicated to turning visionary ideas into reality. An entrepreneur at heart, he is committed to developing accessible, impactful solutions that serve diverse global communities.
Tahmid Khan
Co-Founder, BacharLorai Global (BL)
Tahmid Khan is Trustee, Co-Founder, and Director of Communications at BacharLorai Global (BL), where he leads global campaigns on community clinics, climate-health resilience, and immigration literacy. He also contributes to healthcare delivery in last-mile communities with Footsteps Bangladesh, supports overdose prevention research with DopaGE in the US, and builds cross-border healthcare and education pathways as Co-Founder & Managing Director of AURAS Global. With an MPH from Columbia University and a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto, his background spans pharmaceutical and healthtech consulting across opioid use disorder, oncology, immunology, and digital therapeutics. A TEDx Speaker, he uses storytelling to advance equity, dignity, and inclusive global health.
Talha Rahim Khan
Co-Founder, BacharLorai Global (BL)
Talha Rahim Khan is a Co-Founder, Trustee, and the Director of Social Welfare at BacharLorai Global (BL). He provides board leadership to govern the organization, while simultaneously leading the Social Welfare department. Talha's non-profit work is informed by a unique career path that bridges the financial services and non-profit sectors. He began his career in retail banking, serving as a Financial Advisor at Scotiabank, before transitioning his skills to support charitable causes. He has since built deep expertise in resource mobilization and stakeholder engagement through progressively senior roles at It’s Humanity Foundation, Fundraising Direct, the University of Toronto, and St. Michael's Foundation, where he specialized in gi and estate planning. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Certicate in Big Data Analytics from York University
Community Alliance Board
Cemre Ulker
UN Representative, Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF)
As the UN Representative for the Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF), Cemre Ulker leads global initiatives promoting peace, human rights, and sustainable development, with expert focus on gender equality, democratic governance, and global partnerships; she conducts workshops on press freedom and the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda, is a former UNITAR faculty member and current World Liberty Congress council member, and holds a Master's in Human Rights from John Jay College, having received the NYC Bar Association's 2024 Her Hero Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dr. Joann Halpern
Director & Chief Innovation Officer, ZAMWIL
Dr. Joann Halpern, the Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Global Partnerships at ZAMWILL, is also an author, adjunct professor of International Education at NYU, and a Design Thinking coach. She directed the Hasso Plattner Institute, New York (2018-2025) and previously was the founding director of the German Center for Research and Innovation, New York. In addition to teaching and administrative assignments at universities in the United States and Germany, Dr. Halpern co-founded Knowledge Transfer Beyond Boundaries, an NGO with projects in Cameroon, Nigeria, Yemen, and Antigua. She received her B.A. from Dartmouth College, her M.A. from Harvard University, and her Ph.D. from New York University. She is a recipient of the Harvard University Award for Distinction in Teaching as well as scholarships from the Fulbright Association, German Academic Exchange Service, Robert Bosch Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. Halpern serves on the advisory boards of the Ankh Impact Ventures, BRYCK Startup Alliance, Technical University of Dortmund, University Alliance Ruhr, and the External Advisory Board of the Tandon Institute for Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.
Sanjoy Deb
Artist & Music Producer
Sanjoy Deb is an acclaimed Los Angeles-based DJ and producer who is redefining the boundaries of cross-cultural pop music. Born in Dhaka and raised in the Bay Area, Sanjoy is on a dedicated mission to showcase Bangladeshi music and heritage on the world stage. By seamlessly blending the vibrant rhythms of Bollywood and Bengali folk with the polished energy of Western Electronic Dance Music (EDM), he has created a genre-bending sound that resonates with global audiences.
Beyond the charts, Sanjoy acts as a cultural ambassador for Desi sounds. He utilizes his platform to challenge stereotypes in the mainstream music industry, ensuring that South Asian identity is represented authentically in modern pop culture. Through his dynamic productions and live performances, Sanjoy continues to pave the way for a new generation of artists, proving that music transcends borders.
Taylor Hirschberg
CEO, Metli
Taylor Hirschberg is a global health strategist and researcher dedicated to improving health outcomes and equity in diverse communities worldwide. With a career spanning academia and international organizations, he brings extensive experience in evidence-based policy, mixed-methods research, and strategic planning. Taylor has led cross-functional teams to design complex interventions in resource-limited and fragile environments, translating data into actionable solutions for large populations.
Deeply invested in education, Taylor is a committed educator and mentor who brings real-world challenges and ethical considerations into the classroom to equip the next generation of leaders. He draws on a multidisciplinary background in nursing, project management, and journalism to guide organizations through periods of growth and change. His contributions to public health have been recognized with multiple awards, reflecting his commitment to designing scalable solutions that strengthen systems and improve well-being globally.
Zarin Rashid
Director, TRZ
Zarin Rashid is a fashion designer, health coach, and entrepreneur passionate about creating impact through innovation. A graduate of Toronto Film School in Fashion Design, she began her career interning with renowned Canadian designer Christopher Paunil before returning to Dhaka to lead R&D at her family’s pioneering outerwear manufacturing company, TRZ Garments Industry Ltd. Since then, Zarin has founded two ventures: Feed Me, a nutrition-focused meal prep company that won Nutristar Bangladesh 2020 and represented the country internationally, and Kino, a sustainable fashion label committed to ethical production and local sourcing. She is a certified health coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), and her lifelong passion for fitness includes representing Bangladesh in the South Asian Golf Cup and winning 18 championship trophies by age 18. Driven by a deep commitment to social impact, Zarin also serves as an advisor on the board of Footsteps, an NGO that has empowered over 700,000 people in Bangladesh through clean water access and community development initiatives.
Global Research Council
Aditi Zahir
BacharLorai Global
Aditi Zahir builds policy for social change, operating with a unique dual expertise from inside government and at the grassroots level. She serves as Board Director, overseeing Research at BacharLorai Global (BL), an award-winning social impact agency bridging western knowledge with eastern application. As a strategic leader, Aditi shapes the organization's policy agenda and directs its full research portfolio—from the Young Voices high school competition to the graduate-level Policy Residency and the ImpactInk policy op-ed publication.
Serving as an Official Civil Society Representative at the United Nations and the World Bank Group, Aditi translates global priorities into cross-disciplinary research that drives local action. She recently supervised and co-authored the policy brief, "Jobs for the Future - Bridging Urban-Rural Unemployment Inequities of Bangladeshi Youth", driven by priorities set by UNGA79 and the World Bank Annual Meetings in 2024.
This community leadership is built on a formidable public service career at the state-level. Her expertise in oversight and analytics was forged at the Treasury Board Secretariat—the Ontario government's central policy and fiscal agency—and she currently serves as a Senior Advisor of Research and Market Insights at the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
Aditi’s analytical approach is rooted in her deliberate pivot from hard science. She holds a B.Sc. in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto and a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Administration from Toronto Metropolitan University. From a young age, Aditi has been passionate about grassroots social change, and leveraging education as a power to unlock it.
Ananya Chhaochharia
The Asia Group
Ananya Chhaochharia is a Senior Associate at The Asia Group, where she works with the firm’s South Asia Team and also assists clients with interests in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Ananya’s expertise lies in unpacking complex issues in the tech and energy sector. She is also the founder of a non-profit organization, ‘Paint it Red’, in India which focuses on menstrual equity by providing comprehensive body literacy to underserved communities. Her organization has impacted 30,000 menstruators in India. Ananya’s social impact efforts have received several accolades including grant awards from Harvard. She also serves as the co-founder of a youth movement in India which aims to build leadership and policy expertise of young professionals. She also writes extensively on gender equity and politics, with many published works under her name. Ananya holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University. She was awarded the prestigious Gleitsman Fellowship at the Center for Public Leadership to pursue her studies, and the Adrian Cheng Fellowship at the Social Innovation and Change Initiative. She also holds two post-graduate degrees in international relations, and human rights law. A dog mom, Ananya is a horseback rider and an avid reader.
Neil Bouwer
Max Bell School of Public Policy
Neil Bouwer is a Professor of Practice at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and the former Vice-President of the Innovation and Skills Development Branch at the Canada School of Public Service. He has also served as an Assistant Deputy Minister at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Natural Resources Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the Privy Council Office of Canada; and in executive positions at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, Human Resources and Social Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada. He has also worked at the Department of Finance and Western Economic Diversification Canada, and has Economics degrees from McGill University and St. Thomas University. For many years Neil actively supported the Government of Canada policy and data communities, the Advanced Policy Analyst Program and the Free Agent HR Program. Neil is excited to bring his many years of Public Service experience to his work with the Institute on Governance.
Ricardo Chefjec
Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP)
Ricardo Chejfec is a research director at the IRPP, leading the Empowering Canada’s Workforce program. He also helps lead the Community Transformations Project, aimed at supporting workers and communities through the low-carbon workforce transformation, is involved in research examining the role of industrial policy in Canada’s next economic transformation, and is part of the secretariat of the Affordability Action Council.
As the former Lead Data Analyst, Ricardo spearheaded research and analysis for IRPP-authored publications, including Building a Package of Compromise Solutions for EI Reform and others in a series on Employment Insurance, as well as several policy briefs related to housing, transportation and food as part of the work of the Affordability Action Council. He also advises the research team on artificial intelligence, technology adoption, data analysis and visualization. He previously worked as a research associate and business analyst and holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science in cognitive science and a Master of Public Policy from McGill University.
Regional Welfare Board
Ruby Guilen
American Public Health Association
Ruby Guillen, MSW, CIS, is an internationally recognized child safety advocate and a pioneer in integrating technology with social work. Having been honored with the President's Lifetime Achievement Award, her contributions in the realm of fatal child abuse prevention and family violence intervention are unparalleled. With a track record spanning 7000+ cases, she effectively coordinates with emergency response units on a global scale. Guillen also serves as an Advisory Board Member for the International Youth Conference under the United Nations. With a foundation in Computer Information Systems, focusing on User Experience/User Interface, she continuously innovates in child welfare strategies, maintaining alignment with international regulations and policies. Her firsthand experience in the foster care system further enriches her approach, offering a comprehensive understanding of both systemic and individual challenges in child welfare.