Mina Mawani: Transformative leader – Winner 2016 Canadian Immigrant Award

City: Toronto, Ontario

When an organization is going through a transformation and needs to manage change, Mina Mawani is the type of leader you want in charge.

“A consistent theme throughout my career has been my relentless focus on helping organizations in transition,” says Mawani, currently the president and CEO of Crohn’s and Colitis Canada in Toronto.“Through a number of leadership roles, I have helped non-profits, hospitals and government navigate massive change, improve their capacity, secure sustainable funding, and develop strong visions and strategies.”

Her resumé reads like a Who’s Who of leadership: she was president and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation, chief development officer and executive committee member at Civic Action, and CEO of the Aga Khan Council for Canada.

When leading the Canadian Women’s Foundation, Mawani championed efforts to help Canada eradicate the sex trafficking of women and girls. At the Aga Khan Council, she contributed to the successful planning of a new Ismaili Centre and Museum in Toronto. Now, leading Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, Mawani is deeply engaged in finding cures and improving the lives for the nearly 250,000 Canadians affected by these chronic diseases.

“Living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis can significantly impact one’s quality of life, and I have personally witnessed this in people who are very dear to me. I am honoured to lead this organization,” she says.

Mawani says her empathetic and transformative leadership style stems from her own immigration history; she and her family were among the thousands of South Asians expelled from Uganda by the country’s then president, Idi Amin, in the 1970s.

“My early years as a refugee shaped my determination to become an empathetic and inspiring leader that is deeply committed to helping others,” she says. “My family was sent to a refugee camp in Vienna, Austria, and spent one year there before being granted residency in Canada. These early struggles ignited a passion to give back to others.”

To this end, the mom of two also devotes her expertise to several non-profit boards, including those of Women’s College Hospital, Seneca College, Pine River Institute, Research Canada and International Women’s Forum Canada.

It should come as no surprise then that Mawani was recognized by Bold Vision as one of the most influential women leaders and visionaries in Canada.

Source: Mina Mawani | Canadian Immigrant