Ambitious. Innovative. Creative. These are just some of the traits that define York's Top 30 Alumni Under 30 for 2023. This inspiring group of leaders are creating positive change and working to right the future in varied and significant ways.
Bianca Bondi
Clinical researcher and child development advocate
MA ’19, Faculty of Health
Bianca is a doctoral candidate and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) trainee at York University, specializing in Clinical-Developmental Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology. She is committed to advancing the understanding of neurodevelopmental profiles in vulnerable children. Bianca believes in building collaborative partnerships, having been embedded at the Hospital for Sick Children for eight years and Breaking the Cycle for five years in numerous research, leadership, and clinical roles. At York University, Bianca was a research scholar and leader within the Lillian Meighen Wright Maternal-Child Health Foundation and the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Development. Clinically, Bianca has done extensive psychological assessment and intervention work with vulnerable pediatric populations across community mental health, early intervention, and pediatric hospital settings. She is pursuing a career in Pediatric Neuropsychology and hopes to work within the public sector to amplify social justice and contribute towards equitable and inclusive access to care. Through the intersection of her research, leadership and clinical advancements, Bianca hopes to make system-level change by informing policies around screening, prevention and early intervention to yield optimal neurodevelopment. Bianca believes that it is our responsibility to create a world in which children can reach their potential and thrive.
Lucas DeLuca
Accessibility strategist and advocate
MA ’19, Faculty of Health
Lucas is the director of community engagement with the Amputee Coalition in the United States. Since completing his graduate degree in Critical Disability Studies in 2019, Lucas has gone on to work in healthcare, higher education and non-profits to improve disability inclusion and accessibility outcomes. From 2020-2022 Lucas served as the director of disability Support Services at Columbia Basin College. In this position, Lucas developed new ways to reduce barriers to access in higher education by utilizing universal design practices in the provision of assistive technology. In 2022, Lucas was welcomed as one of two fellows with the National Association for the Advancement of Orthotic and Prosthetics (NAAOP). As a fellow, he created Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) goals, helped organize a virtual fly-in with congressional and senate staff and helped draft model legislation aimed at improving insurance parity for children seeking prosthetic limbs. Currently, Lucas manages a national network of amputee support group leaders, peer mentors and hospital partners who are focused on aiding amputees navigating limb loss and limb difference journey nationwide.
Maseh Hadaf
Entrepreneur
BSc ’18, Faculty of Health
Maseh co-founded Sinbad, a stablecoin payments app aimed at promoting financial stability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Maseh's experience in international development and his participation in the Creative Destruction Labs Blockchain Programme equipped him with the skills and knowledge necessary to bring his vision to life. Maseh supports international assistance at Global Affairs Canada, working with an organization serving refugees in Jordan and contributing to health governance policy with the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine. While pursuing an MA in International Affairs, Maseh received the national CGS-M scholarship to study the relationship between gender and mobile internet use in Afghanistan. He also co-authored a section of a peer-reviewed paper published in The Lancet and created a guide for innovative policy-writing for Integrity Watch Afghanistan. At York University, Maseh was a resident advisor, founded the Ascend leadership retreat for students, and delivered a keynote workshop at York’s 2020 Student Papers & Academic Research Kit (SPARK) Leadership Conference. Maseh is dedicated to making a meaningful impact in the world and strives to leave a positive legacy.
Sheereen Harris
EDI advocate
BSc ’16, Faculty of Health
Sheereen is a postdoctoral fellow in the Infant, Child, and youth Health (INCH) Lab at Brock University. While on the York Track and Field team, she earned seven Ontario University Athletics (OUA) medals, six Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) medals and the OUA and CIS female community-service awards in 2016. During her PhD at McMaster University, Sheereen was an equity, inclusion, and anti-racism lead in the Department of Athletics and Recreation and coordinator and mentor for the Black Student Mentorship Program. She initiated and led a community outreach initiative providing grade six to eight students from low-income neighbourhoods in Hamilton with free Kinesiology workshops, with the goal of making science more accessible. Sheereen is currently co-chair for the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Task Force for the North America Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) tasked with developing an action plan to increase EDI in research and practice. In 2022, she was awarded the North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) President’s Award for this work. Sheereen is an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo in September 2023.
Shalini Iyer
Scientist, STEM educator and EDI advocate
BSc ’20, Faculty of Science
MSc ’22, Faculty of Health
Shalini is a scientist, leader and equity diversity and inclusion (EDI) advocate. One of Shalini's goals is to help break down systemic biases and barriers in the scientific community and to provide equitable opportunities for marginalized communities in Canada. At York University, Shalini was dedicated to increasing accessibility to STEM education for youth across Canada through her work with Let's Talk Science. As the former site coordinator for York, Shalini increased the site's outreach to marginalized communities by organizing hands-on STEM workshops catered towards different learning styles. She helped establish several large STEM events and obtained several sponsorships to help break down socioeconomic barriers for less affluent communities. As the program assistant for Let's Talk Science, she developed online STEM workshops to increase accessibility in the pandemic. She also helped design STEM activity kits which were delivered to the homes of youth from communities where online content was not accessible, such as low-income, Indigenous and rural communities. Shalini had also been actively involved in increasing science accessibility for Black youth in the Jane and Finch community, where she conducts weekly STEM workshops and organized career workshops highlighting people of colour. Following her MSc in Neuroscience at York, she began her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia and looks forward to continuing her advocacy work.
Sahar Jafrani
Social entrepreneur
BA ’17, Faculty of Health
Sahar Jafrani is a data-driven social entrepreneur and multidisciplinary storyteller committed to creating healthier and more equitable communities. While at York University, she interned in South America and developed a deep interest in global affairs and social innovation. In 2017, Sahar founded the Institute for Youth Health and Development (IYHD), a first-of-its-kind young professional-led non-profit dedicated to improving the health and well-being of racialized, immigrant, newcomer and refugee youth. Through centering participatory research, policy engagement and mentorship, IYHD has impacted youth across Canada and received local and international recognition. Sahar has spent significant time developing both organizations and young entrepreneurs in Canada and abroad. She is a frequent speaker on health equity, civic engagement, and entrepreneurship, delivering addresses at international events including the 59th session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development, where she spoke in depth about digital health equity and a socially just response to COVID-19. Sahar channels her talents towards advancing human rights by collaborating with various organizations including Amnesty International and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Sahar’s focus remains on advancing sociopolitical change through community, storytelling and technology.
Tobi Owotomo
Athletic trainer and athlete
BA ’19, Faculty of Health
Tobi is the doctor of physical therapy and athletic trainer for the Oklahoma City Thunder, of the NBA and serves as the head athletic trainer for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G-league. She is a former York University graduate of the Athletic Therapy Program as well as the Kinesiology and Health Sciences Program. Tobi was a varsity rugby player for York University, an athlete on the Canadian under 20 Women’s Rugby team, an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Rookie of the Year and a U-Sports 2nd Team All-Canadian. Tobi has used her passion, personal experience and understanding of athletic injuries to fuel her ability to rehabilitate athletes after injury, enabling them to play again at the highest level of professional sports. Tobi has climbed the ranks in the world of athletic rehabilitation and performance, and she is inspiring and coaching a generation of young aspiring women and women of colour who hope to do the same.
Amirarsalan Rahimian
Mentor, volunteer and youth advocate
BSc ’21, Faculty of Health
Amirarsalan (Arsi) works as a Tutoring Program Assistant at Youth Assisting Youth, a non-profit organization, where he has initiated and led numerous free tutoring and group programs for over 800 underprivileged and underrepresented youth. He has collaborated with various libraries and community centres across the Greater Toronto Area to create English as a Second Language (ESL) and homework-help programs for refugee and newcomer youth. Arsi is also a mentor at Youth Assisting Youth, serving as a positive role model to youth who may face behavioural, social, emotional, and cultural challenges. His background in Kinesiology has led him to serve as a volunteer research exercise therapist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, where he collaborates with the healthcare and research teams to lead exercise sessions for young cancer survivors and to collect data for a study to enhance the standard of care for young cancer survivors in Canada. In his free time, Arsi mentors and shares his experience with current undergraduate students to enhance their success and transition. Arsi’s goal is to pursue a career in medicine so he can continue to positively impact society and promote health and wellness.
Iris Yusupov
Clinical researcher and mental health advocate
BA ’16, Glendon,
MA ’18, Faculty of Health,
MBA ’22, Schulich School of Business
La version française suit la version anglaise.
Iris is completing her residency at the final stage of her PhD in Clinical Neuropsychology. As a first-generation immigrant and woman who became a mother during graduate training, Iris understands the obstacles faced by diverse students pursuing higher education. She has dedicated her graduate career to mentorship and mental health advocacy, with an emphasis on social outreach for students on the autism spectrum. She works as a psychotherapist specializing in the mental health of autistic adults while planning to open her own practice dedicated to this underserved population. Iris established a national mentorship initiative to support graduate students transitioning to parenthood and to dispel mental health stigma amongst healthcare trainees. Her research and clinical training have centered on neurological conditions, cognitive rehabilitation and the quality of life of older adults. She has been appointed as one of the youngest directors on the Board of Directors for the Tony Stacey Centre for Veteran’s Care, joining the team leading a $50M redevelopment of the long-term care facility. It is her goal to continue to propel change in the long-term care industry and to lead a sociopolitical shift regarding perceptions of aging in Western society.
Iris atteint le stade final de sa résidence au doctorat en neuropsychologie clinique. En tant qu’immigrante de première génération et femme devenue mère au cours de ses études supérieures, Iris comprend les obstacles auxquels sont confrontés les étudiantes et étudiants issus de la diversité qui poursuivent des études supérieures. Elle a consacré sa carrière de diplômée au mentorat et à la défense de la santé mentale, en mettant l’accent sur la sensibilisation sociale des étudiantes et étudiants atteints de trouble du spectre autistique. Elle travaille comme psychothérapeute spécialisée dans la santé mentale des adultes autistes et envisage d’ouvrir son propre cabinet consacré à cette population défavorisée. Iris a mis en place une initiative nationale de mentorat pour soutenir les étudiantes et étudiants diplômés en transition vers la parentalité et pour dissiper la stigmatisation liée à la santé mentale parmi les stagiaires en soins de santé. Ses recherches et sa formation clinique ont porté sur les troubles neurologiques, la réadaptation cognitive et la qualité de vie des personnes âgées. Elle a été nommée l’une des plus jeunes administratrices du conseil d’administration du Tony Stacey Centre for Veteran’s Care, rejoignant ainsi l’équipe chargée du réaménagement de 50 millions $ de l’établissement de soins de longue durée. Son objectif est de continuer à faire évoluer le secteur des soins de longue durée et de susciter des changements sociopolitiques concernant la perception du vieillissement dans la société occidentale.