MANAGEMENT

Board of Directors

2023-2025

• 01. President: Mohammad H. Abedin Khan, PhD

  
  
  Dr. Mohammad H.A. Khan is a Professor and Coordinator at the School of Accounting and Finance in George Brown College in Toronto. He possesses over 25 years of experience in national and international civil services including serving with the United Nations, and teaching & consulting. As a civil servant Dr. Khan served various Government Ministries and Departments in Bangladesh. As a National Consultant he worked for the Financial Management Reform Program in the Government of Bangladesh, the Program was funded by the UK's Department for International Development and the Canadian International Development Agency. He has a passion for teaching and has over ten years of teaching experience, both in Canada and abroad. Prior to joining his current position as a Professor in George Brown College, Dr. Khan served as the CFO/Officer-In- Charge of the Finance Section with the United Nations Mission in Haiti based in Haiti and Dominican Republic.

• 02. Vice-President/ Director, Finance: Arif Abbas Sohel

  
  
  

  An astute Professional Arif Sohel has been a PACE director for about a year.

  He brings with him over 25 years of expertise in business development, particularly in the field of financial management systems, implementation and development.

  Currently Arif Sohel is the chief financial officer for Rapid Kate Group, a large freight forwarding and information technology company.

  On the personal front, Arif Sohel is known for always lending a helping hand to those in need. He has helped in organizing frequent medical camps providing free health checkups and blood donations to those communities in Africa desperately in need of it.

• 03. Director, Fundraising and Partnership: Lalita Wohab

  
  
  Lalita was born in Bangladesh and hails from a respectable Muslim family. Lalita finished her College from B.AF. Shaheen School Dhaka Bangladesh in 1989 and later finished her Bachelors of Commerce in 1993. Lalita became the Chairman of Dolphin Computers Ltd Bangladesh (Dolphin was one of the pioneers IT company in Bangladesh in early 2000 era till it's ownership change in the year 2003).

  She immigrated to Canada with her family and concentrated mainly on community works and social development services and later on charitable works quite heavily. Lalita was quite instrumental raising funds for underprivileged children in Bangladesh on many occasions and most notably her active involvement in "Rana Plaza" disaster in Bangladesh for the poor garment labourers to help the poor victim's rehabilitation on an ongoing project in Bangladesh. She was also involved in a non-profit organization in Canada namely VAB Canada (Volunteer Association of Bangladesh, Canada) for a while as a Director.

  Other organizations Lalita supports as a member or active volunteer: Autism Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Kerrys Place, and Community Living Ontario

  Specialities: Strategic, excellent organizational and communication skills, General Management, Organizational Competency Development, Change & Process Management, HR Management, Accounting and Applied Behavioral Management (ABA)

  Topics and Causes that matter most to Lalita: Children, Economic Empowerment and Education, Community works, Disaster and Humanitarian Relief, Social Services, Self-development and leadership skill

  Lalita is very caring and passionate about helping others

• 04. Director, Community Empowerment: Nusrat Jahan , Barrister, Solicitor & Notary Public, Ontario

  
  
  Nusrat Jahan is a practicing lawyer of both Bangladesh and Ontario. She started her profession as a lawyer in 1995 soon after graduating from Dept. of Law, Dhaka University, Bangladesh. Nusrat gained vast experience in Constitutional, Administrative and Judicial Review Petitions, Quasi Criminal Trials and Applications, Civil Revisions, Appeals and different types of Motions through her legal practice at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. She worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the Govt. of Bangladesh.

  She obtained her first LL.M. in Human Rights and Humanitarian Laws from the Dhaka University. Nusrat, a Commonwealth Chevening Scholar holds an LL.M. in Public International Laws from the University College London (UCL), University of London, UK. She is also a Barrister-at-Law of the Lincoln's Inn, Bar of England and Wales

  Nusrat, a former UN staff member (UNDP and WHO), managed the 'Access to Justice and Promoting Human Rights' program in UNDP Bangladesh. She played an important role in establishing a Legal Aid Network and the first Human Rights Commission in Bangladesh. She was a key player in implementing the core principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (UNFCTC) within the Bangladesh National Tobacco Control Laws and regulations. She also served Ain-O-Salish Kendro, one of the largest human rights NGOs in Bangladesh in their project Gendered Violence. In Bangladesh, Nusrat was in the Board of a Real Estate and Construction Company for several years.

  After moving to Canada, Nusrat became a founder member of Progressive Action For Community Empowerment (PACE) in 2014 and volunteered as the Programme Coordinator for 'Connect' and 'Act', two core programmes of PACE. She has facilitated numerous socio legal workshops with community partners, York university law clinic, volunteers and legal aid clinics since 2014.

  A very active social worker, fundraiser Nusrat is also a regular donor for the Canadian Foot and Mouth Painter's Association since 2016. At PACE, Nusrat intends to work in the areas of violence against women and civic rights awareness for the community people.

• 05. Director, Cultural Engagement: Sayeeda Rahman

  
  
  Sayeeda Rahman (Sumi) graduated from the University of Dhaka in Economics. She studied in Accounting from Centennial college, and currently employed as an accountant.A former presenter in Bangladesh National Television (BTV) and a newscaster on the Bengali community TV channel in New York, Sumi is actively engaged in community cultural organizations including community TV channels over the past 20 years. She is also involved in non-profit organizations.

• 06. Director, Diversity and Multiculturalism: Moustafa Makhmoud, PhD)

  
  
  Moustafa Makhmoud graduated from the People's Friendship University of Moscow in Economics and, then defended his PhD thesis in Economics. He started his career in Research Department of BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee). In Moscow he worked as a translator in Progress Publishers, one of the largest organisation that published books, translated from Russian into Bengali and also journals in Bengali.

  In 2004 he moved to Toronto with his family and started his career as an Insurance Advisor with Royal Bank of Canada. He later worked as a Benefit Consultant for the American Income Life Insurance company. He is a licensed independent Insurance Broker and has been working in the Insurance Industry now for more than 10 years. In 2012, he completed Interpreting courses and became Certified Interpreter in Bengali and Russian. Makhmoud accredited with Ministry of Attorney General, Ontario and Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. In personal life he is married and a father of 3 children

• 07. Director, Branding and Digital Marketing: Abu M. Mohsin

  
  
  A passionate community worker, Abu Mohsin has been involved in volunteering for Red Cross since his high school days.  Participating in the street level campaign to promote voluntary blood donation, providing First Aid training to youth Red Cross members, assisting in relief distribution in flood or cyclone affected areas are some of his volunteering work in Bangladesh.  Abu was also employed with Bangladesh Red Crescent Society as a Project Manager in a disaster rehabilitation program for the flood affected rural areas. After moving to US in 1992 Abu got involved in American Red Cross as a disaster shelter operation volunteer. Abu immigrated to Canada In 2000.

  In profession Abu is an IT Manager in the Financial and Banking sector with experience in systems and business domains including Corporate Finance, AML and Fraud. Abu currently works for BMO Financial group as a Senior Technology Officer. As a corporate citizen Abu is actively involved as an ambassador for United Way in the annual employee giving campaign, and participates in other corporate volunteering events. Toronto Daily food bank, Canadian Red Cross Mobile Food Bank, Good Shepherd Centre, Habitat for Humanity are some of Abu's choice of Charities where he volunteers occasionally.

  Abu holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Dhaka.

• 08. Director, Organizational Development: Rezwan Ahmed
  
  Rezwan Ahmed, a commerce graduate ( Finance & Banking )  from University of Dhaka and a post graduate in International Marketing from Humber College, has been working in the area of International Sales/Marketing for about 23 years  . Currently, he is working as a Senior Manager( Food Division)  with EXIMCAN CANADA  for over 12 years now . In the past, he worked with South Korean based Daewoo Corporation( DBCL) for about 11 years .  He has travelled many countries for training and business development for both companies . Currently lives in Toronto, Canada with his wife and their two children.
• 09. Director, Corporate Mobilization: Mahbub Mizan

  
  
  After coming to Canada in 2000, Mahbub started his career in the financial industry with one of the top 5 banks in Canada. He is a high-energy Business Consultant who is passionate about process improvements and managing change. His other very strong area of expertise is residential mortgages. He is a veteran in the mortgage industry and love to educate family and friends with mortgage queries.

  Mahbub has his Bachelor's degree from Bangladesh and completed a number of banking courses while on the job. He is a strong believer in equal opportunity and helping others to achieve their goals. In the past, He has volunteered his time with "United Way" and mentored new immigrants for a smooth transition into the workforce.Mahbub enjoy outdoor activities. His passion is golf, jogging, and hiking. Mahbub is married and blessed with a son and a daughter.

• 10. Director, Research and Development: Mejbahuddin Ahmed, PhD

  
  
  Mejbahuddin Ahmed is an architect and urban researcher. His keen interest in the co-evolution of communities, nature and cities led to researches encompassing urban governance, community engagement, city networks and urban landscape. He has contributed on these topics book chapter and articles to journals published from different parts of the world.

  Mejbah taught in the Architecture Discipline at Khulna University, Bangladesh for eight years. He was later the Head of Architecture Department in the State University of Bangladesh for three years. He is presently a PhD candidate in The University of Naples, Italy and lives in Toronto with his wife and two kids.

• 11. Director, Strategic Program Planning/ED:Emamul Haque

  
  
  Md. Emamul Haque is a social entrepreneur and has a strong passion for the social profit sector. He is an accomplished fundraising, advocacy and not-for-profit management professional with 20 years of diverse experience in shaping social policies and scaling up development projects in a global environment. He served the United Nations for 10 years and his international experience includes working for the World Food Program in Bangladesh as the head of external relations. He also served for various not-for-profit organizations.

  Graduate in Fundraising and Volunteer Management Program at Humber College he holds a Master's degree in Management of Non-governmental Organizations from London School of Economics (LSE), London, UK. He also earned his Bachelors and Masters degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and a postgraduate degree in population Science from International Institute for Population Sciences, Bombay, India.

  Emam lives in Toronto with his wife Nusrat and their two children.

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