Staff

Anwaar Baobeid (she/her), Research & Policy Analyst

Anwaar Baobeid (she/her) is a researcher who is passionate about advocating for policies that address the social determinants of health. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Toronto and her research has spanned various topics such as food insecurity and poverty in Toronto, the right to health for temporary migrant workers in Canada, and promoting equity-oriented health care in community health centres. As a settler on Turtle Island, by way of Yemen, she is deeply committed to health equity and social justice as guiding principles in all areas of her work and life. In her free time, she loves travelling, rock climbing, and learning embroidery.  

Ayendri Riddell (she/her), Campaigner

Ayendri is a Sri Lankan born activist and community educator with extensive experience in campaign strategy. She has worked in a variety of spaces, from international human rights NGOs such as Amnesty International, to small advocacy organizations such as the Ontario Public Interest Research Group. Her experience working within movements for migrant justice, environmental justice and Indigenous land defence has led her to better understand the intertwined nature of the issues that communities face and the necessity of collective organizing and solidarity to challenge them. Her educational focuses have been in international political economy, community development and post-colonial theory.

Mazdak Gharibnavaz (he/him), Organizer

Mazdak Gharibnavaz is an immigrant and a community organizer. He is a UBC graduate, and has worked on grassroots campaigns for digital privacy and free expression, climate change, democratic reforms, labour rights and housing justice.

PS. He loves Dungeons & Dragons and his friends.

Usman Mushtaq (he/him), Coordinator

Usman has been an organizer in the area of migrant justice for the past decade in Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver. Some of the projects he has coordinated have pushed municipalities and school boards to ensure their policies and services are accessible to all migrants regardless of status. His more recent work has involved collaborating with youth in the City of Richmond to plan, develop, and implement youth-led campaigns. One of these campaigns was to work with Vancouver Coastal Health and TransCare BC to bring trans youth-created education resources that highlighted the experiences of trans youth outside of urban areas to schools, libraries, and clinics in the lower mainland. Usman is excited to bring his organizing & coordinating experience to the BC Health Coalition. He's also the sleep deprived parent of two young kids!

Audrey Guay (she/her), Currently on leave

Audrey Guay believes in the power of organized, active citizenship. She finds great joy and energy in developing new skills, working with teams, and engaging big ideas. She is trained in the broad-based relational organizing tradition of the Industrial Areas Foundation and has been involved in the Metro Vancouver Alliance organizing effort for over three years. She most recently organized a Housing Project that engaged labour unions, faith congregations, community organizations, decision makers, and housing professionals in public education events on land trusts and church property redevelopment. Audrey recently completed her Masters in Urban Studies at Simon Fraser University, where she was awarded the 2019 Alumni Award for Community Engagement. Her undergraduate degree from Queen's University was in Health Studies, and she is excited to dive back into the world of public health with the BC Health Coalition. Born in Montreal to a French-speaking family, Audrey spent most of her childhood in Bamako, Mali, and has traveled extensively across five continents. She is deeply grateful to have been learning attachment to place these past five years on the unceded, ancestral Coast Salish territories.

Noal Amir (she/her), Campaigner

Noal is an uninvited guest and settler on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish peoples. Over the past decade, she has worked on various community development initiatives and grassroots campaigns to advance progressive policies, programs, and practices at the provincial, national, and international levels. Her commitment to social change is informed by her experiences growing up in the diaspora and her academic training. At any given moment, you can find Noal exploring the West Coast of North America, reading speculative fiction, or talking about astrology.