Our Team
Meet Our Team of Volunteers
Seniors Forum Canada (SFC) consists of a management team, fitness instructors, and various program coordinators.
The management team consists of members from diverse different genders and ethnic backgrounds. Their goal is to help develop, guide, and grow SFC along with arranging resources and executing programs for its members.
The fitness instructors run our five times a week virtual fitness classes.
The program coordinators lead each of their own initiatives/programs and report to the management team.
The Reducing Social Isolation Team provide support, advice, and have regular conversations with socially isolated seniors. They report to the management team.
Management Team
Founder, SFC; Co-Founder & Program Coordinator of Seniors Fitness Program
Shaukat Rizvi
Founder of Seniors Forum Canada, Shaukat has always been involved in community-based initiatives such as Lions Club, Professional Forums UAE, and YMCA. After retirement, he became a Seniors’ enthusiast and advocate. He dedicates his time to seniors’ welfare, uplifting and having a positive impact on their quality of life. His drive to give back led him to establish “Seniors Forum Canada.”
Shaukat is also the current Vice-Chairman of Ontario Society of Seniors Citizens Organization (OSSCO) and President of the Professional Education Foundation – Canada Chapter. He is a former senior executive at Philips Electronics (Holland) and National/ Panasonic (Japan) in various countries across the world.
Management Team Member
Abida Rahmani
An author, freelance writer, teacher, traveler, interpreter/translator, and a great volunteer, Abida received the five year volunteer award from the Immigration Minister. She previously managed a construction company after the death of her husband. She has published four books, in Urdu and English. and contributed many articles (newspapers and magazines) on different topics. She has been a member of SFC since its inception in 2018.
Management Team Member
Mohammad Asghar
Resident of Oakville, Ontario for the last 11 years, Mohammad is a Chartered Accountant by profession. He migrated to Canada in 1975 and has worked in multinationals in Canada, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai and Pakistan. Mohammed and his wife, Riffat, have one daughter who also lives in Oakville and two sons who are working abroad. Mohammed has been a member of SFC since its inception in 2018.
Management Team Member
Mohammad Azam Al Shokaki
Mohammad is a certified project manager who graduated from Civil Engineering in King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He enjoys working with people from various cultures and backgrounds. As a Syrian Canadian, Mohammad has learned the value and benefits of volunteering and giving back to his community. He is currently running his own business as the current Vice President of Operations at Apex Engineering Services Inc.
Management Team Member
Noel Bhatia
Noel is a qualified and trained yoga instructor from Sheridan College in Oakville, Canada. She has been teaching yoga for over a decade and currently conducts more than 10 sessions every week. She is a popular instructor of Yoga among senior ladies. Noel believes the following, “For seniors, yoga is more than physical exercise. It has a meditative and spiritual core and used as therapy. A regular yoga practice can promote endurance, strength, calmness, and flexibility. Yoga may ease symptoms of depression and well-being among seniors.”
Management Team Member
Zeba Taj
Coordinator Ottawa Region
Zeba is an experienced social and community worker for the last 7 years for the South Nepean Muslim Community, Nepean Rideau Osgoode Community Resource Center and Indo- Canadian Community Center. She also has worked at the City of Ottawa’s Long Term Care in the Dietary Department in the Dementia Unit. Zeba has experience in arranging funds.
Fitness Instructors
Fitness Instructor; Co-Founder of Seniors Fitness Program
Amina Mohamed
HBSc (Kin) McMaster University; MSc (Physiotherapy) McGill University; Certified Personal Trainer
Amina is a Toronto native, a dedicated sports activist and an athlete. She is a physiotherapist and a personal trainer with an expertise in geriatric health and runs free exercise classes for seniors in her local community. She has played ice hockey for over twenty years, soccer for twenty four years, and softball for six years. She is a mentor for youth and a sports enthusiast who believes in the power of sport for women’s empowerment. Amina is also an ice skating instructor. Amina’s passion for sport has made her a leader in her community. Amina is the co-founder of the Seniors Fitness Program, which is an innovative program that was originally created due to a lack of fitness-based programs for Muslim seniors in the Greater Toronto Area. Amina’s virtual fitness classes are catered towards seniors of all abilities and include a variation of sitting and standing exercises that target the main muscle groups of the body.
Fitness Instructor
Faryal Zahir
HBSc McMaster University; MSc (Physiotherapy) Candidate McMaster University; Certified Personal Trainer
Faryal believes in honouring the body, mind, and soul by holistically investing in a healthy and balanced lifestyle. She is committed to promoting seniors’ health through functional exercises and strives to incorporate educational segments into her classes as well to empower seniors with the ability to make healthier and well informed choices for themselves. Her saying is “keep your body moving!” and she motivates all members to attend and participate best at their level. She keeps her audience engaged with a variety of exercises and ensures that her class is catered to all fitness levels with relevant modifications. Her approach includes deep breathing, a full body stretch from head to toe, followed by resistance band strengthening, balance exercises, cardio, weight training, and a cool down with focus on the wrists and hip joint. Common conditions targeted in these classes also include but are not limited to: knee/hip/hand osteoarthritis, knee health, sciatica, low back pain, shoulder/wrist/ankle pathology, cardiovascular endurance, and various others.
Fitness Instructor
Aslam Syed
Certified Yoga Instructor, Sri Sri School of Yoga India
As a certified yoga instructor from the Sri Sri School of Yoga, Aslam has been conducting classes on health rejuvenation, yoga, and healthy diets over the last twenty years. He loves to travel, cook, classical dancing, and listening to ghazals. He has been promoting Medical tourism in various countries and was awarded an Excellence Award from the United States government.
Fitness Instructor
Noel Bhatia
Graduate from Delhi University; Certified Yoga Instructor from Sheridan College
See more about Noel in the Management Team (above)
Fitness Instructor
Kim Harpster
Certified Yoga Instructor
Kim currently resides in Maryland, USA where she boards horses and lives at a horse farm. To learn horseback riding, she learned yoga and other fitness exercises. She has been practicing these exercises for the last 25 years and teaching for the last 15 years. Her fitness classes are a combination of chair yoga exercises with other fitness moves incorporated.
Program Coordinators
Education Coordinators
Mohammad Azam Al Shokaki (see picture in Management team section above)
Sadaf Wasim (see picture and biography in Reducing Social Isolation team below)
Finance and Administration Coordinator
Mohammad Asghar (see picture in Management team section above)
Website and Social Media Coordinator
Amina Mohamed (see picture in Fitness Instructors section above)
Outdoor Activities Coordinator - Abdul Rahman
IT professional, very active community & social worker
Outdoor Activities Coordinator - Abdul Aziz
Professional senior banker and dedicated seniors community volunteer
Sisters Circle Coordinator - Naila Rashid
Very active Social worker and an active caretaker of new immigrants
Reducing Social Isolation Team
Abida Rahmani (see picture in management team section above)
Reducing Social Isolation Volunteer - Sadaf Wasim
MS (MIS/IT) Environment Educational Enthusiast, Seniors Program Coordinator, Social Media and COVID-19 Pandemic Awareness Team Coordinator, Counsellor (Crisis Support for Youths/Seniors/Special needs families)
Reducing Social Isolation Volunteer - Dr. Sarah Samiya
Physician, specialization in Autism, cognitive science, and behavioural therapy
Reducing Social Isolation Volunteer - Qudsia Shafeeq Nehad Hussaini
Greater Toronto Area Community Coordinator and settlement worker who is experienced in counselling
Reducing Social Isolation Volunteer - Zohra Zoberi
Senior life Coach, author, poet, and founder of “Bridging the Gap”