Yassaman is a recipient of Queen Elizabeth’s Queen Jubilee medal for contributions that positively impacted communities domestically and internationally. Originally from Iran, Yassaman grew up in Vancouver and has worked in Iran, UK, China, Malawi, Tajikistan and Canada in diverse sectors including post-secondary education, international trade, international development, social entrepreneurship, credit unions, non-profits and government organizations. Yass has had the privilege to contribute to organizations of all sizes from one-person-start-ups to large global firms on all types of projects from strategy development to implementation and operation (ex: Central 1 Credit Union, Vancity, Canadian Co-operatives association, Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives, Aga Khan Foundation Canada, UNHCR, Canadian Cancer Society, etc.).

After four years of building her management consulting skills (in strategy, transformation and project management financial sector), Yassaman returned full-time to social impact sector. Over the past year, Yassaman has been sharing her experiences on various platforms (courses on Social Enterprise Institute, webinars on Tamarack Institute, Podcast on Doctors for Doctors, workshops at Youth Employment Services Ontario, etc). She has also been conducting various social impact consulting projects with organizations of all types and sizes (ex: TinyTo, Hamilton Community Foundation, etc)

Yassaman is exploring opportunities to use her skills and experiences to make positive systemic changes that deliver positive economic, social, and environmental impacts.