Tehreem Zafar works as Manager, Immigration and Settlement Services at YWCA Hamilton and oversees Settlement, Employment, Gender Based Violence and Violence Against Women (GBV&VAW), Community connections, and 2SLGBTQIA+ programming. Being an immigrant herself, she uses insights from her first-hand experience to remove the barriers immigrants face in different phases of settlement and integration, so when they look back, they consider it a success, not just a mere survival. Hence, from direct service delivery to management and advocacy on local and national levels, she has held numerous roles including Language Program Head, LINC Program Manager, LINC Coordinator, and Assistant Coordinator at Saskatchewan Intercultural Association and English Language Learning Supervisor at Newcomer Learning Centre, Hamilton Public Library. She has also taught LINC (Literacy – CLB 7), the ESL (University of Saskatchewan), and the Seniors ESL (Hamilton Public Library).

Tehreem has served on various committees, working groups, and boards. Being Director of the TESL Saskatchewan board, she volunteered as Chair of the Board’s Communication Committee and is also a former member of Saskatchewan’s advisory committee of Language Assessment and Referral Centre (LARC) and the province’s settlement umbrella organization, Saskatchewan Association of Immigrant Settlement and Integration Agencies (SAISIA). Currently, in Hamilton, she sits on Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council, HIPC’s Social Inclusion and Community Engagement Committee and is part of the Afghan Settlement Task Force and the Ukrainian Working Group. She has a master’s degree in English Language and Literature, a B.A. in Economics, a Certificate in TESL (University of Saskatchewan), a Certificate in LearnIT2Teach Stage 3, and a Certificate in Language Program Management (London Language Institute). As an Ontario Certified English Language Teacher (OCELT), she has TESL Ontario Certificate of Accreditation for Adult ESL Teachers and International Certificate in Teaching English as an Additional Language (ICTEAL).

Tehreem is blessed to be the mother of two awesome boys, Mohammad and Haider. They are the source of joy in her life. When Tehreem is not busy working, she can be found decorating her home, reading a book, or making a floral arrangement. This makes her relaxed and refreshed to start another day or week with new energy.