WXN Top 100: RBC Future Launch Future Leaders Award

Alishba Imran is a machine learning developer who works at the intersection of AI, rehabilitation tech, humanoids and medical devices to create smarter machines. She’s developed a novel generative neural network and 3D printed prosthetic material that reduced patient costs from $10,000 to $700, led neuro-symbolic AI research for Sophia the Robot at Hanson Robotics, and helped build a portable, low-cost, soft robotic glove with Q-learning using the SRT by the Harvard Biodesign lab.

Bhanvi is the founder of Articulate Youth Activism Initiative and a student at the University of Toronto. Her interests are deep-rooted in the intersections of behaviour, psychology, artificial intelligence, and public health. She was born in India, and raised in Calgary, Alberta, where she developed her passion for gender-equality rights, women’s education, and health. In 2020, she founded her own organization premised on giving an artistic platform to youth from marginalized communities, and more recently, distributing feminine hygiene products in the community.

Habon Ali is a Somali-Canadian completing her MSc in Global Health at McMaster University. As an alumna of the Prime Ministers Youth Council, Habon has experience advising Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Government of Canada. She was actively involved in the creation of Canada’s first National Youth Policy and the development of Canada’s Service Corps. She is passionate about removing systemic barriers for youth, especially youth from communities who were made to be marginalized and vulnerable. This exemplified with her work in social innovation at MaRS Discovery District, Opportunity for All Youth and Grand Challenges Canada.

Community leader, advocate, TEDx speaker, Hebah Hussaina is passionate about supporting youth STEAM education. A proud resident of Surrey, BC, Hebah has contributed and led initiatives to encourage youth participation in STEAM activities through partnerships with Science World, Surrey Memorial Hospital, the City of Surrey, and the University of British Columbia. Hebah is a strong believer in investing in the future generation, and advocates for equal opportunities for youth to pursue STEAM careers.

Eternity Martis’ award-winning writing on race and gender has been featured in numerous publications. She authored the bestselling memoir “They Said This Would Be Fun” about her experience as a Black woman on a predominantly white university campus. She helped influence Canadian media style guides to capitalize Black and Indigenous. Eternity developed, and is currently teaching, the “Reporting On Race: Black Communities in the Media” at Ryerson University, the first of its kind in Canada.

Ananya Chadha is a pilot and an 18-year-old first-year engineering student at Stanford University. She has worked in gene-editing and developed a platform to put genomic data on blockchain for anonymous uploading. She developed neurotech devices like brain-controlled prosthetics, remote control cars, MP3 players controlled with EEGs, electrodes and brain signals. Ananya was on the Investment committee at Babel Ventures, worked on Artificial Intelligence at IBM and developed COVID reports for the Department of National Defence. She won the Top 29 Canadians, Developer 30 under 30 award, the Top 23 Women in Tech in Canada and is the 2019 winner of the Impossible Science Student Challenge.

Kehkashan Basu is a globally acclaimed sustainability advocate, author, musician, TEDx speaker and the Founder President of social innovation enterprise, Green Hope Foundation that works in 16 countries to empower young people and women, especially those from vulnerable communities. A United Nations Human Rights Champion, the youngest recipient of Canada’s Top 25 Women of Influence and the winner of the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize, Kehkashan has recently been named as one of the Top 100 SDG Leaders in the world.

Activist, Terry Fox National Scholar, 2020 L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth Honouree, Miss British Columbia 2019, Rabiah Dhaliwal is Founder and Director of the Voices for Hope Foundation, a non-profit that challenges mental health stigma through intersectional frameworks. She has spoken nationally at the House of Commons where she testified to introduce a Mental Health Parity Act. As former Vice President of the One Blood for Life Foundation, she led the recruitment of 1,410 stem-cell registrants and 3,350 blood donors.

Zaynah Bhanji is a 17-year-old, passionate about machine learning and virtual and augmented reality. She began her technology journey at 13 and has been supported by companies like Google, CIBC, TD, Deloitte and Microsoft. Zaynah has been speaking at conferences globally in places including Dubai, Poland, Toronto, San Francisco and more. She is a huge advocate for women and girls in technology, and speaks to many to inspire them to pursue interests in science or tech.