Jonathan Clodman
Educator and public health advocate
BA ’19/BEd ’19, Faculty of Health/Faculty of Education
MEd ’20, Faculty of Education/ Faculty of Graduate Studies
Jonathan Clodman (BA ’19 BEd ’19 MEd ’20) is an educator and active community member always looking for new opportunities to help others. Now an elementary teacher with the Toronto District School Board, he has taught students from kindergarten to grade 8, drawing on experience leading and supporting children and youth from preschool to postsecondary. While at York, Jonathan served in a variety of student leadership, recruitment, and governance positions that instilled how service to organizations and communities could spark positive change. Today, his work extends through a variety of classroom, camp, and community experiences, including the boards of two community-based children’s non-profits. Jonathan was previously a co-director of Vaccine Hunters Canada, where he developed onboarding resources, supported volunteer responders, contributed to outreach, and collaborated with a variety of educational stakeholders. Not skilled at quick goodbyes, Jonathan stays connected to York as a member of the York University Alumni Board.
Bri Darboh
Health equity advocate
BA ’15, MA ’18, Faculty of Health/ Faculty of Graduate Studies
Bri Darboh (BA ’15, MA ’18) is a senior doctoral student in clinical psychology and neuropsychology at York, as well as a part-time MBA student specializing in health industry management and organization studies at the Schulich School of Business. Throughout her time at York, she has maintained a devotion to leadership, social advocacy, and outreach, with an emphasis on ethnocultural diversity and vulnerable populations, and her research and clinical efforts reflect this commitment. Among her leadership roles, she serves as the chairperson of the YU-CARE Trainee Network, aiming to bridge academic knowledge and real-world implications. Moreover, she has made a substantial impact among racialized communities as the co-president of York’s Black Students in Psychology organization and the inaugural student representative of the Society for Black Neuropsychology. Bri aspires to employ a special fusion of her clinical and business expertise to contribute to positive systems-level change related to equitable healthcare service delivery.
Banin Abdul Khaliq
Community builder and reintegration worker
BA ’16, Faculty of Health
Banin Abdul Khaliq (BA ’16) is an Afghan-Canadian founder, community builder, and reintegration worker. Since earning her degree in psychology from York University, she has dedicated her efforts to the non-profit sector. At the John Howard Society of York Region, Banin works collaboratively with formerly incarcerated women and those with criminal justice involvement to help with their reintegration to society. Banin also volunteers as a program director with the Afghan Youth Engagement and Development Initiative (AYEDI), where she coordinates and implements various programs with the mission to provide civic engagement, leadership, and social development opportunities to underserved Afghan youth. Most recently, she transitioned into the role of program director for the Canadian Campaign for Afghan Peace, where she is the primary liaison between AYEDI and the Canadian government, as well as national news outlets. Banin’s identity as a Hazara-Afghan – a historically persecuted ethnic and religious group – informs her volunteer work at STAND Canada, where she advocates to make ending and preventing genocide a cornerstone of Canadian policy. In 2020, Banin was awarded a $1,500 grant to start Afghan Rising Magazine, an online platform that spotlights the work of Afghan-Canadians.
Farkhunda Muhtaj
Humanitarian and athlete
BSc ’19, Faculty of Health
BEd ’21, Faculty of Education
Farkhunda Muhtaj (BSc ’19, BEd ’21) is captain of the Afghanistan Women’s National Soccer Team and competes professionally in the Turkish Super League. She played an instrumental role in Operation Soccer Balls; the evacuation of over 300 Afghans including the Afghanistan Youth National Girls Soccer Team to Portugal in September and November of 2021. She relocated to Lisbon in September to coach the National Girls Soccer Team and ease the settlement journey of the players and families she helped evacuate. As an Afghan immigrant to Canada at the age of two, she has developed a lifelong passion for helping newcomer, refugee and marginalized communities and impacting the world through sport. She helped develop and run Scarborough Simbas, a non-profit organization that uses sport to help newcomers integrate into Canada and serves as a humanitarian ambassador for Penny Appeal Canada.
Read more about Farkhunda’s story in the York University Magazine.