Meet the 2025 DARPAN Power Women of Influence Panel
Ish Sharma Darpan, 17 Mar, 2025 05:04 PM
The Power Women of Influence Gala 2025 comprises of a power-packed panel that includes Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and MD, Kashf Foundation, Farah Mohamed, Senator, CEO-The King's Trust Canada, and social entrepreneur, Belle Puri, veteran award winning journalist and reporter with CBC News Vancouver, Anoop Virk, TEDx executive producer and Ambassador for the Minerva Women’s Foundation, and Supinder Wraich, award winning Canadian actress of CBC's Allegiance.
Roshaneh Zafar is the thought leader & driving force behind Kashf Foundation, Pakistan’s first specialized microfinance institution. Since 1995, Kashf has empowered 8 million women micro-entrepreneurs, disbursing billions (1.1 bn USD) in loans and pioneering Pakistan’s first gender bond. Headquartered in Lahore, Kashf operates through 10 regional offices and a network of over 422 branches nationwide, with 5,000 staff members - 50% of whom are women - ensuring its reach into urban and rural communities while maintaining gender equality at all tiers. Kashf has been recognized by Forbes among the "Top 50 Micro Finance Institutions of the World" and Forbes has recognized her as a "Woman Changing the World".
Farah Mohamed served as CEO of the Malala Fund and founded Girls20 (now FORA), an initiative empowering women from G20 countries and Africa with leadership training. She is a recipient of the Order of Merit of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and a Meritorious Service Medal. She served as Vice President, Public Affairs and Community Engagement for VON Canada, where she was successful in building government and private sector partnerships. She was recognized BBC’s Top 100 Women and is the latest appointment to the Canadian senate.
Belle Puri was the first TV journalist of South Asian heritage to make an appearance in mainstream media. She has made significant contributions to Canadian media, working as a reporter, producer, and host in both public and private sector television and radio. During her tenure with CBC Vancouver, she served as a business reporter on notable programs like Venture, Newsworld Business News, Money Weekly, and Canada Now while also covering major events such as provincial politics and federal leadership conventions. She has been recognized for excellence in Journalism with numerous accolades such as the Centennial Foundation Award in 2000 and the Jack Webster Award for outstanding journalism in 2005. In 2022, she was honored with the Canadian Screen Award for Best Local Journalist and last year she was the recipient of the prestigious Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award.
Anoop Virk is driven by philanthropy and has a decade long track record of creating impactful businesses and purposeful initiatives. She is the founder of Project LOVE, which built a gender-equality-based school in Zambia. She co-founded Project H.E.L.L.O., which reconnected over 450 homeless residents in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside with their loved ones. She has met some of the biggest movers and shakers around the globe such Jimmy Carter, Chelsea Clinton, and Bono. She has been recognized Canada's Top 20 Under 20 and BC's 24 Under 24. She was honoured by former Prime Minister Trudeau and Governor General for her efforts.
Supinder Wraich is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre’s applauded Actor’s Conservatory. She earned a Canadian Screen Award as the lead in the Emmy Award winning digital series Guidestones. Her series, The 410, which she created and starred in, was nominated for three Cdn screen Awards including Best Program, Best Writing, and Best Lead Performance. Some of other notable TV projects include the EXPANSE, PRIVATE EYES, CRAWFORD and CBC and HBO Max’s series SORT OF. She has garnered immense praise for her role as a lead rookie police officer in CBC’s ongoing hit TV series Allegiance.
Well known journalist and media personality Robin Gill is Darpan Power Women of Influence's panel moderator. She is a media strategist and was the face of Global National for nearly 3 decades in broadcast news. As the national correspondent and weekend anchor for Global National, she reported on some of the most pivotal stories in Canada and beyond, including federal elections, the pandemic, and the BC floods. With a career spanning CBC, Global News, and appearances on NBC and Fox, she has interviewed political leaders, business executives, and change makers shaping the nation. Her latest venture is being the founder of Robin Gill Communications, which specializes in media training, public speaking, strategic communication plans, and thought leadership, advising leaders across politics, finance, real estate, law, and non-profits.
The 3rd annual Darpan's Power Women of Influence 2025 event, proudly hosted by DARPAN Magazine, will take place on Saturday, March 22nd.
The evening will start off with a red-carpet reception and networking hour, leading to exclusive Power Talks from each panelist, offering personal insights and experiences, followed by a high-impact panel discussion addressing key issues facing women today, followed by top-notch entertainment, and a gourmet meal.
Event Highlights:
Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025
Venue: Vancouver Convention Centre
Format: Red Carpet Reception & Networking | Power Talks | Panel Discussion | Entertainment & Dinner
The BC Coroners Service says toxic drug deaths in British Columbia were down 13 per cent last year, with the toll now lower than any year since 2020. Chief Coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan says the decline is consistent with elsewhere in Canada and internationally, but doesn't mitigate the fact that 2,253 people died of overdoses in B.C. last year, or the grief felt by their loved ones.
This week's wintry blast of snow in Metro Vancouver will likely remain on the ground, with below-average temperatures forecasted well into next week.
Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau says while temperatures may moderate slightly during the daytime over the weekend, whatever's melted will likely refreeze at night.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government will pause its response to threatened American tariffs after a 30-day reprieve was negotiated today between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is defending simultaneously wearing two hats — campaigning in a snap election he called and taking anti-tariff actions as premier. This is a bad time for Ontario to find itself in an election, the other political party leaders say, amid the chaos of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.
More than 30 firefighters from British Columbia's Wildfire Service have returned home from a deployment fighting large fires that destroyed thousands of homes around Southern California. The Ministry of Forests say the crews are part of two separate groups, the first consisting of 13 technical specialists who were deployed on Jan. 11 to support the effort to combat the Palisades wildfire in L.A.
The B.C. Court of Appeal says a man convicted of sexually assaulting his wife deserves a new trial because messages between the pair about a consensual "rape role-play" scenario were wrongfully excluded as evidence. The ruling released on Friday says the complainant and accused, who can't be identified under a publication ban, were married but separated at the time of the alleged sexual assault in November 2019.
