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
Ottawa's former chief trade negotiator Steve Verheul says Alberta is undermining Canada's attempts to prevent the U.S. from levying damaging tariffs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rallied most of the premiers to agree that all sectors of the Canadian economy could be deployed to fight back against U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada.
A 42-year-old woman is dead and her 21-year-old son has been arrested in what Montreal police say is the city's first murder of the year. Police spokesperson Mariane Allaire Morin says a 911 call came in Thursday morning for a welfare check at a home in the LaSalle borough, west of downtown Montreal.
Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland called Friday for four Liberal leadership debates Friday and said the other leadership candidates should commit to running in the next election under the party banner — no matter who wins. In an open letter to the other candidates, Freeland said that the four debates, two in each official language, should be held as soon as possible.
The federal government is expanding its use of artificial intelligence to clear a backlog of Phoenix pay system transactions as it transitions to a new platform. Alex Benay, associate deputy minister at Public Services and Procurement Canada, says his team will be able to share a recommendation with the government on whether it should adopt the Dayforce system as its new human resources and payroll platform by the end of March.
The union representing school support workers in Edmonton says it has returned to the bargaining table with the city's public school board. Some 3,000 staff, from educational assistants to cafeteria workers, have been on picket lines since Jan. 13 over a wage dispute with the Edmonton Public School Board.
RCMP say an inmate has been arrested three weeks after he escaped from a federal prison in Saskatchewan. Mounties say they were searching for Glen Halkett in the Rosthern, Sask., area and spotted him as a passenger in a vehicle with three others.
