Wesley’s New CEO

On behalf of the Wesley Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce Rashed Afif as Wesley’s Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. 

Rashed is a results-driven leader who is uniquely qualified to guide Wesley with an outstanding mix of education, professional experience, and life experience. 

He deeply understands the needs of Wesley’s clients through his work with youth, people with substance use and mental health issues and, most recently, as the leader of a large team as Wesley’s Senior Director of Newcomer, Housing, and Employment Services. 

With more than ten years of service to the Wesley community, Rashed has been instrumental in ensuring the impact and financial well-being of Wesley’s programs within his portfolio, and has worked tirelessly to develop Wesley’s many services. He helped Wesley become one of the largest refugee resettlement agencies in Canada and expanded our Halton-based programs for people facing homelessness. He is also leading our plans to expand Wesley’s work with unhoused people having substance use issues in Hamilton.

In addition to his work experience, Rashed has an MD from Herat Faculty of Medicine in Afghanistan, a BSc degree from York University, an MSW from the University of Windsor, and a certificate in Non-Profit Leadership from the University of Toronto. 

Rashed is a practicing counsellor and long-time champion of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Over twenty years ago, he founded and operated the Universal Institute of Foreign Languages, one of the first educational institutions open to women in Western Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. He has contributed to peer-reviewed academic research on newcomers. He has chaired the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council at the City of Hamilton and represented the Canadian NGO sector at Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement in Geneva.

On the weekends, he enjoys soccer, cooking, and family time with his spouse and two small children at their home on the Hamilton mountain. 

Please join me in offering the Wesley community’s wholehearted support for Rashed’s leadership in this next chapter of our community service. Please click the video below for Rashed’s greetings and if you would like to be in touch, please do not hesitate to call (905) 528-5629 or email info@wesley.ca

Sincerely,

Julie Vernon, Chair, Wesley Board of Directors