International Programs and Services is excited to welcome two new team members.
Danai Bélanger joined UBC’s Okanagan campus in the role of International Student Advisor and Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant on April 16. And Saher Ahmed now has a permanent role as an International Student Advisor.
Danai Bélanger joins International Programs and Services from Okanagan College where she has been an advisor and Registered Canadian Immigration Consultant. She has gained a wealth of experience supporting international students over the past 10 years, in colleges and universities across Canada. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English (Honours) from Memorial University of Newfoundland and will complete her Master of Education (Diversity) at UBC Okanagan in April of this year. Originally from Zimbabwe, Bélanger came to Canada as an international student and understands first-hand the unique challenges and experiences that many international students face.
She has an avid interest in student transition initiatives, international student assessment, and experiential learning. Some of the many projects that Danai has been involved with include being a Global Youth Ambassador for Newfoundland and Labrador and developing the Global Preparation Series for graduating international students in New Brunswick.
Saher Ahmed has more than six years of experience studying and working in the field of migration and settlement. She received her Bachelor of Arts in political science and women’s studies and her Master’s at the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies at Carleton University, in which she completed extensive research on the settlement, migration, and transnational experiences of Afghan women in Canada and their cultural hybrid identities. She is currently publishing her research in an academic journal that focuses on global policy and migration.
Ahmed joined UBC Okanagan in June 2017 as an international student advisor, where she has also worked as the advisor for the student refugee program and the intercultural development program. Before joining UBC Okanagan, Ahmed worked as an educator with international and domestic students at Carleton University and the University of Victoria, and as a sexual assault support worker and policy program advisor for a non-profit organization in Ottawa where she was also an advisory board member of the Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. Ahmed is an associate member of the International Network of Tomorrow’s Leaders (INTL) of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE).
Please join International Programs and Services in welcoming Bélanger to campus and Ahmed in her new role.
