Alumni Keynote Speaker

Ashna Mankotia (GBDA '17)- Founder of Saffron 

Ashna Mankotia (she/her) is the founder of Saffron, a content creator, and a senior product manager. She has over 100k followers on Tiktok where she shares content on a range of topics including personal finance, her career, fashion and beauty, and her life in Toronto. She has spent her career in ed-tech, where she has launched learning experiences in design, marketing and leadership topics for thousands of professionals. Most recently she launched Saffron, a global membership community for women with over 160 members from 10 countries.

Featured Alumni Speakers

Zain Bandali (BES '20)- Author, Poet, Diversity Advocate and Human Resources Professional

Zain Bandali is an unapologetic author, poet, and diversity advocate. His debut children's book, Mehndi Boy, is an early readers illustrated chapter book set to be published Fall of 2023 with Annick Press. It deals with pushing gender norms in a kid friendly way, and touches upon anxiety and perfectionism in an Indo-Tanzanian, Ismaili diasporic context. Zain’s poetry can be found in multiple publications, and his spoken word has graced stages across his home province of Ontario, Canada. In 2020, he was awarded the Upkar Arora Social Impact Leadership Scholarship for his work creating a grassroots community initiative while an undergrad at the University of Waterloo. Even in his day job as an HR professional at a leading financial corporation, Zain strives to bring the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to everything he does. He is an avid vegetable gardener but cannot always stomach the chilli peppers he grows. 

Clarissa Diokno (BA '13)- Independent Artist, Singer and Songwriter

Clarissa Diokno is a Filipino Canadian pop Singer/Songwriter of soul and honesty presented in slick, pop production. Her musical influences range from oldies and female fronted rock bands to late ‘90s and early 2000s pop and R&B. Based in Kitchener, Ontario, Diokno encourages people to use art as an outlet for creative expression and hopes to inspire other artists to dream big and share their passion with the world. Her music has received airplay on commercial radio and CBC Radio Canada and has been featured on a number of Canadian media outlets including Rogers TV and Exclaim! She was selected to be part of the TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship program (2023), the Songistry Songwriting Summit in Nashville (2023) as well as the London Music Accelerator program in partnership with Canada's Music Incubator and London Music Office (2023). 

Leslassa Robson (BEnv '19)- Associate Underwriter 

Leslassa’s university journey began later than usual, at age 21. This delay was the outcome of an exciting career as Miss World Dominica that secured her a full scholarship. During university, Leslassa was heavily involved in entrepreneurship (founded Hair by Lassa), in residence life (as a Don and Entrepreneur in Residence), and in student life (with over 12 executive roles in several student groups). Against conventional advice, Leslassa chose unique and diverse co-op experiences to ensure that she explored many of her interests during her Planning Honours degree at Waterloo. After graduating in 2019, Leslassa shifted away from urban planning and secured a marketing manager position in hospitality which led to the opportunity of being Acting General Manager. She also completed a post-graduate diploma in Marketing Management at Seneca. Unfortunately, because of covid, her career in hospitality was cut short. However, Leslassa was able to pivot and is now an Associate Underwriter in the mortgage industry and the mother of an exceptional 2-year-old.