• Shiza founded Youth MentorNet Café at age fifteen, driven by a deep commitment to expanding equitable access to education and dismantling systemic barriers faced by underserved youth, particularly Indigenous, racialized, newcomer, refugee, and low-income communities. As a young woman of colour, she witnessed the absence of representation and accessible mentorship in academic and leadership spaces. When the COVID-19 pandemic intensified these inequities, she transformed this challenge into an opportunity to build a youth-led platform rooted in mentorship, education, and empowerment.

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• Today, Youth MentorNet Café has reached 150,000+ youth across 15+ countries, providing culturally responsive mentorship and inclusive learning spaces. The initiative has been recognized by the United Nations Joint SDG Fund as a leading youth-driven sustainable practice and received the RCE Education for Sustainable Development Recognition Award, presented by the Honourable Bernadette McIntyre, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan. 

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• Through this platform, Shiza has developed 150+ open-access mentorship and e-learning resources, including the Language of Empowerment Toolkit, which simplifies complex ideas about identity, equity, and social justice into youth-friendly language. She also created the SDG Quest Coding Game Hub, an interactive platform that makes sustainability education accessible and engaging for young learners. She has facilitated 30+ workshops on university readiness, financial literacy, and civic engagement across schools, community organizations, and professional settings. Her mentorship framework has supported the training of 1,500 Literacy Ambassadors who now lead book drives, literacy panels, and youth-serving initiatives within their communities.

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• At the heart of this work is Shiza’s commitment to building authentic connection. She intentionally creates spaces where young people feel genuinely seen, valued, and empowered to lead. Through Youth MentorNet Café, she fosters relationships grounded in trust, reciprocity, and cultural safety. Her leadership follows a community-based participatory approach where youth are not simply consulted but act as co-creators who identify priorities, shape solutions, and guide the direction of social impact initiatives.

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• Reconciliation also remains central to her work. Shiza collaborates closely with Indigenous knowledge keepers, Elders, youth leaders, educators, and community partners to ensure programs remain culturally grounded and accountable. One of her most transformative initiatives has been founding the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program, a culturally responsive and trauma-informed sub-initiative of Youth MentorNet Café. Through this program, she mentors Indigenous youth, supports land-based learning opportunities, and strengthens identity, belonging, and community-rooted leadership.

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• Shiza has also collaborated with Indigenous scholars and youth-serving organizations on a national photovoice project highlighting Indigenous resurgence and the importance of preserving cultural artifacts, stories, and teachings for the next seven generations. In recognition of this work, Shiza was invited to serve as the youngest workshop facilitator at the First Nations University of Canada during the Indigenous Self-Determination in Social Work Conference, where she contributed to national dialogue on Indigenous youth leadership and pathways toward reconciliation.

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• Beyond these initiatives, Shiza continues to share youth perspectives on global platforms. She has been featured twice as a speaker in Theirworld’s Understanding Inequalities in Education series, served as the youngest keynote speaker at DisruptHR YQR, and has presented at numerous academic and professional conferences at regional, national, and international levels.