Beyond the Fellowship year, Pathy Alumnx continue to lead impact-driven work that contributes to lasting social and systemic change in the sectors they serve and the communities they care deeply about. To honour this enduring commitment, the Pathy Foundation Fellowship’s Legacy Award was established in 2025 to recognize exceptional past Fellows whose post-Fellowship contributions exemplify innovation, courage, and transformative leadership.
This award celebrates not only the tangible outcomes of their work, but also the spirit of resilience and collaboration that defines the Fellowship. This award celebrates bold ideas that nurture systemic change beyond the Pathy Fellowship. The Pathy Foundation Fellowship is proud to announce the inaugural recipient of the Legacy Award: Laila Alfadhli (Cohort 8, 2023-24).
As a Fellow, Laila launched the Anti-Human Trafficking of Muslim Women Taskforce, reflecting her commitment to advocating for women’s rights and empowering Muslim women. Her initiative addressed systemic gaps in culturally and religiously sensitive rehabilitation programs for survivors of human trafficking – a challenge often compounded by stigma and lack of awareness within the community.
“Human trafficking is a complex issue in itself, and within the Muslim community, societal taboos add an extra layer of complexity to the conversation,” Laila explained during her Fellowship year. “A lot of times, [trafficking] goes unnoticed within the community because of cultural norms. In combination with trauma bonds that form with their trafficker, seeking help becomes incredibly difficult for Muslim women survivors. […] It can be frustrating when you finally reach out for support and find that the available resources aren’t actually addressing your specific needs.”
Her Fellowship initiative realized a partnership with Sakeenah Canada, an organization providing culturally sensitive supports for Muslim women and children in areas such as transitional housing, food security, mental health, employment, and education. Laila’s work focused on three core pillars:
1. Advocacy and awareness: facilitating trauma-informed workshops for over 210 students across Ottawa focused on dismantling myths about trafficking and equipping youth with prevention strategies;
2. Preventative strategies: creating Young Muslim Athletes (YMA) programs like Salam Dunk basketball and Bees in Cleats soccer, engaging 80+ girls aged 11-14 in safe, empowering spaces;
3. Sustainability: co-developing an intake and screening form for Sakeenah’s houses, enabling staff to identify trafficked persons and apply trauma-informed care.
“A lot of policies involved within human trafficking focus on the perpetrator, or the trafficker. Very little is focused on how the survivors can empower themselves. That dismissal really discourages a lot of survivors from reaching out to law enforcement and reclaim their autonomy through the legal system,” Laila shared. Her work sought to build upon whole-person, empowering approaches to healing, prevention, and rehabilitation.
Laila exemplifies what it means to transform a Fellowship experience into purpose-driven work. Building from her time as a Pathy Fellow, her work has spanned from frontline advocacy to academic leadership, from local community programs to international platforms, and from published research to workshops that open difficult but necessary conversations. She has participated in a national symposium to inform culturally competent rehabilitation strategies for survivors, initiated a research collaboration to embed survivor-informed practices into anti-trafficking programs, and has continued as a leadership mentor in YMA, which is now supported by a team of volunteers.
Feedback shared by families of YMA participants has underscored the importance of this ongoing initiative in supporting youth confidence, agency, and self-empowerment. “My niece gained confidence that she carries with her outside the gym,” shared the aunt of one current participant. “At the start of her involvement, she was very shy and strongly disliked large group physical activities. But today she has signed up and tried out for her school’s sports programs which goes to show how much of an impact this initiative has made. I have also watched many of the other girls grow into kind leaders. […] The program helped girls feel that sports belong to them too, and that being Muslim is not a barrier to participation.”
Laila continues to be an active member of the Pathy Fellowship community, mentoring current Fellows and supporting Alumnx as they navigate their own journeys. Laila’s work and impact will only continue to deepen as she embarks on her career in medicine.
The Legacy Award honours transformative contributions, unwavering spirit, and holistic vision of leadership that nurtures both systemic change and human flourishing. In celebrating Laila Alfadhli, we honour a changemaker who continues to build resilient communities and foster social impact through her personal, professional, and collective contributions. We extend our most heartfelt congratulations to Laila on being the first ever recipient of the Pathy Foundation Fellowship’s Legacy Award.
