Samina Sami is the inaugural Executive Director for Community Safety. Driven by a passion for collaboration and innovation, Samina enjoys working with diverse communities on issues of justice, public policy, and socio-economic development, using an equitable and inclusive lens.
Prior to joining York, Samina had a twenty-year career in public sector. She was amongst the first women hired as a Senior Instructor at the Ontario Police College, where she led the development of new curricula and training programs in community policing, hate crimes, Use of Force and adult education. Her career has included oversight of policing and public safety programs and policies, large-scale transformation initiatives and multi-million-dollar transfer payment programs. Her sectoral experience spans justice, human rights, gender-based violence, education, innovation and economic development.
Since joining York, Samina has led large-scale transformational projects to support positive change. She led a community driven strategy which was profiled nationally as a best practice, steered the development of a state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning lab for emergencies, managed the development of enterprise-wide technological innovations and the planning for the North American Indigenous Games and Invictus Games at the University, and played a leadership role in planning for new capital projects. With a background in crisis management, Samina commands the Emergency Operations Centre, including guiding through preparedness and response for COVID-19.
A creative and results oriented professional with an enthusiasm for people, organizational change, and innovation, Samina has led diverse teams who have earned awards for innovation, teamwork, and excellence. In 2020, her team earned a York presidential service excellence award and a commendation from the City of Toronto and the Red Cross for leading evacuation and relief efforts for residents of the Gosford Tower Fire. In 2016, her teams won the Amethyst Award for leading the development of a gender-based violence prevention campaign, which was the most successful campaign created by the provincial government, with a global following.
She has also worked with diverse teams internationally in India, China and Hong Kong on international education and trade initiatives.
A fervent life-long learner, Samina holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, a Master of Education from the University of Toronto, a joint Global Executive Master of Business Administration from Schulich School of Business, York University and Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. In addition, she has a Senior University Administrators Certificate from the University of Manitoba.