Ashna Ali, BA

Ashna is a Kurdish-Canadian activist, artist, and feminist design strategist based in Toronto, Canada. Driven by endless curiosity and humility, Ashna is passionate about using technology and art to reclaim our collective agency both on and offline.

With years of experience in the nonprofit sector, in 2020, she cofounded Anti-Heroine Media, a creative communications studio that foregrounds storytelling for social change. Bridging feminism and design, Anti-Heroine Media applies an intersectional lens to all of its work, centering accessibility and inclusion to reduce barriers for those who are so often overlooked. Since its inception, the firm has worked with a number of social good organizations including the Canadian Federation of Students, Oxfam Canada, the Enchanté Network, the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development, and Global Affairs Canada.

Ashna previously strategized digital campaigns for global feminist coalitions, including a convening to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where she captured the call for women’s meaningful inclusion in the Korea peace process. In line with her work in foregrounding underrepresented voices, Ashna also led the communications for InterviewHer, a tool for journalists to connect with women experts on conflict and security. She has spoken about women’s meaningful participation in peace movements at the Senate of Canada, Parliament Hill, and the Global Affairs Department of Foreign Affairs.

Ashna studied Anthropology at Western University in London, Ontario where she also sat on the board of Anova: A Future Without Violence from 2016-2017.

Find her on Friday nights eating ramen and watching Boy Meets World in her cozy downtown studio