Zainah Alsamman leads Grand Challenges Canada’s humanitarian domain, where she drives investment strategy and cultivates key partnerships across the humanitarian sector, ensuring innovative ideas deliver lifesaving impact for people affected by conflict
and crisis.

With 15+ years of experience in the humanitarian sector, Zainah brings multi-sectoral expertise in frontline humanitarian response, program management, donor relations and research and evaluation.

She has lived and worked across the Middle East and North Africa, working on a range of humanitarian focused programs, covering areas such as refugee protection and GBV response, health, energy, WASH, information integrity and digital safety in crisis settings.

Zainah holds a Master’s in Mass Communications and Media Research from the University of Leicester, and a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Culture from the University of Toronto.