Welcome to COMTO Toronto & Region
COMTO was created to provide a forum for senior minority professionals in the transportation industry.
The voice of Equity.
The Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) is the leading North American advocate for employment diversity, inclusion and contracting opportunities in the multi-modal, multi-billion-dollar transportation industry, by land, air or waterways. Cofounded by the TTC and New Flyer, COMTO Toronto & Region is proud to be the first International and Canadian chapter of the US National organization.
Leadership
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Shabnum Durrani
President
Shabnum joined the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 2020 as head of Corporate Communications. In that role, Shabnum oversees a diverse team that develops and implements all corporate communication initiatives for the transit agency, focusing on ensuring a precise alignment for internal and external audiences.
Before joining the TTC, Shabnum worked in various public affairs and communications roles, including as a senior advisor at Queen’s Park. She advised several Cabinet Ministers on multiple initiatives, including spearheading a dozen pieces of legislation. Shabnum began her career as a lawyer at one of Canada’s largest law firms and in a not-for-profit in Vancouver.
Shabnum has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, a Masters in Public Policy, Administration, and Law from York University, and Masters in Public Health from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2022 she won the TTC’s inaugural Diversity Award and was named Employee of the Year.
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Shirley Samujh-Dayal
2nd Vice President
Shirley Samujh-Dayal has over 26 years of experience working in the transportation industry and has spent 20 years at TransLink. Her last role at TransLink was leading the Government and Public Affairs department. Since 2019 she has been the Director of Operations at Coast Mountain Bus Company, an operating subsidiary of TransLink, also known as the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority. She oversees almost a million daily boardings over a 1,800-square-kilometer service area across 200 routes. She is responsible for the Operations division with six operational depots, Transit Security, Transit Supervisors, and Transit Communications, across 4,000+ total employees and a multi-million-dollar operating budget. In Shirley’s previous role in Government and Public Affairs for TransLink, she has played a vital role in various high-profile projects, including leading consultation and government relations for TransLink. Shirley believes having quality transportation and transit options across Metro Vancouver is critical to the livability and economic prosperity of the region.
Shirley has served on various boards, including her appointment as Chair for the Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association. She formerly served on the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce and the Surrey Board of Trade. Shirley also served as Vice Chair for the Communications and Public Affairs Committee at the Canadian Urban Transit Association CUTA and served on the American Public Transit Association APTA Marketing and Communications Committee. Shirley is certified by the International Association of Public Participation IAP2 and is a Certified Local Government Administrator. Shirley also holds a Master of Arts degree in Leadership focusing on Change Management. Shirley is also a chartered professional in Human Resources (CPHR). Shirley will lead the COMTO Task Force Vancouver that will have regular meetings with members from the west coast with a view of developing their own chapter in the future
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Odave Griffiths
Treasurer
O’Dave is the current Acting Director of Treasury Services within the Finance Department at the Toronto Transit Commission. He oversees the Accounts Payable Section, Accounts Receivable Section, Customs, Taxes, Insurance and SAP implementation. O’Dave has been with the TTC for over 17 years and has held various roles of increasing responsibility within the TTC Finance Department, such as Manager – Accounts Payable, SAP – Business Lead and Subject Matter Expert where he provided leadership and direction for the SAP General Ledger, Materials and Procurement project delivery stream. O’Dave decided to join COMTO Toronto & Region to contribute to the development of underserved communities and advocate for equal opportunities in transportation regardless of race, gender or creed.
He has a Diploma in Business Management from Humber College.
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Misha Scoon
Secretary
Misha began her career at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 2014 as a Transit Operator. Misha operated a variety of transit modes throughout the city of Toronto. In 2020, Misha had the opportunity to work in the Revenue Protection Department as a Fare Inspector- shortly after, branching off into a newly developed Community Engagement Unit where Misha assisted in developing and maintaining positive relationships through outreach initiatives and increasing public awareness, including prioritizing customer satisfaction and assisting with protecting TTC assets, vehicles, employees, passengers, and the public. Currently, Misha is a Court Advocate in the Legal Department, supporting and assisting all TTC employees that have been victims of crime while on the job.
Misha achieved a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Criminology from the University of Ontario.
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Venus Garg
Director At-Large
Venus Garg, a collaborative, versatile, and innovative leader, has built a wealth of experience in the transportation infrastructure space, leading multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse teams of managers, engineers and field coordinators to deliver world-class transportation solutions. He has shown complex infrastructure pursuits on both the advisory and design-builder sides, procured under various delivery models like P3, alliancing, delivery partner and progressive design-build. His work as capture leader at AECOM has significantly increased its knowledge base and application of collaborating contracting methods which are relatively new to Canada. He has taken on challenging and unique projects and made them successful through his hard work and ability to reach out to others. He has created effective networks both locally and internationally going to where the skills and knowledge are. Before joining AECOM, he worked for big companies like Kiewit, Dufferin and WSP, where he made significant headways on projects he was involved with. Before his professional career, he graduated from NITJ in India and achieved a Master’s degree in Space Robotics from the University of New Brunswick, Canada. He also has PEng. and PMP designations.
As a Director-at-Large, in the Toronto & Region Chapter, and as the Chair of the Scholarship Committee, Venus is responsible for engaging with education institutions to build student interest in the transportation industry.
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Yuval Grinspun
Director At-Large, Membership Chair
Principal Consultant and CEO with Left Turn Right Turn (LTRT), has planned and implemented operational and service improvements with public transit agencies since 2002. He provides business, strategy, and technology services to agencies nationwide and internationally and brings experience in engaging and responding to needs from all aspects of the transit business.
Yuval is excited to support COMTO – promoting equity and inclusion for customers and people working (or seeking to work) within our industry. Transit will truly flourish through a workforce and leadership reflective of society.
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Mustafa Mirza
Director At-Large
Mustafa Mirza is the Vice President of Rail & Transit Ontario at WSP Canada. Mustafa has approximately 20 years of experience managing, leading and reviewing major rail and transit projects. Mustafa has been an integral part of several rail projects including LRTs, MRTs, and Commuter Rail Systems, including Union Station Rail Corridor Signalling Project (Toronto, ON), GO Transit Train Control System Project (Toronto, ON), Metro Line Expansion Project (Edmonton, AB), and Doha Metro Project (Doha, Qatar). Mustafa has technical delivery and leadership experience in delivering international Rail & Transit projects, with a particular focus in project management, functional design and development, system integration and engineering, and client service/vendor representation.
In addition to his professional responsibilities, Mustafa is active in the community supporting women and underrepresented groups within the Rail & Transit and Transportation industries. He has been a mentor with the Women Transportation Seminar (WTS) – Toronto Area Chapter, is serving on the Transportation Policy Committee of the Toronto Region Board of Trade (TRBOT), as well as presents at multiple universities and professional organizations. Mustafa was recognized as a recipient of the 2019 North America Mass Transit Magazine Top 40 Under 40 for the ability to show capacity in innovation, demonstrating leadership and a commitment to making an impact in transit.
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Kevin Brown
Director At-Large, Strategic Partnerships
Kevin Brown is a Strategic Account Manager at Clever Devices Canada. Kevin works with Canadian and US transit systems to deploy innovative technology solutions to solve transit’s hard problems.
Kevin was Manager of Business Development at the Canadian Urban Transit Association where he worked closely with Canadian and American transit systems on training, professional development, and workforce development, helping transit to attract new talent, develop staff and promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Kevin is proud of his work on the Youth and Emerging Leaders Committee, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and the Workforce Development committee as staff liaison.
Kevin previously managed a diverse team of sales professionals at a major technology company that sold business solutions. He has served on non-profit boards as Chair and Director-at-Large.
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James Yu
Board Member
James is the Senior Project Manager in Transportation Services Division at the City of Toronto. He has almost 20 years of public sector experience managing projects; developing strategy and implementing innovative solutions. James manages the budget development and control of a multi-year operating budget totaling almost $500 million annually for all activities including operations and maintenance for traffic infrastructure, roads, sidewalks, and other multi-modal transportation networks.
In addition to his professional responsibilities, James is active in the transportation community advancing women in the industry as a member of Women Transportation Seminar (WTS) Toronto Area Chapter since 2013. He has served as a board member on WTS in various roles such as the Treasurer and Board Administrator. James also developed the Equity, Division & Inclusion Committee in 2023 including the first Women of the Year Award recognizing women with exemplary achievements in the transportation industry.
James has a Bachelor of Arts and Masters in Public Policy, Administration, and Law both from York University.
