Zainab Ibrahim is an Iraqi-born educator, advocate, and Registered Social Worker who has been living and working on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples for over 18 years. Her work sits at the intersection of education, community practice, and social justice, grounded in relational accountability, dignity, and care.

Zainab brings over 13 years of experience in social services and community-based work, supporting survivors of trauma and abuse, newcomer and refugee communities, and individuals navigating complex social and structural barriers. She has worked extensively with non-profit organizations and public institutions, delivering trauma-informed and culturally responsive services, facilitating community-based programs, and providing training for service providers on cultural competency and trauma-informed practice.

As an educator, Zainab approaches teaching as a relational and transformative process rooted in interdisciplinary learning, decolonial epistemologies, and whole-person education. Her pedagogy emphasizes experiential learning, storytelling, critical reflection, and creative expression, inviting students to engage with knowledge through lived experience, community connection, and ethical responsibility. 

Zainab’s community practice and scholarship are informed by her lived experience of migration and her commitment to anti-oppressive and anti-racist approaches to education and care. She integrates insights from social work, expressive arts, and community practice to foster spaces of belonging, creative enquiry, and collective learning. Zainab also brings creativity, storytelling, and joy into her work.

She has facilitated workshops and presentations on trauma-informed practice, decolonization, and culturally responsive service delivery, and she currently serves as a board member with the Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees.