Shahnaz Qayumi Biography

Developmental Psychology & Pedagogy | Educator | Founder | Author | Community Leader

Shahnaz Qayumi is a respected educator, founder, author, and community leader with decades of experience in early childhood education, developmental psychology, trauma-informed practice, and community empowerment. She is a faculty member in the Early Childhood Education Department at Langara College and holds a Master’s degree in Developmental Psychology and Pedagogy. She also completed a Master’s Certificate from the Harvard Program in Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery (2014).

She has taught Early Childhood Education at Native Education College, Kwantlen University College, and Vancouver Community College, bringing a strong equity-based and culturally responsive approach to her teaching. She also facilitated a Family Empowerment Early Childhood Education program in North Delta, funded by the BC Ministry of Health, supporting low-income families through education and community engagement.

Shahnaz is the Founder of Blütezeit gGmbH Kindergarten in Berlin, Germany, a large-scale early learning centre that opened in 2020. Blütezeit serves approximately 160 toddler and preschool-aged children and is grounded in play-based, inclusive, and child-centered pedagogy, reflecting her commitment to high-quality early childhood education across cultural and national contexts.

Deeply committed to social justice and inclusion, she has served on the Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Awareness Committee of the Vancouver Women’s Visible Minority Organization and as a Mentor in Leadership Roles with the National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada. For seven years, she led Afghan community programming through “Caravan TV,” and in 2011 chaired Afghan Cultural Heritage Day in Vancouver, fostering cultural pride and cross-cultural understanding.

In 2012, she became Chief Operating Officer of Partnership Afghanistan Canada (PAC), where she played a pivotal role in building the Center of Excellence for Innovation and Research within the Faculty of Psychology and Education at Kabul University. That same year, PAC partnered with the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Science and Technology to launch an innovative mobile learning initiative using LIVES (Learning through Interactive Voice Educational Services). This M-Learning project empowered Afghan parents to assess and support their children’s development across physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional domains.

In 2017, PAC partnered with World Vision Afghanistan to improve women’s literacy in remote regions including Herat, Ghor, and Badghis. She later led the needs assessment for the Education for Deprived Children of Afghanistan project (2019). Although implementation is currently on hold due to restrictions on girls’ education, her commitment to educational equity remains unwavering.

Shahnaz is also a children’s author. Her published works include:
• Like You and Me (2011)
• Afsana Seesana: Afghan Folk Story for Young Children (2014)
• Run Away Like a Gingerbread Man (2018)
• Zia’s Story (2024)

Through education, leadership, and storytelling, Shahnaz Qayumi builds bridges between communities, cultures, and generations — placing children, families, and human dignity at the heart of her work.