Leadership Updates at FEZANA
Exciting Leadership Updates at FEZANA!
The FEZANA Executive Committee is pleased to announce the appointment of three outstanding leaders to key positions within the organization. Please join us in welcoming Mahtab B. Dastur as Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee, Benaisha Major as Co-Chair of Zoroastrian Youth of North America (ZYNA), and Zia Pochkhanawala as Co-Chair of the UN-NGO Committee.
We look forward to their leadership, dedication, and vision as they advance FEZANA’s mission and strengthen our community.
Welcoming Mahtab Dastur as Advocacy Committee Co-Chair!
Mahtab joins Parshan Khosravi as the Co-Chair for the Advocacy Committee. Mahtab has been an active member of the Advocacy Committee for the past year, helping organize Zoroastrian Day at the Texas State Capitol in Austin and at Rice University — both of which were recognized by political and community leaders.
She has represented the Zoroastrian community on several international platforms, including the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 2021 and 2023 and the United Nations in 2025. She also served as the immediate past Religion & Culture Co-Chair for ZYNA. Currently studying Policy and Neuroscience, Mahtab is passionate about advancing Zoroastrian advocacy and building stronger partnerships with associations across North America.
Welcoming Benasha Major as Zoroastrian Youth of North America (ZYNA) Committee Co-Chair! |
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Benaisha joins fellow Co-Chairs Fravash Chothia and Natalie Kanga in leading ZYNA as it continues to strengthen connections, inspire engagement, and empower the next generation of Zoroastrian youth across North America.
We also extend our sincere gratitude to outgoing Co-Chair Anaheez Karbhari for her exceptional leadership and unwavering dedication to ZYNA since its revival. Anaheez’s vision, mentorship, and tireless commitment have been instrumental in ZYNA’s growth and success. FEZANA and the entire ZYNA community thank her for her outstanding service and lasting contributions.
Benaisha Major is a supply chain professional and emerging industry leader with experience in demand planning, supply planning, operations, and supply chain strategy across North America. She is currently a Supply Planning Manager for Tim Hortons USA at Restaurant Brands International, where she leads a team, plans initiatives, manages key vendor and 3PL relationships, and drives process improvements that support business growth and operational excellence.
She holds both a Master of Supply Chain Management and an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Benaisha is also a Certified Supply Chain Leader (CSCL) and Certified Supply Chain Management Professional (CSCMP).
Beyond her professional career, Benaisha is passionate about leadership, mentorship, and community engagement. She serves as Co-President of the Schulich Supply Chain Alumni Association, where she helped create the Schulich Women in Supply Chain mentorship program. Additionally, she currently serves as Co-Chair of Finance and Fundraising for the Zoroastrian Youth of North America (ZYNA), helping raise funds to support youth initiatives and retreats. She has played an integral role in planning the 2026 Chicago ZYNA retreat as the Logistics and Registration Lead for over 140 attendees.
Outside of work and volunteering, Benaisha is an avid reader with a personal library of more than 750 books, enjoys building meaningful connections through mentorship, and is always looking for opportunities to learn, travel, and give back to her community.
Welcoming Zia Pochkhanawala as United Nations Non-Governmental (UN-NGO) Committee Co-Chair!
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Zia will lead advocacy efforts aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, strengthen FEZANA’s engagement at UN forums, and bring a scholar-practitioner lens to the committee’s communications and outreach work.
A fourth-year PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at Baylor University, Texas, Zia is a dedicated scholar-practitioner in multicultural and global education. Her research focuses on the crucial area of embedding global competency in teacher education. Her research focuses on how global competence is cultivated in doctoral students who will become the next generation of teacher educators and curriculum developers. This work aims to equip these future scholars to dismantle structural barriers, address inequities, and ensure their teaching cultivates justice and inclusion in diverse classrooms.
After completing her Master’s in Counselling in Australia, Zia was a Psychology teacher and mental health counselor to students pursuing the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in diverse educational settings, including two United World Colleges in India and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Bombay International School, India. Her doctoral research at Baylor University, combined with her experience as an IB educator at United World Colleges across two continents, brings both academic rigor and international perspective to this role.
As an active advocate for systemic change, Zia currently serves as the Chair of the Advocacy Committee and previously served as the Chair of the Diversity Committee within the Graduate Student Association at Baylor.She brings this same commitment to the global stage as a returning FEZANA delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), where she has presented on gender bias in education (CSW69) and global competence as a pathway to equity in education (CSW70). Zia’s professional experience brings a rich, international perspective and she is committed to applying her expertise in scholarship and real-world advocacy to further the mission of the UN-FEZANA team.
We warmly welcome Zia to this leadership position and look forward to the depth and dedication she brings to the FEZANA UN-NGO team.
FEZANA also extends its heartfelt appreciation to Behram Pastakia, who now assumes the distinguished role of Emeritus Co-Chair after decades of exemplary leadership and dedicated service. Behram has been the driving force behind the UN-NGO Committee, representing the Zoroastrian faith with distinction at the United Nations and on the global stage. We are deeply grateful for his outstanding contributions and are honored that he will continue to share his wisdom and mentorship in guiding the next generation of UN-NGO leaders.
With these exciting new appointments, we look forward to the continued growth and impact of the Advocacy, ZYNA and UN-NGO Committees under the leadership of Mahtab, Benaisha and Zia.