Yusuf Zakir, Champion of DEI in Law, Receives Hazel McCallion Alumni Award

Yusuf Zakir, a leading advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal world, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Hazel McCallion Alumni Award of Excellence — an honour that celebrates University of Toronto Mississauga graduates who embody the late mayor’s fearless pursuit of purpose, equity and public service.

“Receiving this award is a call to action — not just for me, but for all of us,” says Yusuf, who graduated from UTM with an honours bachelor of arts in 2005. “We must all drive change, break down barriers and uplift others.”

Yusuf currently serves as Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, a national law firm in the U.S., where he oversees efforts to foster inclusive workplace culture and expand opportunities for historically under-represented groups.

Under his leadership, the firm developed a strategic DEI framework that has earned several awards.

Yusuf is also a frequent contributor to national conversations on equity in law and regularly partners with legal institutions and advocacy groups across the country.

Yusuf credits UTM with laying the foundation for his values and career. He studied business and philosophy — “two majors at odds with each other,” he notes — and learned to challenge conventional thinking.

He also found mentors in faculty members like Mark Weber and the late Jacqueline Brunning, both of whom, he says, believed in him when it mattered most.

Born in Toronto to immigrant parents from Kenya and Tanzania, Yusuf moved to California after graduation and began his legal career at multinational law firm Latham & Watkins. After dedicating hundreds of volunteer hours to DEI work, he transitioned into the field full-time, driven by a desire to help build a more just and inclusive society.

That sense of purpose, and the courage to act on it, is what draws Yusuf to McCallion’s legacy.

“She was always ready to buck tradition in order to do what was best for the people she represented,” he says. “This was not always the easy thing to do. But in doing it, she served as a role model for us and showed us how to lead with courage.”

Presented annually, the Hazel McCallion Alumni Award of Excellence celebrates UTM graduates upholding the values McCallion championed during her decades in public service — challenging the status quo, speaking out and pushing for positive change. 

McCallion, who died in 2023, served 12 terms as mayor of Mississauga and was a longtime supporter of UTM, where she served as special advisor and helped guide the campus’s growth.

Yusuf will accept the award at a ceremony on November 6, 2025.