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About Shusmita Sharma-Tiwari
Visionary Leader • Advocate for Equality • Champion of Community
Shusmita Sharma-Tiwari is a Motivational Speaker, Personal Development Advocate, Pageantry Specialist, Private Tutor, Social Media Influencer, seasoned Administrative Assistant and Executive/Personal Assistant, Fundraiser, Event Planner, Entrepreneur, Political Enthusiast, and dedicated Community Volunteer and Advocate whose journey has been shaped by a longstanding commitment to service, leadership, education, personal development, and giving back to her community.
A proud Indo-Canadian, Shusmita has spent much of her life balancing her Canadian upbringing with a strong appreciation for her Indian heritage, traditions, family, and culture. Her diverse experiences have helped shape her belief that individuals do not have to limit themselves to one profession, passion, or definition of success. Instead, she believes that a meaningful life can be built through the combination of professional achievement, personal growth, community involvement, creativity, and service to others.
Education & Academic Background
Shusmita holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology has contributed to her interest in people, communities, culture, social relationships, institutions, identity, and the ways individuals interact with the society around them. Her Master of Business Administration has complemented this foundation by developing her understanding of leadership, management, organizational operations, strategy, entrepreneurship, and business.
Together, her educational background has helped shape a multidisciplinary approach to her professional career, community leadership, entrepreneurship, education, advocacy, public speaking, and public service.
Professional Career
Professionally, Shusmita is a seasoned Administrative Assistant and Executive/Personal Assistant with experience supporting professionals and organizations across a diverse range of industries, including healthcare, education, finance, trading, and business.
Throughout her career, she has developed experience in executive and administrative support, office management, scheduling, client and patient relations, event coordination, communications, records management, document preparation, organisational operations, and providing high-level assistance to executives and professionals.
Her work across different industries has strengthened her ability to communicate with people from diverse professional, cultural, and personal backgrounds while adapting quickly to new environments and responsibilities.
Shusmita can converse in English, Hindi, and French, allowing her to connect with individuals from different communities and cultural backgrounds.
Education, Tutoring & Personal Development
Education is another important dimension of Shusmita's professional life.
As a Private Tutor, she works with students across different subjects and academic levels, helping them strengthen their knowledge, critical-thinking abilities, study habits, and academic confidence.
Her approach to education extends beyond examinations and grades. Shusmita believes that one of the greatest things an educator can give a student is the confidence to think independently, ask questions, persevere through challenging material, and recognize their own potential.
That philosophy connects closely with her work as a Motivational Speaker and Personal Development Advocate.
Through speaking and mentorship, Shusmita has developed a particular interest in subjects including confidence, resilience, leadership, cultural identity, personal growth, first impressions, community involvement, overcoming setbacks, finding one's voice, and learning how to step outside one's comfort zone.
A Lifelong Commitment to Community Service
Community involvement has been a defining part of Shusmita's life since her teenage years.
She began volunteering at approximately 14 years old, becoming involved with hospitals, children's charities, non-profit organisations, community programs, and charitable initiatives. What began as teenage volunteerism gradually developed into a lifelong commitment to community service.
Over the years, Shusmita has contributed her time and leadership to numerous initiatives involving healthcare, children's causes, seniors, fundraising, charitable organisations, community events, civic engagement, and volunteerism.
Her experiences have ranged from grassroots volunteering to organizing and supporting major fundraising initiatives. Through her fundraising work, she has helped support significant charitable efforts benefiting healthcare institutions and children's causes.
As a Fundraiser and Event Planner, Shusmita particularly enjoys bringing people together around a shared purpose. She believes successful community events are not simply about attendance or fundraising totals; they are about creating connections and inspiring people to become invested in their communities.
In honour of her late mother, Dr. Shivani Sharma, she is preparing to host a major fundraiser supporting the Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, continuing her family’s legacy of compassion, service, and care.
Politics & Public Service
Politics and civic engagement represent another important dimension of Shusmita's ambitions.
She has maintained a strong interest in politics, government, elections, and public service, seeing political involvement as another opportunity to advocate for people and contribute to the development of stronger communities.
Importantly, Shusmita has not limited that interest to observing politics from the sidelines.
She has run municipally twice, giving her firsthand experience with campaigning, connecting with residents, listening to community concerns, understanding local issues, and experiencing both the challenges and rewards associated with seeking elected office.
Those experiences strengthened rather than diminished her interest in public service.
Looking toward the future, Shusmita hopes to continue to "go up the ladder" in the world of politics—one day at a time.
She recognizes that political leadership is a journey rather than a destination. Her goal is to continue learning, building relationships, understanding the needs of communities, expanding her experience, and remaining open to opportunities to serve at increasingly greater levels.
For Shusmita, politics and volunteerism ultimately share the same foundation:
Listening to people and being willing to serve them.
Achievements in Volunteerism & Philanthropy
A lifelong volunteer, Shusmita has contributed over 300 hours to the Markham Mayor’s Youth Council, earning the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Student Volunteer Pin for exceptional service. Her leadership and humanitarian work have been recognized through numerous honours, including:
• Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, Lions Clubs International
• King Charles III Coronation Medal for Community Leadership & Service
• Top 40 Under 40, Markham Board of Trade & York University (Markham Campus)
Shusmita continues to support a wide network of community organizations, including the Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation, Youth and Parents Association of Markham (YPAM), Aim for Seva, 100 Women Who Care Markham, Canadian Intercultural Association of Community Development (CIACD), SMCC Ladies Group, and more.
Pageantry as a Platform for Empowerment
Pageantry has played an important role in Shusmita's personal development at different stages of her life.
Her experiences have led her to develop a particular interest in the intersection of pageantry, confidence, public speaking, personal branding, leadership, community platforms, advocacy, and personal development.
Today, as a Pageantry Specialist and Mrs. Canada Inc. 2027 Finalist, Shusmita advocates for seeing pageantry as something far greater than gowns, crowns, photographs, and appearances.
She believes pageantry can provide women with an opportunity to develop confidence, communication skills, discipline, resilience, friendships, professional connections, and, most importantly, a platform through which they can advocate for causes that matter to them.
For Shusmita, the most meaningful crown is ultimately the one that allows someone to use her voice to make a difference.
Public Speaking & Toastmasters
Public speaking is another important part of Shusmita's personal and professional journey.
Through motivational speaking and her involvement with STAR Toastmasters, she continues to develop her skills as a communicator and storyteller.
Her speaking interests include personal development, volunteerism, confidence, resilience, leadership, cultural identity, community involvement, women's empowerment, pageantry, overcoming challenges, and finding one's voice.
Having experienced periods of shyness earlier in life, Shusmita particularly appreciates the transformation that can occur when someone learns to trust their own voice.
Social Media Influencer & Building an Authentic Digital CommunityCare
Alongside her professional, community, speaking, pageantry, and entrepreneurial pursuits, Shusmita is also a Social Media Influencer and growing digital personality who is intentionally working to build an authentic and engaged community of followers.
For Shusmita, social media is about much more than simply accumulating numbers. She wants to create a genuine online community where people can follow the many different chapters of her journey and connect with the values, experiences, causes, and projects that matter to her.
Her growing social media presence allows her to share content related to personal development, motivational speaking, pageantry, community service, volunteerism, entrepreneurship, education, lifestyle, culture, politics, events, travel, and Beyond 40 Hours: The Series.
As someone involved in numerous professional and personal endeavours, Shusmita sees social media as a way of bringing those different worlds together. It provides her with a platform to document her experiences, highlight community organisations and changemakers, share lessons learned, celebrate accomplishments, and hopefully inspire others to pursue their own goals.
Rather than focusing solely on follower counts, Shusmita is intentionally working to establish an authentic base of followers who genuinely want to follow along with her numerous endeavours.
She hopes her audience will grow organically around shared interests, meaningful conversations, encouragement, and an appreciation for the many different facets of her life.
For Shusmita, being a Social Media Influencer is ultimately about using influence responsibly—not simply being seen, but using a growing platform to connect with people, tell stories, promote positive initiatives, encourage personal growth, and bring greater visibility to causes and individuals doing meaningful work.
Beyond the Resume: Life Outside of Work
Despite maintaining a busy professional and community schedule, Shusmita strongly believes that personal interests and creativity are important parts of maintaining a balanced and fulfilling life.
In her free time, she is an enthusiastic reader and writer and enjoys immersing herself in stories through movies and television.
The performing arts also remain close to her heart.
Shusmita enjoys dance, particularly Bollywood dance, as well as singing and vocal performance. She also plays the saxophone, reflecting another side of her appreciation for music and creative expression.
She enjoys staying active through a variety of recreational sports and activities. Her interests include tennis, pickleball, badminton, bowling, and the occasional Zumba session.
Shusmita also enjoys travelling, experiencing different destinations, cultures, foods, and perspectives whenever opportunities arise.
At home, she enjoys cooking, appreciating both the creativity involved in preparing food and the way food can bring families and communities together.
Whether she is dancing to Bollywood music, singing, picking up her saxophone, playing badminton or pickleball, bowling, experimenting in the kitchen, travelling somewhere new, reading a good book, writing, or settling in for a movie or television series, Shusmita believes personal interests are an important reminder that personal development also includes making room for joy.
Culture, Family & Identity
Growing up in Canada while maintaining strong connections to her Indian heritage has also played an important role in shaping Shusmita's identity. She values the traditions, family relationships, celebrations, food, music, language, and cultural practices associated with her Indian background while equally embracing the experiences and opportunities that have come from growing up in Canada.
Navigating these different worlds has contributed to her interest in conversations surrounding identity, culture, belonging, family, tradition, representation, and the experiences of multicultural Canadians.
It has also influenced her ability to connect with individuals across generations and communities.
One Person, Many Passions
Today, Shusmita's life cannot easily be summarised by a single professional title.
She is a:
Motivational Speaker.
Personal Development Advocate.
Pageantry Specialist.
Private Tutor.
Social Media Influencer.
Seasoned Administrative Assistant and Executive/Personal Assistant.
Fundraiser and Event Planner.
Dedicated Community Volunteer and Community Advocate.
Entrepreneur and Founder.
Political Enthusiast with aspirations for greater public service.
And a Mrs. Canada Inc. 2027 Finalist.
At first glance, these roles may appear unrelated. To Shusmita, however, they are connected by one common denominator:
People.
Whether she is supporting an executive behind the scenes, tutoring a student, organizing a fundraiser, speaking before an audience, creating social media content, volunteering at a community event, participating in pageantry, campaigning for public office, interviewing a community champion through Beyond 40 Hours, or simply encouraging someone to believe a little more strongly in themselves, Shusmita wants her work to have a positive impact on the people around her.
Her journey continues to evolve.
As she expands Beyond 40 Hours: The Series, prepares for its future in-person initiatives, continues her journey toward Mrs. Canada Inc. 2027, develops her motivational speaking and personal development work, builds an authentic community of followers around her numerous endeavours, pursues her professional interests, remains active within her community, and gradually explores where her political aspirations may take her next, Shusmita remains committed to growing without forgetting why she started.
She believes leadership does not begin when someone receives a title, wins an award, earns a crown, earns a degree, builds a large following, or gets elected.
Leadership begins when someone decides to show up.
Her approach to the future reflects the same philosophy that has guided much of her journey:
Keep learning.
Keep serving.
Keep growing.
Keep showing up.
And wherever the next chapter leads—whether in community service, business, education, pageantry, media, content creation, motivational speaking, or politics—take it one day at a time.
More information about Shusmita Sharma-Tiwari, her professional background, community involvement, speaking, pageantry, volunteerism, Beyond 40 Hours, social media presence, and ongoing projects can be found at www.sharmatiwari.ca.
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