Muj – Horizon

Mujtaba (Muj) Haider

For Director

“Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.”
-Oprah Winfrey

Mujtaba is a systems-minded leader who translates complex challenges into practical, scalable policies and programs. Known for a rare blend of big-picture strategy and hands-on implementation, Mujtaba builds solutions that function inside institutions and across communities. His work is guided by a commitment to equity, measurable impact, and making everyday life more affordable and supportive for students.

Building better systems in Campus Housing across more than five terms as a Don and three terms as a Front Desk Assistant, Mujtaba partnered closely with senior leadership in Campus Housing to reform the residence experience model with a focus on first-year student transition and retention. Key contributions included redesigning student-staff training curricula to strengthen frontline skills in crisis response, inclusive community-building, and proactive student outreach. Mujtaba introduced structured feedback loops between resident staff and leadership, enabling rapid iteration on programming and operational procedures, and helped streamline processes that reduced administrative friction for student-facing teams. These reforms were rooted in systems mapping, stakeholder engagement, and simple, testable policy changes that could be scaled across communities.

As Lead Coordinator of the WUSA Food Support Service for six terms, Mujtaba led a multi-channel strategy for donations, volunteer coordination, and partner engagement that resulted in the largest donation haul in WUSA history. Emphasis was placed on making the program replicable—standardized intake and distribution processes, a clear points system for drives, templates for outreach materials, and partnerships that reduced logistical overhead. Mujtaba’s approach combined day-to-day operations with processes and documentation so the model could be reproduced by other student groups and institutions. Beyond collection totals, efforts focused on dignity in service, ensuring distribution practices preserved choice and accessibility for students experiencing food insecurity.

Over five terms as a Wellness Assistant in the Faculty of Engineering, Mujtaba worked with the Associate Dean of Student Teaching and Experience to design wellness initiatives that fit academic rhythms and student needs. Contributions included program design, cross-department coordination, and evaluation planning to track what worked. Mujtaba played a supporting role in the campus Farmers Market effort, contributing logistical and outreach support to expand student access to fresh, affordable food while ensuring initiatives aligned with broader food-security goals.

Mujtaba brings to the Board a record of operational rigor, collaborative leadership, and policy-making that is both ambitious and implementable. Building on his success leading the WUSA Food Support Service, Mujtaba will push beyond emergency food access toward sustainable systems: advocating for meal plan flexibility, bringing affordable fresh food directly to campus, and ensuring no student has to choose between groceries and textbooks. Housing insecurity undermines academic performance and mental health, and Mujtaba will advocate for increased on-campus housing capacity, push for transparency in student housing costs, and work with the broader Waterloo community to expand affordable options that help students thrive, not just survive.

Rather than waiting for crisis, Mujtaba champions preventative approaches that address systemic stressors such as: reducing financial anxiety, redesigning academic support systems, and ensuring wellness resources are accessible and culturally responsive. His approach is distinctly systemic: redesigning structures that create barriers, ensuring student voices shape institutional decisions, and holding the university accountable to its equity commitments.

The goal is clear: a campus that is more affordable, more inclusive, and fundamentally better set up to help students thrive.