OLD The ISB Team

Board of Directors

Dr. Nabile Safdar, Board Chair – Vice Chair of Informatics, Department of Radiology at Emory University
Ms. Qaadirah Abdur-Rahim – Chief Equity Officer, City of Atlanta
Dr. Laura Badwan – Pediatrician, East Cobb Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Imam Plemon El Amin – Imam Emeritus of Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam
Mr. Faraz Iqbal – Senior Vice President, Zilliant
Ms. Intisar Rashid – Attorney, Rashid & Associates, P.C.
Mr. Amin Tomeh – Principal at Matrix Engineering Group, Inc.
Dr. Ahmad Hashem – Chief Executive Officer, Boston Biopharma, Inc
Mr. Omar Hamid – Co-Founder of LaunchGood
Dr. Naim Shaheed – Podiatrist, Georgia Ankle and Foot Centers

Nouha Zaabab, Esq.– Associate Attorney at Jones Day

Advisory Council

Mr. Mohammad Azam – Vice President – Corporate Internal Audit, Compliance & Ethics, UPS
Rabbi Peter Berg – Senior Rabbi, The Temple
Mr. Kenny Blank – Executive Director, The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
Mr. Bill Bolling – Founder, Atlanta Food Bank
Mr. Imara Canady – National Director, Communications & Community Engagement, AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Mr. Greg Cole – Executive Director, Emmaus House
Ms. Ann Cramer – Senior Consultant, Cox Curry & Associates
Mr. Curley Dossman – President, Georgia-Pacific Foundation
Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley – Pastor Emeritus, Providence Missionary Baptist Church
Mr. Jason F. Esteves – Vice President of Legal at Equifax, Member of Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education
Ms. Hiba Ghalib, Esq – At Counsel, Kuck Baxter Immigration Law Firm
Mr. David Hoffman – Associate Director, Anti-Defamation League Southeast
Mr. John Horn – Partner, King & Spalding
Mr. Chuck Kuck – Partner, Kuck Baxter Immigration Law Firm
Ms. Michelle Maziar – Leadership in Government Fellow, Open Society Foundations
Ms. Maria Saporta – Weekly Contributor, Atlanta Business Chronicle and Founder/Publisher, SaportaReport.com
Ms. Jill Savitt – President and CEO, National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Mr. Doug Shipman – Atlanta City Council President
Ms. Vanessa Ibarra – Executive Director for The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of International & Immigrant Affairs

Executive Director

“SHE IS A FORCE OF NATURE”
– Greg Cole, Executive Director at Emmaus House

Soumaya Khalifa

along with a group of Atlantans, launched the Islamic Speakers Bureau (ISB) of Atlanta in August 2001. As the current Executive Director of ISB, she serves the Muslim and wider community by building bridges of understanding, creating interfaith partnerships, developing community leaders, and creating spaces for mutual understating and respect. Under Soumaya’s leadership, the ISB has developed its core programming and launched other key initiatives, including ISB Leadership Institute (ISBLI), 100 Influential Georgia Muslims, and 40 Under 40 Georgia Muslims. In 2017, Soumaya created a partnership with the Atlanta Mayor’s Office to host the ISB’s first ever Ramadan Iftar hosted at Atlanta’s City Hall and in 2018, the second Atlanta Mayor’s Iftar was attended by over 250 people.

Soumaya has received many awards and recognitions for her work with the ISB:

  • 2019 Academy of Women Achievers, YWCA
  • 2018 Arab American High Achiever Award, Alif Institute
  • 2017 City of Atlanta Phoenix Award, presented by Mayor Kasim Reed
  • 2012 FBI’s Community Leadership Award
  • Citizen Diplomat for the U.S. State Department
  • 2012 Invited to the annual White House Iftar hosted by President Barak Obama
  • 2015 Inducted into the College of Ministers and Laity
In addition to her work with the ISB, Khalifa is president of her intercultural consulting firm Khalifa Consulting. Soumaya is also an adjunct faculty member at Emory University’s Center for Continuing Education where she offers courses on intercultural communication and Human Resources Certification. Khalifa serves on Grady Foundation’s Grady Ambassadors, the board of the Concordia Forum, and is a past board member of AIB TV and SIETAR USA.