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

The ISB Team

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

 

The ISB Team
The ISB Team

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.

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