The Advisory Board serves as critical resources and provides
input and guidance on a variety of matters.
Thomas Abraham is a nationally recognized business entrepreneur and civic leader. He is the son of the late Genevieve and Anthony R. Abraham founding members of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He currently serves as President/Partner in the operation of numerous family office enterprises. For over 45 years, the Anthony R. Abraham Foundation which he chairs, has provided millions to numerous worthy causes in Lebanon such as the Genevieve Abraham School of Nursing, the Lebanese Hospital-Geitawi, the school for the Blind and Deaf, the Spastic Center, the Crèche St Vincent de Paul, the Lebanese American University, the Lebanese Order of the Knights of Malta, Beirut Marathon ,the Rene Moawad Foundation, Little Sisters of Nazareth, APEAL, the Beirut Marathon Association and more. He also achieved widespread acclaim for his vision and cultural commitment to contemporary artists in Founding Miami’s not-for-profit StarArt Foundation. Mr. Abraham is also the Founder of the Beirut Foundation -USA and Help US Rise Initiative.
Fouad Chartouni is a Lebanese real estate investor and developer.
He is president of Kensico Properties, a real-estate holding company based in New York. He graduated from the American University of Beirut and received a master's degree in business from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in economics from Columbia University.
While completing his PhD at Columbia University, he bought The Lowell Hotel at a time when New York really did not have any small luxury hotels. Coming from a European background, he felt that New York needed a European style luxury boutique hotel. Fouad Chartouni is involved in several cultural projects and philanthropic activities.
Hazem H. Chehabi is a board-certified nuclear medicine physician and the founder and president of Newport Diagnostic Center. Born in Aleppo, Syria, he attended the University of Damascus, School of Medicine, then moved to the U.S. to pursue his postgraduate training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Hazem has been honored as a distinguished fellow by both the American College of Nuclear Medicine and the American College of Nuclear Physicians. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, he was selected to receive the Orange County Medical Associations “Physician of Excellence” award. He has served as the Chair of The University of California Irvine Foundation Board of Trustees between 2011 to 2014 and is Trustee Emeritus at Claremont Graduate University.
The scion of a prominent Iraqi family, Hussein Al-Damirji was raised as part of the Iraqi diaspora in Beirut and London. A graduate of jurisprudence from Pembroke College, Oxford, and law at Harvard Law School, he has over 30 years of international experience having worked and working with some of the most preeminent international firms in London, Washington D.C and the MENA region.
Hussein has a track record of successfully establishing relatively unknown firms in the MENA region under very competitive market conditions. He founded a law firm that went on to be nominated by the leading legal publication in the United Kingdom for Best Firm MENA in pro bono work. With a unique ability to cross cultures, he is an advisor and Board member to a number of corporations, to prominent families and to UHNW individuals for both inward and outward investments in the USA, MENA region and Europe. Hussein works with the international law firm DLA Piper.
Omar Durra is a board-certified anesthesiologist born in Los Angeles, CA to Jordanian-Palestinian parents. He completed his internship and residency at Rush Presbyterian St Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago as chief resident. He went on to complete his cardio-thoracic anesthesiology Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, where he became fellow of the year from 2001 to 2002. He returned to Los Angeles and began his professional career as an attending anesthesiologist at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where he is currently an associate professor, a program director of the advanced clinical anesthesia fellowship, co-director of the neuro-spine anesthesia division, and a faculty member of the anesthesia simulation center. In the midst of the Corona virus pandemic, he has been a front-line medical professional as the head of the COVID-19 airway management team. Omar has numerous clinical publications and has written several peer-reviewed articles in medical journals; he is a presenter and moderator for numerous national anesthesia conferences.
Louay Eldada, a Lebanese American businessman, is the Founder and CEO of SCIDATEK. A technical leader with proven track record at both small and large companies and a recognized expert in nanotechnology and advanced optoelectronics, he is the former CEO of Quanergy Systems, a developer and manufacturer of advanced nanophotonic 3D sensors and sensing systems.
He formerly was VP of Technology at Amprius, where he led the R&D and Engineering activities, developing advanced energy storage solutions using rechargeable lithium ion batteries based on silicon nanowire anodes. Dr. Eldada is Associate Editor of the Journal of Photonics for Energy. He published 280 technical papers and books, chaired and organized 160 technical conferences, gave 200 keynote and invited talks, garnered 50 technical awards, and has 64 patents.
Eva Kotite Farha graduated from Beirut University College, currently Lebanese American University, majoring in mathematics and computer science. She worked at MD Anderson hospital in the Biomath department as a statistician in cancer research. She is one of the founders and president of the Lebanese Club at Houston. She was also a member of National Organization of Arab-American Women that participated at the United Nations Women’s Conference in Beijing, China.
She formerly served on the Board at Institute of International Education, the Health Musuem of Houston and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Lebanese American University as well as of the Methodist Debakey Heart and Vascular Center.
Bassima Al Ghussein has been the Council's Executive Director of the Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) since January 1, 2021. Prior to joining the MEPC, she founded Alghussein Global Strategies, a government affairs and communications consulting firm. She has executed projects involving the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Dept. of State, the European Union, the British Parliament, the Egyptian Parliament, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Economic Forum. Ms. Alghussein is a Truman National Security Project Political Expert, a Board Member of Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security (WCAPS), and a member of the Meridian International Center Young Global Leaders Council. She frequently appears on international news outlets to discuss foreign and domestic policy issues. Ms. Alghussein earned her master's degree from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Security Studies and her bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College in International Relations.
Luciana Haddad Hakim is an experienced attorney who received a Doctorate in Law at Mackenzie University in São Paulo-Brazil, being awarded with a Master’s degree of Law and specialization in Comparative Law and International affairs, both at Harvard University. She has more than 25 years of strong entrepreneurship, working in the areas of Negotiations, Planning, Intellectual Property all over the world, Litigation, Health Care, Medical Devices and New Business Development. She is a legal advisor and strategist leader on multinational legal matters , representing US and Multinational Corporations doing business in the US and litigation on South American countries. An art lover and Philanthropist, Luciana has co-founded AQUARELA, a Foundation providing better quality of life for foster kids in Colombia.
Khaled Janahi is the Chairman of Vision 3. He served as Group Chief Executive at Dar Al-Maal Al-Islami Trust (DMI Trust Switzerland). He is the Chairman of the Solidarity Group Holding, Naseej Company, Faisal Private Bureau of Switzerland, and the Islamic Investment Company of the Gulf. He is also the Executive Vice-Chairman of Ithmaar Bank and a Boards Member at the Faisal Islamic bank of Egypt and Ithmaar Bank. He has served on a number of other boards including the Center for International Business and Management, and the University of Cambridge. Khaled holds a BS in Computer Science & Accountancy from the University of Manchester, and he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He is currently focused on venture capital, specifically on start-ups.
Lynn Jochim has established herself as a prominent leader and collaborator in the creation of world-class cities within California. AS President and Chief Operating Officer at FivePoint Holdings, LLC, Jochim guided the strategy and implementation of fully integrated, multi-generational communities that generated approximately 288,000 jobs during construction and $54 billion in activity for the California economy. Jochim has addressed solutions to some of California’s biggest challenges - job creation, climate change, the environment, mobility, and the lack of affordable housing and housing inventory. Previously, Jochim served as Regional Vice President of Lennar Homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the early 1990s, Jochim founded and was president of a minority and woman-owned business, and the BIA Women’s Education Council. Jochim has also served on the board of the Oakland Children's Hospital and as a president and board member of the Building Industry Association in Northern California.
Habib Kairouz is a Managing Partner of Rho Capital Partners, Inc. a private equity firm with approximately $1.2 billion under management and offices in New York, Palo Alto and Montreal. Rho's business units span various classes of private equity investments, including venture capital in early stage and growth equity technology and healthcare companies (Rho Ventures and Rho Canada), buyouts in the technology sector (Rho Acceleration) and fund investments in all classes of venture capital and private equity funds (Rho Fund Investors). Prior to joining Rho in 1993, Habib worked for five years in investment banking and leveraged buyouts with Reich & Co. and Jesup & Lamont.
Habib received a B.S. in Engineering and a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University.
Dr. Dana Khuthaila is a New York City plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians, and Surgeons of Canada in Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Khuthaila has been chosen as a Top Doctor by Castle Connolly Top Doctors and Super Doctors featured in The New York Times, for five consecutive years. She has chaired and moderated at workshops and seminars across the world in different plastic surgery specialties.
Dr. Khuthaila specializes in procedures for the breast and body, and is known for performing all of her procedures using her “Drainless” technique.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon and living in the United States since 1980, Jack Kofdarali is President of J&T Management Inc. He and his family purchased their first business, a liquor store in Newport Beach, California. In 1990, they purchased their first gas station in Calimesa, California. In 2000, Jack became sole owner of the J&R Oil Company, and continued to grow the business. Along with specializing in finding gas station sites and building them from ground up, J&T Management also specializes in building commercial retail centers throughout Southern California as well as owning and managing apartment units in Texas. Jack is active in local politics attending/supporting many local representatives (city council members, mayors, county supervisors) as well as state and federal representatives.
Amel Najjar is the Executive Director & Founder of Children of War Foundation, a California based 501©3 non-profit, providing healthcare to children worldwide. In addition to her work with COWF, Amel is an active Ambassador for Children’s Hospital LA, advocating for current life-altering research and initiatives, as well as ongoing international outreach development. Amel has succeeded in developing partnerships with many non-governmental organizations such as the UNHCR-United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees, and UNICEF to foster the growth of COWF. Amel’s interest in technology innovation and global impact, lead her to Oxford Saïd Business School in 2016, completing the Women Transforming Leadership program and then continuing on to study towards her Oxford Executive MBA (EMBA).
Fadi Elsalameen is a political commentator, op-ed writer, and public speaker on Arab-Israeli affairs. He is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the American Security Project, a Washington, DC think tank that developed the American national security vision and strategy for the 21st century, an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, and was a Non-resident Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Elsalameen also served as a fellow with the New America Foundation’s American Strategy Program, a nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. Elsalameen was a Principal of a Washington, D.C. private equity and venture capital investment firm, and served as Senior Vice President-Government Relations for LISCR, the management company of the Liberian Registry. Elsalameen is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) China studies program.
Dr. Doaa Taha is a Professor of Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence at Harrisburg University of Science & Technology where she is an active member of its Women in STEM initiative. She is also an entrepreneur having led a number of global business development portfolios, as Managing Director and Board Co-Chair of global boutique Strategic Advisory Services firm. Doaa is the Chair of the Women’s Empowerment Forum, and the National Board Secretary of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). She aslo serves on the Advisory Committee of Women Forward International promoting women’s rights to advance humanity through research.
Doaa was the Senior Advisor to the International Women’s Media Foundation in Dubai. A George Washington University Doctoral Alum in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, Doaa was the Senior Research Coordinator at the GWU Institute for Crisis, Disaster & Risk Management (ICDRM). She is a published researcher, author, co-editor, and peer reviewer, on a number of Academic and Professional areas of endeavor. Doaa is also a member of Business Women of Egypt – BWE21.
George Altirs is a Lebanese self-made entrepreneur and businessman with a degree in software engineering who moved to New York in the late 80’s. In 1990, he and his brother Massoud established GMA Accessories/Capelli NY, a New York City based hair accessories design and manufacturing company. In just a few years the company grew to become one of the biggest players in the U.S. fashion industry. George now manages one of the largest privately held fashion companies in the world. In 2011, he founded Capelli Sport, an innovative sports apparel and fitness equipment company which now sponsors and equips youth and pro-level soccer clubs and organizations worldwide. George also founded Cedar Stars Academy, that provides a platform for kids in need to go to college or pursue the route of becoming a professional soccer player. George is the chairman of the board of trustees of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik and board member of several businesses within the United States.
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