At nearly 20 years old, ISPU has benefitted from the experience, passion, energy, and wisdom of so many incredible people. The Alumni Impact Council harnesses the expertise and wisdom of those who have served ISPU in the past, providing a formal way for alumni, whether board or staff, to uplift and amplify the work of ISPU. While the Council has no decision-making power, it serves an advisory and partnership role.
Are you an ISPU alum interested in joining this council? Contact us.
Mustafa Ahmed
Mustafa M. Ahmed was previously a board member at ISPU. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Florida specializing in Advanced Heart Failure & Transplantation. His current research interests include exploring the dynamic between advanced heart failure therapeutics and socioeconomic status, as well as the interplay between faith and the health care system. Dr. Ahmed is the co-founder of the RAHMA Mercy Clinic, a nonprofit community initiative focused on delivering care to the underserved and uninsured. He received the Spirit of Gainesville Award in Medicine for his work in the community. Dr. Ahmed also serves on the advisory board of the Global Center for Islamic Studies at UF, which aims to deepen the understanding of the diversity of Muslim cultures and society through academic investigation, outreach, and education. He received his BA from the Johns Hopkins University and MD from West Virginia University.
Muzammil Ahmed
Muzammil Ahmed is one of the founders of ISPU. He is a urologist practicing in Metro-Detroit and a clinical assistant professor of urology at the Wayne State University Medical School. He currently serves as the Vice-Chief of Staff at Beaumont Wayne Hospital. He is the Chairperson of the Michigan Muslim Community Council and serves on the boards of the Council of American Islamic Relations (Michigan) and The Muslim Observer (TMO). He studied sociology as an undergraduate and received his MD from the University of Michigan Medical School.
Mazen Asbahi
Mazen Asbahi previously was a board member at ISPU. He has over 20 years of experience working with clients in healthcare and corporate law. In healthcare, Mazen represents physicians, dentists and other providers, as well as start-up and growth stage companies in the healthcare and technology sectors on their respective transactional, regulatory and operational matters.
Mazen’s corporate law background encompasses serving as outside general counsel to fast-growing companies and representing entrepreneurs, investors, and executives in the areas of start-up, venture capital and private equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and general commercial matters.
With a strong commitment to serving the community, Mazen has served on a number of boards of directors and regularly counsels nonprofit boards and executives on governance, best practices, and day-to-day operational matters. Mazen is a Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago, a premiere civic leadership development organization.
Mazen earned his J.D., with cum laude honors, from Northwestern University School of Law in 2000 and received a B.A. with high honors in political science and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan in 1996. He is currently attending Loyola University Law School to earn a LL.M. in Health Law.
Aisha El-Amin
Dr. Aisha El-Amin is the inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor for Equity and Belonging at the University of Illinois Chicago. Dr. El-Amin holds a PhD in policy studies of urban education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is passionate about issues of equity and justice in education. These passions have led her to become a certified teacher, a professor, an elected school board member, and board member for Routledge journal Religion and Education. As a higher education leader and administrator, Dr. El-Amin has served in various roles, including Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Associate Provost at UIC’s College of Education.
Dr. El-Amin’s activism is best captured in her past and present leadership roles with various Chicago-based organizations, including Teachers for Social Justice, Bridging the Gap, Inner City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago, and Masjid Al-Taqwa.
Katie Grimes
Katie Grimes is the Communications and Outreach Manager at the Pillars Fund. She collaborates with the entire Pillars team to enhance the awareness and impact of the community of Muslim leaders and organizational partners and grows Pillars’ ability to respond to, curate, and shape conversations.
Prior to joining Pillars, Katie served as the Communication & Creative Media Specialist at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, where she led web development, graphic design, video editing, and email communications. In 2018, she co-received a Wilbur Award for her work editing ISPU’s “An America without Muslims?” video. Katie has also worked for publications such as agnes films, The Journal for the Study of Radicalism, and Exceptions Journal, taking on the roles of staff writer, copyeditor, and social media specialist.
Katie is a graduate of Michigan State University where she earned a BA in Professional Writing and minors in Religious Studies and Digital Humanities.
Iltefat Hamzavi
Iltefat Hamzavi is one of the founders of ISPU and a ISPU Board Founding Chair Emeritus. Dr. Hamzavi is the vice president of Hamzavi Dermatology and its affiliate Dermatology Specialists. He also is on the faculty at Henry Ford Hospital’s department of dermatology and an assistant professor at Wayne State University, both in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Hamzavi has been selected as one of America’s Best Doctors and is considered an international expert in several skin diseases. He serves on the boards of Crescent Academy International and the School of Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University. Dr. Hamzavi received his BA and MD from the University of Michigan. In May 2017, Dr. Hamzavi was awarded the title of Founding Chair Emeritus in recognition of his 15 years of service as board chair.
Jonathan Hayden
Jonathan Hayden is the Director of Operations at the Colangelo Carpenter Innovation Center, a program from Leadership Foundations (LF). LF is a global network of 45 Local Leadership Foundations who are working to transform their cities for the better and Jonathan leads the effort to generate and scale programs, partnerships and best practices throughout the network and beyond. He has worked in the academic and non-profit sectors for 15+ years including stints at American University and ISPU. He attended The University Of Alabama and resides in Alexandria, VA.
Saeed Khan
Saeed A. Khan is an ISPU co-founder and scholar. He currently serves in the Department of History and Lecturer in the Department of Near East & Asian Studies at Wayne State University-Detroit, Michigan, where he teaches Islamic and Middle East History, Islamic Civilizations and History of Islamic Political Thought. Mr. Khan is also a Research Fellow at Wayne State University’s Center for the Study of Citizenship. He is also Adjunct Professor in Islamic Studies at the University of Detroit-Mercy and at Rochester College, co-teaching a course on Muslim-Christian Diversity.
With areas of focus including US policy, globalization, Middle East and Islamic Studies, as well as genomics and bioethics, Mr. Khan has been a contributor to several media agencies, such as C-Span, NPR, Voice of America and the National Press Club, as well as newspapers and other outlets, and is also a consultant on Islamic and Middle East affairs for the BBC and the CBC. In addition, he has served as consultant to the US-Arab Economic Forum. Mr. Khan has founded the Center for the Study of Trans-Atlantic Diasporas, a think tank and policy center examining and comparing the condition of ethnic immigrant groups in North America and Europe, consulting the US and UK governments on their respective Muslim communities. Most recently, Mr. Khan has become co-host of the radio show “Detroit Today” on Detroit Public Radio.
Meira Neggaz
Meira Neggaz is the former Executive Director at ISPU, where for nearly a decade she was responsible for the institution’s overall leadership, strategy, and growth. Meira worked to build and strengthen ISPU, to cultivate relationships with community leaders, policy makers, scholars, partner institutions and stakeholders, and to broaden the reach and impact of ISPU’s research. Before joining ISPU, Meira served as Senior Program Officer for Marie Stopes International (MSI), a leading, UK-based organization working in 42 countries. There, she led and managed programs in multiple countries, developed partnerships with key stakeholders and partner institutions, provided technical advice, and managed key grants and donor relationships. Formerly, Meira was the first Executive Director of WINGS in Guatemala, where she grew the organization from its infancy to become a national leader in the health sector, and the Guatemala Country Representative for Curamericas, establishing country presence and leading a USAID funded child survival project. She holds a BA from Huron University in London and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Aamir A. Rehman
Aamir Rehman served on the ISPU board of directors, and currently is the Head of Strategy for Fajr Capital Ltd., a principal investment firm focused on attractive Muslim markets. He is the author of Dubai & Co.: Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States as well as Gulf Capital & Islamic Finance. Rehman was formerly the global head of strategy for HSBC Amanah, a worldwide business unit of the HSBC Group, serving more than 300,000 customers in major markets of the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States. Previously a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, he has advised clients in multiple industries regarding a wide range of strategic issues. Since 2008, he has been an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based nonpartisan research organization. Rehman received a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies and an MBA from Harvard University.
Saima Siddiqui
Saima Siddiqui was a member of the ISPU board of directors beginning in 2008. She served as board chair (2017–2018), chaired the nominations committee and served on the governance committee, and led the most recent executive director search for ISPU.
Ms. Siddiqui has a background in higher education and professional development. She most recently served as the Vice President of Development, Alumni and University Relations at The Washington Center. Prior to joining the Washington Center, she led career services at National University of Singapore Business School, building and strengthening recruiting and career counseling for 3000 MBA and BBA students. She also has served as vice president at Mom Corps, an innovative placement firm that works with companies to develop flexible staffing models. Before moving into education and career development, she worked in finance and community development.
Ms. Siddiqui holds a Master of Government Administration and a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS from Northwestern University. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband, Kamran Khan, and her two children.
Shariq Siddiqui
Dr. Shariq Siddiqui is a former board member of ISPU. He serves as the assistant professor of philanthropic studies and director of the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Shariq has a PhD and MA in philanthropic studies from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. He also has a JD from the McKinney School of Law at Indiana University and holds a BA in history from the University of Indianapolis. Shariq authors research on Muslim philanthropy and the Muslim nonprofit sector. Most recently, he conducted a national survey of full-time Islamic schools in the United States. This project resulted in the book (which he co-authored) Islamic Education in the United States and the Evolution of Muslim Nonprofit Institutions that will be published in November 2017. Shariq also serves as the co-editor of the new Journal of Muslim Philanthropy and Civil Society and Journal of Education in Muslim Societies, and as the series editor of the Muslim Philanthropy and Civil Society book series. All three of these are published by Indiana University Press. He has served as a nonprofit practitioner for over 20 years for international, national, regional, and local nonprofit organizations.
Kristin Waterbury
Kristin Waterbury is the Academic Program Specialist at the University of Michigan’s Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies. She is passionate about documenting the histories of underrepresented groups in the metropolitan Detroit area. Her work has primarily focused on refugees and immigrants, specifically those who are Arab American and Muslim American. Kristin has previously worked with local and national institutions collaborating on grant and programming management, research, and development, including work at ISPU as a research assistant.
She also serves on the Livonia Historic Preservation Commission. Kristin holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and an MA in Public History from Wayne State University.
Mustafa Ahmed
Mustafa M. Ahmed was previously a board member at ISPU. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Florida specializing in Advanced Heart Failure & Transplantation. His current research interests include exploring the dynamic between advanced heart failure therapeutics and socioeconomic status, as well as the interplay between faith and the health care system. Dr. Ahmed is the co-founder of the RAHMA Mercy Clinic, a nonprofit community initiative focused on delivering care to the underserved and uninsured. He received the Spirit of Gainesville Award in Medicine for his work in the community. Dr. Ahmed also serves on the advisory board of the Global Center for Islamic Studies at UF, which aims to deepen the understanding of the diversity of Muslim cultures and society through academic investigation, outreach, and education. He received his BA from the Johns Hopkins University and MD from West Virginia University.
Muzammil Ahmed
Muzammil Ahmed is one of the founders of ISPU. He is a urologist practicing in Metro-Detroit and a clinical assistant professor of urology at the Wayne State University Medical School. He currently serves as the Vice-Chief of Staff at Beaumont Wayne Hospital. He is the Chairperson of the Michigan Muslim Community Council and serves on the boards of the Council of American Islamic Relations (Michigan) and The Muslim Observer (TMO). He studied sociology as an undergraduate and received his MD from the University of Michigan Medical School.
Mazen Asbahi
Mazen Asbahi previously was a board member at ISPU. He has over 20 years of experience working with clients in healthcare and corporate law. In healthcare, Mazen represents physicians, dentists and other providers, as well as start-up and growth stage companies in the healthcare and technology sectors on their respective transactional, regulatory and operational matters.
Mazen’s corporate law background encompasses serving as outside general counsel to fast-growing companies and representing entrepreneurs, investors, and executives in the areas of start-up, venture capital and private equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and general commercial matters.
With a strong commitment to serving the community, Mazen has served on a number of boards of directors and regularly counsels nonprofit boards and executives on governance, best practices, and day-to-day operational matters. Mazen is a Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago, a premiere civic leadership development organization.
Mazen earned his J.D., with cum laude honors, from Northwestern University School of Law in 2000 and received a B.A. with high honors in political science and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan in 1996. He is currently attending Loyola University Law School to earn a LL.M. in Health Law.
Aisha El-Amin
Dr. Aisha El-Amin is the inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor for Equity and Belonging at the University of Illinois Chicago. Dr. El-Amin holds a PhD in policy studies of urban education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is passionate about issues of equity and justice in education. These passions have led her to become a certified teacher, a professor, an elected school board member, and board member for Routledge journal Religion and Education. As a higher education leader and administrator, Dr. El-Amin has served in various roles, including Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Associate Provost at UIC’s College of Education.
Dr. El-Amin’s activism is best captured in her past and present leadership roles with various Chicago-based organizations, including Teachers for Social Justice, Bridging the Gap, Inner City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago, and Masjid Al-Taqwa.
Katie Grimes
Katie Grimes is the Communications and Outreach Manager at the Pillars Fund. She collaborates with the entire Pillars team to enhance the awareness and impact of the community of Muslim leaders and organizational partners and grows Pillars’ ability to respond to, curate, and shape conversations.
Prior to joining Pillars, Katie served as the Communication & Creative Media Specialist at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, where she led web development, graphic design, video editing, and email communications. In 2018, she co-received a Wilbur Award for her work editing ISPU’s “An America without Muslims?” video. Katie has also worked for publications such as agnes films, The Journal for the Study of Radicalism, and Exceptions Journal, taking on the roles of staff writer, copyeditor, and social media specialist.
Katie is a graduate of Michigan State University where she earned a BA in Professional Writing and minors in Religious Studies and Digital Humanities.
Iltefat Hamzavi
Iltefat Hamzavi is one of the founders of ISPU. Dr. Hamzavi is the vice president of Hamzavi Dermatology and its affiliate Dermatology Specialists. He also is on the faculty at Henry Ford Hospital’s department of dermatology and an assistant professor at Wayne State University, both in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Hamzavi has been selected as one of America’s Best Doctors and is considered an international expert in several skin diseases. He serves on the boards of Crescent Academy International and the School of Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University. Dr. Hamzavi received his BA and MD from the University of Michigan. In May 2017, Dr. Hamzavi was awarded the title of Founding Chair Emeritus in recognition of his 15 years of service as board chair.
Jonathan Hayden
Jonathan Hayden is the Director of Operations at the Colangelo Carpenter Innovation Center, a program from Leadership Foundations (LF). LF is a global network of 45 Local Leadership Foundations who are working to transform their cities for the better and Jonathan leads the effort to generate and scale programs, partnerships and best practices throughout the network and beyond. He has worked in the academic and non-profit sectors for 15+ years including stints at American University and ISPU. He attended The University Of Alabama and resides in Alexandria, VA.
Saeed Khan
Saeed A. Khan is an ISPU co-founder and scholar. He currently serves in the Department of History and Lecturer in the Department of Near East & Asian Studies at Wayne State University-Detroit, Michigan, where he teaches Islamic and Middle East History, Islamic Civilizations and History of Islamic Political Thought. Mr. Khan is also a Research Fellow at Wayne State University’s Center for the Study of Citizenship. He is also Adjunct Professor in Islamic Studies at the University of Detroit-Mercy and at Rochester College, co-teaching a course on Muslim-Christian Diversity.
With areas of focus including US policy, globalization, Middle East and Islamic Studies, as well as genomics and bioethics, Mr. Khan has been a contributor to several media agencies, such as C-Span, NPR, Voice of America and the National Press Club, as well as newspapers and other outlets, and is also a consultant on Islamic and Middle East affairs for the BBC and the CBC. In addition, he has served as consultant to the US-Arab Economic Forum. Mr. Khan has founded the Center for the Study of Trans-Atlantic Diasporas, a think tank and policy center examining and comparing the condition of ethnic immigrant groups in North America and Europe, consulting the US and UK governments on their respective Muslim communities. Most recently, Mr. Khan has become co-host of the radio show “Detroit Today” on Detroit Public Radio.
Meira Neggaz
Meira Neggaz is a former Executive Director of ISPU, where for almost a decade she was responsible for the institution’s overall leadership, strategy, and growth. Meira worked to build and strengthen ISPU, to cultivate relationships with community leaders, policy makers, scholars, partner institutions and stakeholders, and to broaden the reach and impact of ISPU’s research. Before joining ISPU, Meira served as Senior Program Officer for Marie Stopes International (MSI), a leading, UK-based organization working in 42 countries. There, she led and managed programs in multiple countries, developed partnerships with key stakeholders and partner institutions, provided technical advice, and managed key grants and donor relationships. Formerly, Meira was the first Executive Director of WINGS in Guatemala, where she grew the organization from its infancy to become a national leader in the health sector, and the Guatemala Country Representative for Curamericas, establishing country presence and leading a USAID funded child survival project. She holds a BA from Huron University in London and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Aamir A. Rehman
Aamir Rehman served on the ISPU board of directors, and currently is the Head of Strategy for Fajr Capital Ltd., a principal investment firm focused on attractive Muslim markets. He is the author of Dubai & Co.: Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States as well as Gulf Capital & Islamic Finance. Rehman was formerly the global head of strategy for HSBC Amanah, a worldwide business unit of the HSBC Group, serving more than 300,000 customers in major markets of the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States. Previously a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, he has advised clients in multiple industries regarding a wide range of strategic issues. Since 2008, he has been an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based nonpartisan research organization. Rehman received a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies and an MBA from Harvard University.
Shariq Siddiqui
Dr. Shariq Siddiqui is a former board member at ISPU. He serves as the assistant professor of philanthropic studies and director of the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Shariq has a PhD and MA in philanthropic studies from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. He also has a JD from the McKinney School of Law at Indiana University and holds a BA in history from the University of Indianapolis. Shariq authors research on Muslim philanthropy and the Muslim nonprofit sector. Most recently, he conducted a national survey of full-time Islamic schools in the United States. This project resulted in the book (which he co-authored) Islamic Education in the United States and the Evolution of Muslim Nonprofit Institutions that will be published in November 2017. Shariq also serves as the co-editor of the new Journal of Muslim Philanthropy and Civil Society and Journal of Education in Muslim Societies, and as the series editor of the Muslim Philanthropy and Civil Society book series. All three of these are published by Indiana University Press. He has served as a nonprofit practitioner for over 20 years for international, national, regional, and local nonprofit organizations.
Saima Siddiqui
Saima Siddiqui was a member of the ISPU board of directors beginning in 2008. She served as board chair (2017–2018), chaired the nominations committee and served on the governance committee, and led the most recent executive director search for ISPU.
Ms. Siddiqui has a background in higher education and professional development. She most recently served as the Vice President of Development, Alumni and University Relations at The Washington Center. Prior to joining the Washington Center, she led career services at National University of Singapore Business School, building and strengthening recruiting and career counseling for 3000 MBA and BBA students. She also has served as vice president at Mom Corps, an innovative placement firm that works with companies to develop flexible staffing models. Before moving into education and career development, she worked in finance and community development.
Ms. Siddiqui holds a Master of Government Administration and a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS from Northwestern University. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband, Kamran Khan, and her two children.
Kristin Waterbury
Kristin Waterbury is the Academic Program Specialist at the University of Michigan’s Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies. She is passionate about documenting the histories of underrepresented groups in the metropolitan Detroit area. Her work has primarily focused on refugees and immigrants, specifically those who are Arab American and Muslim American. Kristin has previously worked with local and national institutions collaborating on grant and programming management, research, and development, including work at ISPU as a research assistant.
She also serves on the Livonia Historic Preservation Commission. Kristin holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and an MA in Public History from Wayne State University.