I’m excited to welcome you to the Arab-American Heritage Edition of Trailblazer Magazine. It seems fitting that we use this timeless proverb, which has been translated from Arabic to English, to convey the truth about this issue. Arab-Americans at this time in our history are facing a level of discrimination that is hard to grapple with. They have no minority acquisition status, yet they face many, if not most, challenges as other socioeconomic groups. This quote is particularly important because finding individuals to interview for this edition took mercy and grace. In hope against hope, I decided to search for a website that would list a telephone number for an Arab-American Organization. I quickly identified the Arab America Foundation, which listed Dr. Amal David (co-founder) under its Board of Directors. She was a retired educator from the Detroit Public School System. I desperately wanted to talk to her. So, when I dialed the number, I was shocked that Dr. Amal answered the phone. Clearly, as the proverb states, what was meant for me had to reach me. I interviewed Dr. David later that same day. She told me that the meaning of her name in Arabic was “Hope.” I had to chuckle. This wife-and-husband team are leading the charge for Arab-American Heritage Month to be recognized. For the last two years, President Biden has sent them letters doing just that. The David family is determined to leave a legacy for the generations to come. HUBZone Trailblazers are an integral component of our country’s story. Each of us has the opportunity to use our talents to make this nation even better, to include others on our journey. I have the opportunity and privilege to take you with me as you read these pages. My real question is, will you come, and when you come, will you be willing to add your talents, creating your own story? I hope your answer is YES! For this edition, I had the honor of interviewing Michelle Sturke, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Partnerships, Department of Defense. She strongly believes "Nothing About Us Without Us"! The idea that no policy should be decided without the participation of the people impacted by the decisions being made was truly refreshing to hear. We want everyone to get involved with future editions topics like the Military, Technology, Manufacturing, and much more. If you want to be a sponsor or just share a story, we want to hear from you. See you next month as we feature the HUBZone Asian Pacific Islanders Trailblazers.
Enjoy the issue,
Lily Milliner Vice Chair, HUBZone Council, Inc. & CEO, Build IT Up, LLC
table of contents.
FEATURE
Michelle Strucke Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Partnerships
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ASSOCIATION Dr. Amal Khalil David Co-Founder, Arab America and Arab America Foundation
CAPACITY BUILDING Rafif Jouejati CEO, Co-Founder and Visionary, P3 Solution
CONSTRUCTION & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
POLITICS Arab Americans chosen to be in the Biden Administration
Leonard M. Holzworth President/CEO, IPG
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table of contents.
SECURITY
TECHNOLOGY
Andy Jabbour
Naveen Awad
Co-Founder Gate 15
Managing Director & Partner Detroit, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
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THROWBACK
YOUNG DISRUPTOR Rima Cario Volunteered NGO Commission – World Lebanese Cultural Union
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Faith plays a very important role in the lives of most Arabs, regardless of their specific faith tradition.
Family is an extremely vital element to the lives of Arabs, not only as a source of support, but also of identity.
An extension of faith and family is community. It is a connection to culture for enjoyable and organizational purposes.
The US, since its first formation, has had a long history of engagement with the Arab World. Changes in immigration law continue to have significant impacts on the Arab American community. Arab immigration to the US has existed over 100 years.
For more population statistics click here! Arab Americans can be found throughout the United States, and literally in every state. However, there are certain areas that are known to have large Arab American communities. Not surprisingly, these are around major metropolitan areas, such as:
New York
Detroit
Los Angeles
Chicago
And Washington, DC
The largest concentration of Arab Americans can be found in Michigan, where some estimate that upwards of 500,000 Arab Americans.
Technically speaking, anyone who is a citizen of an Arab country is classified as an Arab. Culturally speaking, not everyone who lives in the Arab World sees themselves as Arab. It is virtually impossible to create a common Arab persona, given the diversity in the region. However, the majority of Arabs are untied by a common language (with different dialects), and a shared identity in Arab history and similar customs.
A S S O C I AT I O N & E D U C AT I O N
Dr. Amal David worked for the Detroit Public School System for over three decades, completing her career there as a Program Supervisor in Bilingual Dr. Amal Khalil David Education. This PalestinianCo-Founder, Arab America and American trailblazer is best Arab America Foundation known for lighting the trail for others to follow. Over the years, she has empowered HUBZone community youth to become business owners, doctors, lawyers, and politicians. She will even tell you the story about one of her former students, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. Her proudest moment was when the teacher became the student, birthing another trailblazer. Congresswoman Tlaib become the first woman of Palestinian descent in Congress, the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan legislature, and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.
Diversity Detroit has one of the highest percentages of minorities in the nation and a substantial amount of HUBZone communities. Dr. David had the opportunity to serve many historically disadvantaged individuals, especially the international students who came to Detroit. They arrived from a variety of Arab countries (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and many others). She taught her students, whether they were descendants from Arab, South America, or African nations to be proud of their ancestry. An early adopter of culturally sensitive curricula, she challenged her community to accept others, not give in to any stereotypes, and dream big. Dr. David believes that Arab-American women, in particular, are constantly fighting stereotypes that perpetuate the notion that they are weak, totally submissive, and uneducated. She counters these conversations with metrics that show the strength of Arab-American women.
Today, she is still challenging her community – but this time, it is adults all over the United States. Folks that are trying to deny access or the ones struggling to fit in. Sharing the lessons learned from the George Floyd movement – every human being has the right to breathe, and when they can’t breathe, they have the inalienable right to say so! They should never be punished for speaking up. Dr. Martin Luther King said it best: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Making Lemonade Out of Lemons
Detroit has a large number of HUBZone ArabAmerican small businesses such as gas stations, convenience stores, and restaurants. These businesses are often owned and operated by highly educated immigrants who came to this nation as doctors, engineers, or pharmacists but because they didn’t have the right certifications (or U.S. equivalencies), they were not able to practice here. Instead, they put their money together and started businesses. When the business started to grow, they hired people from the community.
Ignite
Photo: Arab America Instagram
Dr. David and her husband wanted to create a national movement that would make Arab-Americans proud while educating this nation about the rich heritage and contributions that Arabs have made globally. To this end, Arab American Heritage Month was launched on hope and a prayer. It is fitting to explain that Dr. David’s first name, “Amal” means “Hope” and clearly it worked. In 2021 and 2022, President Biden signed a letter recognizing this movement. He stated, “too many Arab-Americans continue to be harmed by discrimination, bias, and violence.” Dr. David is confident that Arab-American Heritage Month will inspire the youth of this generation and the ones to come. She is excited about having a torch to pass to her children and her children’s children. As Dr. David inspires the entire country during this Heritage Month, she reflects back to when she arrived in America to attend College in Lubbock, Texas. The people of Texas were very kind to her. She didn't know English, much less the culture. These wonderful people took her into their homes and their hearts. That is America she arrived in almost 50 years ago, and that is the one she hopes to ignite in every state of the union. This trailblazer is saying it loud, “I am proud to be an Arab-American”.
Photo: Arab America Instagram
C A PA C I T Y BUILDING
This trailblazer has spent a lifetime encouraging business owners, community leaders, and individuals to “better the Rafif Jouejati future.” Ms. Jouejati CEO, Co-founder and Visionary, P3 Solution believes it is not enough to encourage these groups – you must be willing to assist them in discovering the truth and the tools to blaze their journey.
Catalyst
Owning and operating a proposal development company for close to two decades has taught Ms. Jouejati, an American-born Syrian, what really matters when building capacity and sustainability for the journey. She will tell you that it takes every facet of communication, the first of which is being free. That is, our ability to listen actively with our mind, body, and soul. What is the person saying? What are they not saying? Are they passionate? Do they have a story to tell? Is it believable? Do they line up with your core values? The right answers to these questions led her to successfully help HUBZones and other socioeconomic businesses win contracts in the Federal and state and local space. Ms. Jouejati coaches her clients to go forward, succeed, and thrive, knowing they're not just winning a contract for the money but empowering their
community with well-paid jobs. To this end, the second facet of communication is documentation. She works with companies to create what we call “digital gold,” compliant, clear, and compelling proposals.
Winning
She would be the first to say, to win you must be willing to work hard to go after your dreams, push past the naysayers, and create a team of trusted partners. Partners that have the same ethos. When you lose, turn to each other for support and understanding. Failure is only a bad thing when you don't learn from it and take responsibility for your part. Leverage the input from every loss and eventually that “digital gold” will cascade, producing an avalanche of the right wins for your business and your community. Ms. Jouejati has witnessed first-hand the impact of collaborative work environments. Leaders who encourage their staff and are willing to lean on them and others for answers. She has seen them make the hard “no bid” decisions when they don’t have a compelling story; to bid would waste valuable dollars and time. Leaders who live in the brave space. They are courageous in saying NO now, and this provides them the resources to say YES later in their journey. Those are the trailblazers Ms. Jouejati is honored to support. These leaders never fail; they have created an ecosystem that invests in people: the ones providing services and the ones receiving them.
Activism Ms. Jouejati will tell us all that activism is everybody's job. Whether you’re an international leader or a small business owner with one employee – yourself. It is everyone’s job to promote the truth; to intervene in technical, social, political, economic, or environmental reform; to be the one that ignites positive change in your workplace, community, and nation. She is a strong supporter of federal procurement activism, pushing for contract vehicles that level the playing field so that communities of color are included and well-represented. That is to say, companies that provide innovative technical solutions while championing diversity and inclusion. They understand that the solution to their next problem may be in Arab-Americans, Minority, Muslims, Atheists, or Immigrants waiting to be hired and eager to impart their knowledge and experience. More recently, Ms. Jouejati has taken her trailblazing to international issues and human rights. Communities need the tools to empower them economically, politically, and socially. At the start of the Syrian Revolution in 2011, she began campaigning for equality, justice, and freedom for Syrians. Last year, she launched the Museum of Activism with the firstever Syria exhibit in Germany. The display of original artifacts from that war-torn country, including a Syrian perspective on the George Floyd events, encourages people of all walks of life to take action in the defense of human rights. Ms. Jouejati’s next project is “Women Rising” [showcasing women who have risen above their traditional upbringing and who must constantly help others overcome their cultural and ethnic biases].
Photo from: https://www.museumofactivism.org/copy-of-syria-6
Power to Unlearn
When Ms. Jouejati first introduced the word “unlearn” in my interview with her, I was puzzled. She explained that our growth in business is often based on what we perceive as our truth. Then what happens is we base our proposals, business models, and team interactions on that truth. But the power to unlearn requires business leaders and their staff to dig deeper, doing the due diligence to weed out misinformation and disinformation. What biases have led us to miss the mark? What knowledge about a bid, an influencer, or even a competitor has shaped your journey improperly? The power of unlearning allows us to crush stereotypes, and that enables our teams to soar. Start with the real truth as your foundation, discover it for yourself. The right foundation requires constant training. All of us are in a continuous learning mode, so let’s learn together and teach each other our “unlearning's.” Stay open to the possibility that there are new ways of doing things. We can unlearn negative behaviors; we can unlearn the knowledge that others want us to have and begin learning our truth. Lean into this evolutionary process. Don’t fight it; it is ongoing. Ms. Jouejati would ask our readers, once they understand this “power to unlearn,” to apply it to everything; create a better future for this generation and the next.
Photo from: https://www.museumofactivism.org/copy-of-syria-6
“Nothing About Us Without Us.” “This slogan has always resonated with me. The idea that no policy should be decided without the participation of the people impacted by the decisions being made. I believe in increasing meaningful participation.” Michelle Strucke By: Lily Milliner Photo: Michelle Strucke
M
Strucke, who stands a mere 4-foot ichelle Strucke is 10 inches, ran the 400-meter hurdles truly a trailblazer. and the 100-meter hurdles. She While attending became her coach’s poster child for Ithaca College, she hurdle jumps. The coach would ask made a deliberate decision to the scared but extremely fast immerse herself in Arab culture sprinters to watch this dynamo leap even as it made some members of over the hurdles toward the finish her New Jersey Italian family line. Often, Ms. Strucke would nervous. Ms. Strucke studied in literally go through the hurdles with Cairo, Egypt, where she embraced these sprinters, encouraging them the language, culture, people, and along the way. Though she never folklore. Her studies soon dispelled won a meet, her superpower was the myths that Arabs were very her ability to help others maximize different from Americans and their talents. What Ms. Strucke taught her how many Americans are loved most about it was when she of Arab descent. In fact, Arabs looked down the track at the 100come in all colors, shapes, and meter hurdles it looked impossible. ethnic and religious beliefs There's no way a human could do (Christian, Druze, Jewish, Muslim, this, and especially in just a few and so much more). Nearly two seconds. But every single time the decades later, Ms. Strucke’s gun went off, Ms. Strucke recalls experiences continue to shape how the moments when her body and she approaches global partnerships mind moved from the impossible to and her position as an ally to the the possible. She said, Arab American community, or “for me, our lives are should I say, her stance on Global Diversity & Inclusion. made up of seemingly
HURDLER To understand Ms. Strucke’s journey better, I have to take you back to her high school track days, when she was a hurdler. Ms.
impossible obstacles much like this that can become possible.” Ms. Strucke took that same hurdler
spirit to the workplace where she continues to inspire her team to go big making a global impact. In her unique hurdling style, Ms. Strucke is not focused on the time it takes to develop partnerships, but in her team’s ability to jump over any obstacles that might be in their path to meaningful relationships. She still gets that high school girl thrill when her team leaps over an obstacle, and much like then, she has never fallen over any of the hurdles. As the ultimate trailblazer, she reminded me that it didn’t matter that she lost every race, coming in dead last; the powerful lesson for me was what are we measuring: diversity? inclusion? capacity? sustainability? impact? Or much more? Ms. Strucke keeps identifying things to leap over, by continuing to learn, listening, adapt, and coach.
"NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US” For most of her life, Ms. Strucke has done her best to make sure participation was not peripheral but at the root of any process, program, and policy. This meant making sure that community organizations and individuals were at the table often before it was even set. “Nothing About Us Without Us” This slogan seems so simple, but Ms. Strucke has witnessed people who were actually being marginalized. Often being labeled as biased because they knew too much “too close to the conflict” or novice because their knowledge could not be measured in traditional ways stemming from
are the people who are often told to stand aside and be rescued. When emergency medical assistance was needed during the war in Syria, the best support came from many Syrian physicians who had received their medical training in Syria’s medical schools – in Arabic. These doctors knew the terminology, terrain, culture, and language. They were able to quickly mobilize supplies and staff to areas that had the most need. They often went in harm’s way to build and support field hospitals. These medical professionals leaped over the “status quo – we’re here to rescue you folks” to provide meaningful assistance to the Syrian people. Ms. Strucke worked on humanitarian assistance and translated and explained what the doctors were saying and why they had value to an audience of people that were not always valuing them. This interaction really changed her career. She owes so much Michelle Strucke, Deputy Assistant Secretary to these Arab-American of Defense for Global Partnerships the challenges (Syrian) doctors because they were “western or northern that occur when hardworking heroic. She became an ally, institutions.” This sort of behavior families are voiceless. When the promoting a system where this automatically led to the “without policymakers and administrators inclusion is at the center -- it's not a us” discounting people that were believe that they have the solution checkbox. It has been her privilege actually experts in their own and don’t include member to work on foreign assistance reform country, language, region, or their participation, obstacles are seldom because that's the area where she got development. She constantly overcome. Therefore, Ms. Strucke to work on localization, power, and challenged these assumptions to has spent her career with open ears inclusion to try to change the sort of increasing meaningful participation and hearts to represent all the dominant narratives to make it more by ensuring that all groups were people. To bring everyone into the inclusive. She will admit that it's seated at the table. A table where conversation so they can represent certainly a project that is not their feedback was taken seriously; themselves. completed, it's still a big project to given the place to be heard and Ms. Strucke gave a great example of keep working on but that was respected. what could have happened when the something that those doctors really As a child, Ms. Strucke experienced very people that are most qualified exemplified coming from all
different religions and cultures to selflessly give of themselves.
bias forever and never blaze a trail of your own. To be brave you must be willing to step out and try to make a change. You might not win, you might fail. Ms. Strucke will say she has failed a lot, but she also succeeds a lot too, neither would She believes what we do with our have ever happened without privilege determines how brave a continuing to live in a brave space. space we operate in. Each day, Change happens when people take HUBZone companies exercise their those brave steps back to look at the privilege by hiring individuals in greater good and ignore their selfeconomically stressed areas. Each gain. Change can happen when time we add another HUBZone people who are in a position to resident, we have expanded our change it are willing to not put their brave space, but what if we choose self-interest first. to do even more in that brave space. When Ms. Strucke was in college, she did just that. She thought about what it would be like If I had only one word to describe to build a bridge between Arabs and Ms. Michelle Strucke I would have non-Arab Americans so soon after to say relentless. Whether she is 9/11. What would it be like to walk shaping international policies, in their shoes? As she packed to go creating allyship, or just singing she to Egypt, she knew intuitively that is relentless in building meaningful her bravery would bring her communities. Constantly answers. encouraging humankind to ask questions and figure out where their Does the thought of doing more make you uncomfortable? If so, that talents can be shared selflessly. We is the space in which Ms. Strucke’s all have to be so relentless in asking team operates daily. The decisions those questions to really achieve they make impact nations. Her team inclusion wherever you are.
LESSONS IN BRAVERY
RELENTLESS
will tell you that being uncomfortable is not an excuse to slow down. It is their job to figure out the root of those feelings and take responsibility for doing something positive to mitigate those issues. As a seasoned trailblazer, she recommends listening to your entire village, hear them! Then act responsibly with the knowledge they have shared. Ask your people to challenge you and seek out challenges proactively because otherwise you will sit in your own
maternal mortality for women of color; and the Muslim American community to advocate for diversity & inclusion.
FINALLY I mentioned earlier that she was on the track team in high school, but she also is a talented singer. A decade ago, she performed “A Change is Gonna Come”. As I listened to her belt out the words as soulfully as the legendary Sam Cooke, I realized she was the change she was singing about. The changes she is helping to champion as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Partnerships. As a trailblazer, she has had some tough times, but she is carrying on much like that song [A Change is Gonna Come - Michelle Strucke LIVE in DC - YouTube].
Relentless does not stop when doing the right thing -- goes against our privilege status. As a servant leader, she listens carefully to people from all over the globe. She takes that information and determines what she can do to bring about meaningful changes which included working with: the Syrian American Medical society for the protection of health facilities; the State of Virginia to decrease
CONSTRUCTION & EMERGENCY MANAGMENT This trailblazer is all about the safety and security of our warfighters. Mr. Leonard M. Holzworth President/CEO, International Program Group Holzworth’s HUBZone (IPG) company (International Program Group (IPG)) is known for making the impossible, possible. From having factory manufacture and ship materials for 5,000 portable and modular shelter Panels in less than a week to designing and implementing a patent for the Sustainable Range Shelter (SRS) for live-fire training, his team has never missed a deadline. I guess it doesn’t hurt that Mr. Holzworth can communicate his appreciation for jobs well done in at least five (5) different languages. He has been recognized at the highest levels of government more recently having a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol in his honor for his tireless Patriotism to the United States of America. If that wasn’t impressive enough, this trailblazer received the Order of Merit - Issued by Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem. (Knights Templar) For service to Iraqi Christians in danger. When it comes to understanding the ethos of a nation, they call on this trailblazer to design and populate an entire community. One of their projects included the IPG Private Military Training Complex in the west coast mountains covering over 10,000-acres of
desert. IPG was able to design and stand-up 480 buildings to recreate an Iraqi city. This effort allowed our troops to immerse themselves in the terrain, language, temperature, religions, customs, garments, food, shops, and people. Most importantly, IPG hired 100s of Arab Americans to support the training of our troops, including Iraqi Role Players. Many of these employees lived in HUBZone communities. IPG brought Iraqi experts from all over the nation including translators, chefs, teachers, and guides to provide our troops with the tools and expertise needed to navigate the Iraq terrain. Then there were the teams for logistics, defense, housing, sanitation, healthcare, vehicles, demolition, and much more. This simulated city provided the situational cultural awareness our troops needed to keep safe and secure. Simple things like how to eat local foods could mean the difference between making a friend or an enemy. What Mr. Holzworth remembers most about this experience is how the men and women rallied to ensure that our servicemen understood the possible pitfalls of their future Iraq deployments. He expressed both gratitude and sadness about IPG Advisor, LtGen Charles Pitman, USMC (Ret). which served on the IPG Board of Advisors. LtGen Pitman retired from the Marine Corps after thirty-eight years of service and recently passed away in 2020.
Information and photo retrieved from https://www.arabamericannews.com/2022/04/04/president-biden-issues-letter-celebrating-arab-american-heritage-month/
Recognition of Arab American culture and contributions to the U.S. economy and social fabric has occurred on different levels since the 1990s, with Arab American heritage celebrated in school districts and more in various states, but no collective national heritage month came about till 2021.
POLITICS
Abizaid spent nine years working as a senior analyst within the Department of Defense before joining the National Security Council as a Director for Counterrorism from 2011-2013. She served as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
Ismael Ahmed most recently served as the Associate Provost for Metropolitan Impact at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. In this position, Ahmed was responsible for connecting academic initiatives for 9,000 students and 540 full and part-time faculty with over 500 community, business, and governmental partners.
Hady Amr, of Lebanese American heritage, has returned to the State Department to work on Israeli-Palestinian issues. This is his fifth executive branch post, including previous posts at DOD, DHS, USAID, and DOS. Most recently, during the Obama administration, he served as deputy special envoy for Economics and Gaza for the special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Originally from Damascus, Syria, Kinan Azmeh brings his music to all corners of the world as a soloist, composer, and improviser. Azmeh serves as artistic director of the Damascus Festival Chamber Players, a pan-Arab ensemble dedicated to contemporary music from the Arab world.
Nabeela Barbari is a proud PalestinianAmerican. Formerly an executive with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Barbari now leads integrated risk management, national security policy, and critical infrastructure security in her new role with the National Security Council (NSC).
For 14 years, Dodin served in Senator Dick Durbin’s Office. She rose through the ranks in Senator Durbin’s office from a law school intern to deputy chief of staff. In addition to her tenure in the Senate, Dodin volunteered for then-candidate Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, focusing on voting rights
Information and photos from https://www.arabamerica.com/arab-americans-in-the-biden-harris-administration-so-far/
Bitar is a Palestinian-American who has a law degree from Georgetown University and is a graduate of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. Since 2017, Bitar served as the general counsel for House Intelligence Committee Democrats. Prior to his appointment, Bitar served as the director for Israel-Palestinian affairs on the National Security Council under President Obama.
Laila El-Gohary is the daughter of Egyptian parents. El-Gohary was director of technology and operations-presidential personnel at the Obama White House in 2015 and 2016. She also was Deputy CTO for the Biden for President campaign, and CTO of the 59th Presidential Inaugural Committee. She was appointed White House Liaison for the GSA in in February 2021.
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She is of Lebanese and Greek descent and her grandfather was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Graham is a respected former Member of Congress with a reputation for fairness, compassion, and problem-solving. Graham served as the Congressional representative from Florida’s 2nd District during the 114th Congress and was known as one of the House’s most bipartisan members.
POLITICS
Habash joins the Biden-Harris Administration after years of fighting on behalf of 45 million student loan borrowers. Most recently, Habash helped launch the Student Borrower Protection Center, a national research and advocacy nonprofit where he led the Investigations Project to protect student loan borrowers.
He served as the Western Pennsylvania Regional Press Secretary for the Biden campaign after working in communications during the primary. Prior to joining the Biden campaign, he worked on Capitol Hill – first as a Press Assistant for Sen. Donnelly and as Deputy Press Secretary for the House Homeland Security Committee.
Information and photos from https://www.arabamerica.com/arab-americans-in-the-biden-harris-administration-so-far/
Hajjar is a third-generation Syrian American who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and currently resides in the Washington DC area. Anton George Hajjar is a labor and employment attorney and was formerly general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Maryland, and before the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts.
Born to Lebanese immigrants and a native Coloradan, Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Science in journalism from the University of Colorado – Boulder. Harmoush recently served as the Colorado communications director for the Biden for President campaign. She also worked at the Colorado State Legislature for the Speaker of the House and prior to that at the State Innovation Exchange.
Jaddou is the daughter of immigrants – a Sara Minkara is an advocate, expert, and facilitator in the mother from Mexico and a father from fields of disability, inclusion, authentic leadership, and Iraq. Jaddou has two decades of experience in social entrepreneurship. Minkara is a Muslim-American of immigration law, policy, and administration. Most recently, she was Lebanese descent. She is the founder and a Board Member of the Director of DHS Watch, a project of America’s Voice, where she Empowerment Through Integration (ETI), a nonprofit organization shined a light on immigration policies and administration that failed she established while still an undergraduate student. to adhere to basic principles of good governance, transparency, and
Ramadan is the son of Lebanese parents. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in Political Science and Government. Recently, Ramadan for two years was Congresswoman Debbie Dingell’s Constituent Services Representative & Grant Manager. Before that, Ramadan served on her reelection campaign as Senior Advisor and GOTV Director.
Kelly Razzouk is the proud daughter of immigrants from Lebanon and Serbia. Razzouk has over a decade of experience as a senior U.S. Government official, starting her career as a Presidential Management Fellow after graduating from law school. Now, Razzouk is the Deputy Chief of Staff for the UN Mission to the UN, chosen by US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Saad’s career spans from campaign staffing and community organizing to immigration issues at the local, state and national levels. Fayrouz has experience in state government prior to her current role where she served in Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration – leading the Office of Global Michigan where she was tasked with leading the administration’s efforts on immigration policy.
Shubat is a graduate of the University of Colorado. She is a first-generation American, the daughter of Jordanian immigrants. Prior to her appointment, Shubat has served in Senator Michael Bennet’s office as a legislative aide. In that capacity, she often served as lead contact in dealing with issues pertaining to the Middle East.
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Abdelall started her career practicing law, representing the interests of Arab American and Muslim American communities in front of the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Education and the White House. During the 2020 Presidential Campaign, she served as one of the key volunteers for President Biden’s “Arab Americans for Biden” group.
Since 2016, Dr. Choucair has been Kaiser Permanente’s Chief Community Health Officer, working on projects outside the typical purview of a healthcare organization. Before working at Kaiser, Dr. Choucair was chosen in 2009 to be Chicago’s public health commissioner where he helped launch the city’s first public health agenda.
SECURITY respond to, and recover from incidents arising from all hazards. The organization seeks to ensure the resilience and continuity of important community assets. Given that there are more than 400,000 houses of worship in the United States, Mr. Jabbour is determined to create a space where leaders share threat information in a secure, collaborative environment. To this end, his team has actually coldcalled hundreds of faith-based organizations to engage them If Scott Peck was writing “The in this mission of safety and security.
Road Less Travelled” today, he would be blown away with what Mr. Jabbour has accomplished thus far. Scott Peck would have had to write an additional chapter devoted Andy Jabbour to this trailblazer, who is Co-Founder Gate 15 navigating three frontiers simultaneously. This Lebanese-Palestinian-American became a triple threat when he decided to start separate businesses focusing on Homeland Security Risk Management, Faith-Based Protection, and Cannabis Security.
Faith-Based Mr. Jabbour’s stint in the United States Army fueled his passion for making a difference on a global scale. As an Army officer with deployments to Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan under his belt, he transitioned into the private sector, initially supporting the Department of Homeland Security. From there, he launched the Gate 15 Company, Faith-Based Information Sharing & Analysis Organization (FB-ISAO), and Cannabis ISAO.
“For I Was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me...Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” — MATTHEW 25:40 A trailblazer who puts GOD, family, and country first, Mr. Jabbour is most proud of the work he is doing with his nonprofit organization. FB-ISAO is a national network of faithbased organizations and associations that have been informed and equipped to prevent, protect against, mitigate,
With the recent bomb threats directed at more than a dozen Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), Mr. Jabbour’s team is working on roadshows targeting faithbased organizations in the historically underrepresented communities and HBCUs. Mr. Jabbour will be providing informational sessions covering threat levels and best practices for mitigating hostile events. A true believer in stakeholder participation, the FB-ISAO held its first community meeting in February 2022. At that meeting, members heard about the Top Five Threats for 2022 while participating in an immersive session on the use of collaborative workspace.
It Takes a Village Mr. Jabbour is all about expanding the village with more organizations willing to share information and resources to make our nation’s worship centers safe. He believes that no matter what your faith is, you should be able to worship without threats, intimidation, or abuse. His team is building a network where information is shared seamlessly across the nation, alerting our leaders about potential bad actors. It is critical that this intelligence be gathered and dispersed in real-time to analyze and mitigate potential threats. The pandemic has accelerated the number of threats and violence nationwide. Houses of worship are being defaced and vandalized, “from California to the New York Island.” Staff and members are being harassed, abused, assaulted, and even killed. FB-ISAO is about creating realtime faith-based digital neighborhood watches to stop the violence.
TECHNOLOGY Naveen Awad Managing Director & Partner Detroit, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
This trailblazer grew up in New Hampshire to Egyptian parents who taught their children to never compromise and follow their passion. That led Dr. Awad to seek a Ph.D. in Information Systems Management from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business. That same parental advice gave her brother the freedom to leave his Intel position and start a bakery, which is doing incredibly well. One child is an entrepreneur; the other keeps the doors wide open for other entrepreneurs.
She created environments where everyone could grow and learn by talking less and listening more. Part of her process was what we coined “evidence-based development”. She used the expertise she gained in pursuing her Ph.D. to obtain baselines and then create individualized growth plans. Dr. Awad used this expertise to coach and measure each person’s journey to success.
Development
Don’t Leave the Team Out of Teamwork
COVID-19 hit HUBZone businesses really hard, particularly women-owned businesses like cleaning services, hair salons, and childcare centers. Dr. Awad supported Grameen America, a microfinance organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus. The organization continued to support women-owned businesses during the pandemic, helping them shift their dream into something that could either survive or thrive during this critical time. While Grameen America provided loans, savings programs, financial education, and credit establishment to women who live in poverty in the United States, Dr. Awad stepped in to provide digital consulting services to the team.
Whether you are the consultant they brought in to solve the problem or a manager, leaving the team out of the process can have disastrous consequences. Just ask Dr. Awad about what happened early in her consulting career. She was working with a new team and went off on her own to solve the problem. When she came back with what she thought would work, she was met with roadblock after roadblock. Dr. Awad had lost the trust of the team. She soon realized that if the project was going to be successful moving forward, she would have to make sure she was working with the team. It might seem like it is taking more time, but you’re wrong. All those stops along the way add up to major delays.
Dr. Awad loves helping people with their development, whether it is at BCG, Wayne University, or in her community. Her mentors taught her to never lower her standards. It was her job to figure out a way to keep standards very high while changing the process to level the playing field. This was especially meaningful in various historically underrepresented areas and in helping people who didn't necessarily have the resources, education, or tools.
Dr. Awad realized that if she was going to be successful moving forward, she had to make sure she was working with people, bringing them along as they brought her along too, and that changed everything. As a consultant, her superpower is her ability to get the team to execute the strategy better than their competitors. Even when the project is extremely complex, she reminds her team to believe in the process. Transformation happens when you continue along a path of evaluation and adjustment.
For many decades, Lebanon has struggled economically and politically. This young trailblazer has been an outspoken leader for a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that organizes Americans in providing humanitarian support and highlighting the Lebanese Rima Cario people’s social and political Volunteered NGO Commission – issues. World Lebanese Cultural Union
YOUNG D I S R U P TO R
Family Business Ms. Cario’s passion comes from working in her family’s small construction business and seeing the impact it made on her community. People are always coming up to her, praising her father for the jobs he has brought to the community. As a young trailblazer, Ms. Cario wanted to have that same impact on a national scale. Joining the World Lebanese Cultural Union 7 years ago has done just that for her community. Ms. Cario has served as both the NGO Representative at the Economic and Social Council and the NGO Youth Representative at the Department of Public Information for the United Nations. Ms. Cario’s father fled Lebanon in the middle of the civil war. With his father’s passing, as the eldest sibling, he became his family’s sole provider. There were a lot of people to take care of. He quickly built the business from the ground up to be able to support
his immediate family in the U.S. and his extended family back in Lebanon. He was committed to supporting the ones he left behind until he could bring them to the United States.
Disaster & Economic Relief When the Port exploded in Beirut, Lebanon in August 2020, Ms. Cario had taken the week off to celebrate her 30th birthday. When the phones started ringing, all she could think about that week was how she could help the thousands of injured. Her organization jumped into action. She worked night and day, from fundraising to handling the East & West Coast logistics for medical supplies. Everybody wanted to help, including HUBZones, small businesses, and large companies – they all stepped up. Ms. Cario’s team connected the suppliers, volunteers, and transportation needed to help the Lebanese people. The upcoming elections in Lebanon in May could potentially level the playing field for the Lebanese people. Since the port explosion, numerous new parties representing youth and civil society have emerged, and they are introducing new ideas and strategies to offer Lebanese citizens the economic help they have been struggling to obtain. Ms. Cario has been rallying young Arab-Americans here in the US and fellow Lebanese in other countries to campaign for an expedient and transparent voter process. Ms. Cario is a trailblazer who helps people in her country of origin to understand that their vote counts and that it has the power to make a difference.
5 Arab American Trailblazers in American Foreign Policy Information retrieved from: https://www.usglc.org/blog/celebrating-5-arab-american-trailblazers-in-american-foreign-policy/
HOW ARABS CHANGED MEDICINE “Arab physicians and scholars also laid the basis for medical practice in Europe. The main Arabian hospitals were centres of medical education and introduced many of the concepts and structures that we see in modern hospitals, such as separate wards for men and women, personal and institutional hygiene, medical records, and pharmacies.” Information retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC1322233/
THROW BACK
In honor of Arab American Heritage Month, we want to showcase 5 Arab American Trailblazers in American Foreign Policy. Starting from the left, Hady Amr currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. His vast experience in foreign policy has had a great impact on shaping U.S.-Middle East policy for the past 20 years. Ambassador Selwa Roosevelt has an extensive experience in showcasing the best of America through her work. Appointed by President Regan as Chief of Protocol of the United States she held this position for 7 years, longer than any other person who has held this position. Ambassador George J. Mitchell’s lifelong service to America resulted in numerous victories. Starting as the U.S. Senator for Main to the United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace. Marcella Wahba’s amazing work created a strong partnership and understanding between the U.S. and other countries in the Middle East. She was awarded many awards for the work she has done, for example, after 9/11 she negotiated counterterrorism and anti-terrorist financing initiatives along with the US-UAE Trade and Investment Agreement. Lastly, on the right, Philip Habib was a career diplomate whose most known for his negotiating peace in Vietnam. He continued his work in diplomacy for many years serving long 4 different presidents. He was a man who made a difference in ending conflicts.