Board of Directors
Zainab Zeb Khan
Ms. Khan chairs the Muslim American Leadership Alliance. Born in Chicago to immigrants from Pakistan and Afghanistan, Khan became a community activist after eye-opening experiences counseling survivors of domestic violence and organizing exhibitions for international female artists facing repression. A former Senior Clinician, she co-curated the International Museum of Women’s exhibition “Muslimah: Muslim Women’s Arts and Voices.” She has served as a United Nations Delegate on the Commission on the Status of Women since 2013, and she is a member of Picture Motion’s Impact Advisory Board and PBS Exploring Hate: Antisemitism, Racism and Extremism. An acclaimed visual artist, she was honored with the inaugural UNICEF Next Generation Chicago Humanitarian Award, as well as the 2020 Silver Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year in the non-profit sector. She has published in Oral History Review about MALA’s “Muslim American Journeys” program recording Muslim American oral histories. Zainab published an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal on tje need for Muslim Americans to combat anti-Semitism after the atrocious terrorist attack on October 7th in Israel.
Kalid Loul
Loul war born in Pittsburgh to parents who immigrated from Syria. He spent most of his childhood in New Jersey until his parents decided to move their family back to Damascus so Loul could receive an intensive Arabic and Islamic education. After earning degrees from Rutgers and Dominican University, Loul launched GlobalGeeks. Today the electronics company has over 75 employees worldwide, including one individual from every race reported by the U.S Census. GlobalGeeks is also involved in charitable work, supporting breast cancer awareness and providing emergency PPP supplies to first-responders in New York and New Jersey. Loul’s charitable work with MALA has been recognized by members of Congress, including Representative Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY). He spearheads MALA’s LGBTQ engagement efforts and leads MALA’s Muslim American philanthropy initiative. He also serves as Board of Director for UPS Consumer Advisory Board.
Naeem Udin
A chemist with extensive experience working at leading energy and pharmaceutical companies, Uddin is a recipient of President Obama’s Presidential Service Award. He grew up in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, where he saw firsthand the devastating impact of a crumbling public education system and the indoctrination of young boys into extremism. At age 16, Uddin immigrated to America and pursued a career in science. At MALA, Uddin spearheads foundation outreach and corporate social responsibility initiatives. He has advanced MALA’s African-American engagement efforts, including a partnership archiving stories from MALA’s “Muslim American Journeys” oral history project at the Smithsonian African-American Museum.
Ahmad Zabi Rahat
Rahat is a native of Afghanistan who was adopted as a teenager by an American family in Indiana after enduring tragedy in his homeland. He works as a Senior Consultant at Deloitte, with a focus on behavioral change management. Rahat previously served as Organization Development Coordinator at the Center for Theory of Change, helping to promote best practices in international development, sustainability, and human rights. He holds an MBA and Master’s degree in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University. Rahat helps drive MALA’s scholarship initiative and mentor emerging leaders. He debuted MALA’s oral history collection “Muslim American Journeys” at the Library of Congress; presented to the American Sephardi Federation about shared Muslim-Jewish culture in Afghanistan; and has run numerous events for MALA’s New York Community Builders Council.
Maha Rasheed Khan
Maha Khan, a first generation of Pakistan descent whom is from a family, deeply entrenched in the fabric of Pakistan.
She found her passion fighting for underprivileged communities from a very young age, which led her to join various organizations to bridge the gap.
She was the first of Pakistani heritage to be appointed onto the board of Sweetwater Country Club Women’s Association. She joined the Salvation Army Women’s Auxillary, where she became adept at directing awareness in support of those in need. In 2010, she was appointed to a task force regarding school zoning, bond, and policy-making. Here, she became familiar with government policy and reform, both international and National which is her passion.
Maha also has been on panels with the Atlantic Council, Washington DC think tank and has organized programming with them. Knowing the importance of community recreation, she accepted an offer in 2017 to be the Chairman of the Super Bowl Extravanganza for Super Bowl 51 in Houston, Texas. In tandem with her role, she also was elected to the Board of Historical Texas Treasures. She started volunteering for the Developments in Literacy (DIL) organization for educating underprivileged children in Pakistan in 2003, and through her persistent fundraising ability, was elected President of the Houston chapter in 2018. She is also on the Board of Directors for Crime Stoppers-Houston, a national organization dedicated to crime prevention across Greater Houston. Soon after, she was appointed to be the Ambassador from Texas for the American Pakistan Foundation.
Maha uses her many platforms to spread awareness and harness the power of collaboration in order to better serve the communities. She has also participated in the United Nations Women for Peace engagement. She has also, through the American Pakistan Foundation, been a part of the Council of Women US/ Pakistan council, a private and public partnership with the US State Department. As a Board of Director for MALA, Maha helps build international and National community outreach with the Smithsonian and American Folklife Center. She also conducts outreach with diaspora groups among the broad Muslim American and Pakistani Community and helped forge corporate sponsorships with companies such as Facebook.
