Archives: Board Members

Inaya’s love of the Arabic language drove her and her family to Morocco in 2013. Upon their return, Inaya decided to bring Arabic to America. The mother-daughter team started a non-profit to promote less commonly taught languages. Her compassion and community service projects lead her to start a non-profit, Lift Her Voice Foundation. Inaya is an advocate for social justice and extremely passionate about supporting human trafficking victims and improving the condition of foster kids in America. Inaya spent two years at DiscoverSTEM where she filed patents for multiple innovations. She is currently a student at UT Austin and an intern with the Department of Family & Protective Services under their Human Trafficking Division.

Hajira holds a Bachelors in Science and Masters in Business Administration from Bangalore University. After working for five years in the corporate sector, Hajira began her journey as a Home Educator while continuing to work for non-profit organizations. With a passion for holistic approach to education she has been successfully homeschooling her three children for the last 7+ years. Being multilingual, Hajira has a strong desire to promote the same to young generations and firmly establish the roots of the amazing Semitic language of Arabic and the sweetness of Urdu. She also teaches ESL to refugee moms in the Dallas area and helps them to assimilate within the community by elevating their confidence. Hajira has a strong commitment to community engagement and instills the same values in her children.

Zahida Shaikh holds a Bachelors in Humanities, Teaching Urdu and Social Studies from Karachi University, Pakistan. In addition, she has a Masters in Educational Administration. Her extensive experience includes teacher training, curriculum development and administration. Zahida resides in Frisco, TX with her family. Zahida’s goal is to share her experiences with Americans to promote Urdu and create a love for this sweet language.

Uzma Sheikh was raised in the DFW area. She has grown up speaking Urdu and Punjabi. She is a registered nurse with a BS in nursing from the University of Texas. She has worked for several years in various hospitals in Texas and Ohio. Uzma is a very active community member. She is passionate about childrens education and involving children in giving back to their communities. She is married with 3 children.

Waleed graduated with a degree in international business and management from Montclair State University. He has been working in the non-profit sector for over 12 years and has visited Pakistan, Jordan, Turkey, Somalia and Kenya following natural disasters in which he assisted with relief efforts. Waleed has been an honored guest speaker at some of the most respected institutes in America consisting of Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, UConn, Yale, NYU, and SMU and the U.N. Waleed likes to keep himself busy by staying involved in charitable and socially impactful projects that help empower and unite communities.

Sumbla Farhat has over 20 years teaching experience, including over 5 years as Principal of an Elementary School. Sumbla feels strongly about promoting the Urdu language with young American students. She resides with her husband in Frisco, TX.

Saima Mustafa is a financial controller at a consulting company. She has developed her career in Finance for the past 15 years. Saima is married and has 4 children, ranging from ages 6 to 12. She currently resides in Plano, Texas.

Farouk Sheikh has a Masters in Property Valuation and Law and a Bachelors in Economics from the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE). Farouk is also the founder of First Fidelity REO, a portfolio management company that manages all aspects of acquisition, sales, and disposition of distressed real estate assets. Farouk is passionate about entrepreneurship and has mentored entrepreneurs at various incubators and accelerators in the United States and East Africa. He is an active community member and passionate about serving the community and giving back.

Alinah R. Malik was born and raised in Pennsylvania. She has a B.A. in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College and a M.S.Ed. in Secondary Mathematics Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Alinah has over 17 years of teaching experience ranging from Middle School to College level, including 10 years as a tenured professor at a community college in New Jersey.