Commissioners

Commission Chair Tharwat Abouraya  is Chief Executive of Abouraya Consulting Group and a socially conscious leader with expertise in business and finance. He previously held senior roles at American Express and AAA. Appointed to the Maryland Governor’s Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs in 2020, he now serves as Chair. A founding member of the American Egyptian Strategic Alliance, he has received leadership and marketing awards from Disney and American Express. Tharwat chairs the International Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and revitalized the Baltimore Luxor Alexandria Sister City Committee. He also created the American Egyptian Women of Influence podcast and received the Unity Productions Foundation’s Peace Award for his bridge-building efforts between Egypt and the U.S.

Shivaani Arya has an MBA from Robert Kennedy College, Switzerland, she has a strong background in executive leadership and strategic operations.  As former EMEA Regional Director at MRINetwork, she led Middle East offices, driving innovative staffing solutions.  She is the founder of Kesar By Shivaani (formerly Touch of Delhi), a food facility dedicated to providing nutritious meals through partnerships with nonprofits.  Its mission supports vulnerable populations including seniors, children, women in distress, and those in rehabilitation.  The company also offers premium catering and works to combat food insecurity in the DMV area.

Dr. Bagher Fardanesh, Ph.D., MPA. is a professor of international marketing, negotiations, and public policy, taught at the Johns Hopkins University before joining UMD, Smith School of Business. Currently, he is with the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Also, he authored two books on cross-cultural communications. He chaired the World Affairs Conference at the University of Colorado.

Francis J. Ricciardone is a retired career U.S. Foreign Service Officer.  His leadership positions in government, business, education and diplomacy include U.S. Ambassador to The Philippines, Palau, Egypt and Turkey; Deputy U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan; and President of American University in Cairo, Egypt.  He advises on business-government relations, management and communications, and global collaboration.  He serves on the boards of directors of several institutions engaged in international educational and cultural exchange.

Ammar Abdulhamid brings a broad range of experience to the commission as a former poet, author, teacher, blogger, journalist, human rights activist, motivational speaker and political analyst. He is currently the parliamentarian and director of policy research at The World Liberty Congress, a nonprofit dedicated to ending autocracy by connecting freedom fighters. 

Dr. Aharona (Roni) Rosenthal, holds an Ed.D. in Jewish Educational Leadership in 2019 and serves as the Director of Judaic Studies at UMBC. An award-winning author and expert in strategic communication planning, she brings over two decades of experience in Jewish education, modern Hebrew literature, and Holocaust studies, driven by a passion for preserving historical narratives. A third-generation Holocaust survivor, Dr. Rosenthal is a sought-after speaker and lecturer, renowned for crafting compelling narratives that inspire learning, advocacy, and meaningful engagement with diverse audiences.  

Dr. Amal K. Ali is Professor and Director of the Urban & Regional Planning Program at the Henson School of Science and Technology at Salisbury University. She also is an Advisor to the Muslim Student Association at Salisbury University, founder and adviser for the Salisbury University Smart Growth Club and a frequent presenter on the growth of cities. Through her leadership as an Urban Planning educator, Dr. Ali has worked diligently to help our diverse communities promote sustainable development and improve Marylanders’ quality of life.

Mona Kishore is an active local volunteer having served as an elected council member in the state of Maryland and holds nonprofit board positions as Treasurer & executive board member of Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts & Culture. She holds a Masters in Public Policy and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Anthony Browder is researcher, writer and lecturer in Egyptian and African history, currently working as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. As the founder of the Institute of Karmic Guidance, he leads annual study tours to Egypt, manages an excavation project in Egypt and serves as the general director of the South Asasif Conservation Project.

Athar Bayoumi is managing director of Little Ladybug Learning Center in Elkridge, MD and contributes to fostering cooperation between Baltimore and the Egyptian cities of Luxor and Alexandria through her role as a member of the Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee.

Ala’a Wafa is Corporate Counsel for Labor & Employment at Cummins Inc., where she offers legal guidance on a range of labor and employment issues, including Title VII and Americans with Disabilities Act accommodation matters. Before moving to Maryland, she was actively engaged in the community serving as a board member of the Center for Interfaith Cooperation and the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as a community liaison for Exodus Refugee Immigration, a nonprofit helping refugees re-settle in the United States. 

Dr. Ayesha A. Gulistan is an Internal Medicine physician at Clinical Associates and a former hospitalist at Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center. She serves patients across Carroll, Baltimore, and Howard counties with compassionate care. A part-time faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she teaches medical students in ambulatory settings. Beyond medicine, she actively promotes interfaith dialogue in Howard County, advocating for unity and mutual understanding.

Rabbi Dr. Susan Grossman is a published author and interfaith leader. She coordinated the Howard County coalition that set state precedents for treating Friday Muslim prayer as an excused absence and Eid, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur as days off. Before entering the rabbinate as a member of the first class of women rabbis in her denomination, she was a journalist and editor with extensive Middle East experience and headed Holocaust programming for the organization that helped organize the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. She holds a Doctorate in Hebrew Literature (DHL) in Ancient Judaism and is Rabbi Emerita of Beth Shalom Congregation in Columbia, MD.

Ali Esfahani is a vice president and partner at USI Insurance Services where he helps lead the mergers and acquisitions and private equity practices. He is the vice chair of the board of trustees of the Next Wave Muslim Initiative, a nonprofit that seeks to empower the next generation of Muslim youth through community programming, social service relief, education and enrichment opportunities.

Dr. Laura H. Salganik is Chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Howard County, which works to strengthen relationships between the Jewish community and others in the County. She previously served on the board of the Association of Community Services of Howard County, an association that works to strengthen the nonprofit sector. With a Ph. D. in sociology and expertise in statistics and education evaluation, she is retired from the American Institutes for Research

Mohammad Khalil is a certified public accountant and is currently controller at Gould Property Company. He previously worked at CohnReznick LLP and Brady Ware & Company, and serves as board treasurer for the Institute For Social Policy and Understanding, a think tank focused on the American Muslim community.

Alissa Deaver, a Jewish-American leader from Westchester County, NY, has over 20 years of experience in fundraising and community engagement. Formerly Director of Development at Maryland Hillel and a Chamber of Commerce CEO, she specializes in nonprofit management and event planning. As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, she is dedicated to preserving their legacy and promoting social justice. Her grandmother, a survivor from Nuremberg, continues to share her story worldwide. Alissa remains a passionate advocate for memory preservation, understanding, and community building.

Rafi Rone is currently Director of Grantmaking for Israel at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation and a leader in Maryland’s Jewish community. He is past vice president of Jewish & Israel initiatives and director of Jewish giving at the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds. With expertise in nonprofit management and public policy, he has made substantial contributions to the philanthropic sector.