Commissioners

Commission Chair 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.

Commission Vice Chair 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. 

MEMBERS:

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. Majd AlGhatrif

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Günay Evinch (Övünç) is a second-generation Turkish American of Ottoman Macedonian heritage. He is a 30-year resident of Montgomery County and is married to Senem Atalay with whom they have two children, Lara (21) and Arda (16). The Evinch-Atalay family love jazz, country music, soccer, lacrosse, and world cuisine and travel! Evinch is a foreign affairs lawyer at Saltzman & Evinch and a Member of Distinction in the Washington Cosmos Club. Evinch was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in International Law in Türkiye (1991-93) and earned his Juris Doctor at Washington and Lee University Law School, with Economics and Public Service double majors from the UC Davis. Evinch also serves as Co-Chair of the Maryland Secretary of State Türkiye Sister State Committee. Evinch was appointed as a Turkish American community liaison to the U.S. Office of the Director of Intelligence during the term of President Barack Obama.

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.

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.

Mohammad Khalil

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.

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.