Maha Elgenaidi, Founder and Executive Director

Maha is the founder of ING and currently its Executive Director, overseeing the organization.  She is the author of training handbooks on outreach for American Muslims as well as training seminars for public institutions on developing cultural competency with the American Muslim community. She received an M.A. in religious studies from Stanford University and B.A in political science and economics from the American University in Cairo. She has taught classes on Islam in the modern world in universities such as Santa Clara University and the University of California at Santa Cruz, and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the “Civil Rights Leadership Award” from the California Association of Human Relations Organizations, the “Citizen of the Year Award” from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and the “Dorothy Irene Height Community Award” from the NAACP-Silicon Valley. She’s currently an advisor for the CA Commission on Police Officers Standards and Training (POST), a member of the Council of Advisors for the Freedom Forum that helps shape American views on the First Amendment; and Commissioner on the County of Santa Clara’s Hate Crimes Task Force. Read Maha’s blog here.