What’s next for ING?

Dear friends,

As ING’s new chair of the board of trustees and chief executive officer, I am committed to protecting the investments of our donors over the last 22 years of the organization’s existence and ensuring the future sustainability of ING and all its existing and future affiliates around the country, so that our children and our children’s children can enjoy a world of intercultural understanding, mutual respect, and peace.

As I focus on growing the endowment, which you can read more about here, I have recruited the help of new Trustees located in different parts of the country and hired a chief operating officer who will help me oversee the operation.

New Board members:

The new trustees include colleagues from among the ING affiliates: Tabassum Haleem in Chicago, Shakila Ahmed in Cincinnati, Zehra Wamiq in Philadelphia, and Manal Fakhoury in Ocala (FL). See their bios here.

From the existing ING Board of Trustees, I have asked Randy Pond to chair the ING Board of Directors while continuing as a Trustee. The Board of Directors now has a more regional focus in the San Francisco Bay Area where ING is based.

New team members:

I have hired Dr. Marcia Beauchamp as Chief Operating Officer, who will oversee both the creative and operational arms of ING. I have known and worked with Marcia for the last 15 years in her different capacities and am extremely pleased that she decided to join us fulltime. Marcia earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the California Institute of Integral Studies and Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School.

I have also hired Yvette Contreras as Development Associate. Yvette worked with us five years ago as ING’s office manager, and I am looking forward to working with her again as our Development Associate.

Staff bios are listed here.

Moving forward:

Together with our existing senior staff, which includes Ameena Jandali, a 20-year ING veteran focusing on content development; Ali Rangwala, a 6-year veteran focusing on accounting and finance; Dr. Henry Millstein, a 4-year veteran focusing on programs and managing 36 volunteer speakers; and Tim Brauhn, a 5-year veteran focusing on communications and social media, ING is well positioned to do at least three things:

• Secure our financial foundation by growing the endowment over the next few years to support ING and its Affiliates.
• Help to create a better world for our children by expanding our new INGYouth program.
• Improve perceptions and build intercultural understanding by reaching millions more people face-to-face and through online tools.

Register your support:

I am excited and eager to get started on these goals after I return from the ISNA convention where I will be speaking in three sessions (Details can be found on this page.) Thank you for your support through the years; we couldn’t have done it without you. May God reward you immeasurably.

Please continue to support us by donating to our endowment here. Your contribution to the endowment supports our work in perpetuity.

As we’ve struggled and worked hard to build this organization, I rely on God and your help to grow and sustain it, and I ask for your prayers for the mission of ING to build a world where children grow up in an atmosphere of mutual respect and peace.

Thank you,

Maha Elgenaidi
CEO and Chair, Board of Trustees