Our Board Members
Samir Khalil, Founder, [email protected]
2023-2024 Officers
Khaled El-Khatib President. [email protected]
Rima Sweiss Treasurer [email protected]
Sonia Khalil Vice President [email protected]
Musa Siam Secretary [email protected]
Board Members
Ray Hanania. [email protected]
Bilal Muaref [email protected]
Wesam Shahed [email protected]
Saad Malley [email protected]
Lena Zayed Hussein [email protected]
ExOfficio Board Members
Ahmad Ramaha
Nemer Ziyad
MORE ABOUT OUR BOARD MEMBERS
Under construction
SONIA KHALIL
Sonia Khalil is a native of Chicago and has lived in Miami, Florida. She has 10 years of experience in Human Resources, working for Cook County Clerk David Orr. Currently, she works as an Administrative Services Coordinator for the City of Markham. Sonia has a strong political background, starting as a precinct captain at the age of 12 and has worked on various political campaigns. She is a partner at RS Advisors and recently founded HCL ANGELS NFP, a nonprofit to raise awareness of Hairy Cell Leukemia, a rare form of blood cancer which she was diagnosed with in 2021.
RAY HANANIA
Political columnist, media consultant, Arab American activist
Ray Hanania has served in many capacities in the Arab American community fighting for Palestinian rights and peace. They include as National President of the Palestinian American Congress, Chicago Board member of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and member of the National ADC Board, board president of the National Arab AMerican Journalists Association, spokesman and president of the Arab American Congress for Palestine Chicago, mentored by Professor Ibrahim Abu-Lughod and Professor Milton Rakove. He is CEO Of Urban Strategies Group which has worked with more than 100 elected and government officials, and is the US Special Correspondent for Arab News based int he Gulf. He is a columnist with the Southwest News Newspaper Group in Suburban Chicagoland, and served as the City Hall Reporter from 1977 through 1992 for thew Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times.
KHALED J. ELKHATIB
Attorney, Elkhatib Law, LLC, Former AADC Board President
Khaled has helped over 1,000 clients sell & buy homes and commercial real estate, and assisted with other legal matters, including business transactions, and wills and trusts. He enjoys walking clients through the process and making their experiences as smooth and easy as possible. Khaled is a lifelong Chicagoan. He earned a degree in Business & Accounting from Roosevelt University, then received his law degree from The John Marshall Law School. He worked at law firms, accounting firms, the Mayor’s Office, State Government, and a non-profit before starting his own firm.
WESAM SHAHED
Wesam Shahed is a first-generation Palestinian-American from Chicago, Illinois. He serves as an Assistant State’s Attorney at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO), the second-largest prosecutor’s office in the US. Wesam has not only been recognized as one of the most promising young talents in the CCSAO, but he has also been internationally recognized in the Arab American Foundation’s “30 Under 30.” Wesam recently gave a TEDx Talk on criminal justice reform titled “Does Justice Always Require a Conviction?” discussing criminal justice reform and the misconceptions about prosecutors. Wesam’s involvement ranges far beyond his day job, as he is the Finance Director for the first Muslim and Palestinian American to be elected by the Democratic Party into Illinois’s House Legislature in 2023. At only 24, Wesam earned his B.A. in Pre-Law: Business Management from Loyola University Chicago and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Michigan State University College of Law. Wesam holds executive leadership positions for the Arab American Bar Association, Arab American Democratic Club, the Muslim Civic Coalition, and the Arab Professional Business Association (APBA).
