THE TEAM
Comprised of passionate, dedicated, and visionary volunteers and staff, the NWMI team envisions and executes programs catering to the needs of the American Muslim community in the DMV area.
Hover over a name to learn more about each team member's background and many contributions to NWMI.
operations
Maryam Jelvani
Director of Special Programs
Maryam Jelvani is NWMI’s Director of Special Programs. She has served in various roles in the organization in past years, such as volunteer coordinator, social media coordinator and event leads for many programs. She switched to a parttime career as a medical Speech-Language Pathologist after the birth of her first daughter, and became more actively involved in volunteer work for NWMI. Her passion for event planning, community organizing and creating a space for American Muslim families to feel connected led her to take on a full-time NWMI role in 2021.
Director of Special Programs
Mary Dowlati
Logistics Coordinator
Mary Dowlati is the Logistics Coordinator for NWMI. She has been actively involved with NWMI since 2016. In addition to serving on Team NWMI, she frequently leads Children's activities and childcare for NWMI events. She is also passionate about supporting the Muslim revert community and has been involved in many projects advocating for Muslim reverts and building community.
Logistics Coordinator
Mais Alraee
Registrar
Mais Alraee is a proud NWMI Team member. She started as a volunteer five years ago and fell in love with NWMI’s energy. Currently, she is NWMI’s registrar. Mais holds a Master’s Degree in Teaching Leadership from UMD. She currently teaches mathematics at Montgomery College. She is a proud mother of two. In her spare time, she enjoys reading mysteries and playing sudoku.
Registrar
Hayya Shah
Director of Team and Volunteer Engagement
Hayya Shah is NWMI's Director of Team and Volunteer Coordinator.
Director of Team and Volunteer Engagement
Gul Gharbieh
Website Manager
Gul is NWMI's website designer and manages NWMI's email communications.
Website Manager
James McCauley
Director of FInance
PROGRAMMING
Siddeeqah Sharif
In her day job, Siddeeqah Sharif is an automation engineer but in essence is a writer, an urban farmer and a believer in radical empathy. Siddeeqah sits on the board of Nlife, a community building organization based in Baltimore, where she can do formally, what she has always done inherently. She creates community wherever she is and tries to leave spaces and people better than how she found them. Siddeeqah believes in cultivating beauty within every experience even if it’s just with a smile.
Marie Howe
Marie helped facilitate NWMI's Convert Connections program in Ramadan and created the first iteration of the NWMI website. She looks forward to working on future interfaith initiatives.
Almira Hussain
Almira is a teacher by profession who holds a Bachelors degree in Elementary and Special Education, and a Masters degree in Childhood Literacy. She has taught for the past 5 years at Al Fatih Academy and currently serves on Team NWMI as a manager of youth programs. Summer 2019 marked Almira’s third year as a lead teacher at CampNWMI. Almira is joyful and fun loving and adores working with Muslim youth.
Solat Zaidi
As an event lead, Solat plans and executes a broad range of activities, including the successful Welcoming Ramadan Program and the 2018 Eid Festival. She has a Masters in Biotechnology from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.
Zehra Zaidi
Former Leadership
Mariam Mokhtarzada
Former Executive Director
Mariam Watson Mokhtarzada is passionate about building an organization that fosters transparency, diversity, and dynamic programming for American Muslims. One of NWMI’s co-founders, Mariam has served as the Executive Director since 2017, blending her love for the community with her experience in organization development.
Mariam has a Bachelor's degree in Nursing and a Master's Organization Development from American University. She is currently earning a Certificate in Executive Leadership and Non Profit Development from the University of Maryland. Having served as a Director of Human Resources at an internet start-up and on several non-profit boards, Mariam currently sits on the board of the Montgomery County Community Foundation. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with her husband and 3 children.
Mona Eldadah
Former Creative Director
As NWMI's Creative Director, Mona brainstorms with volunteers to design programs for NWMI based on the community’s needs and interests. She is one of NWMI’s co-founders who seeks a loving community focused on Allah (swt) to raise her four kids.
Former Creative Director