About AAI
Board
Board of Directors
George Salem
George R. Salem established the Law Offices of George R. Salem, PLLC in January 2005. Mr. Salem was a partner at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP from 1990 until then, where he headed the firm’s Middle East and U.S. Department of Labor practices. He served as solicitor of the U.S. Department of Labor during the second Reagan administration, and played key roles in the Bush-Quayle and Bush-Cheney campaigns. He co-founded the Arab American Institute in 1985 and currently serves as its Chairman.
Dr. James Zogby
Jim serves as the President of the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC. He co-founded the organization in 1985 and for the past two decades has been involved in a full range of Arab American issues. He also co-founded the Palestine Human Rights Campaign in the late 1970s, and later co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the American-Arab-Anti-Discrimination Committee. He serves on the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee as well as on the Council on Foreign Relations. Jim host a weekly television show called, “Viewpoint with James Zogby” and writes a weekly newspaper column, “Washington Watch.”
John Zogby
John is President & CEO of Zogby International in Utica, NY and is a highly-regarded pollster. He has been the best performing pollster in past U.S. and presidential elections and has polled for Reuters, NBC News, Fox News and many other news organizations. In 1996, he was labeled the “Most Accurate Pollster” by USA Today. John has been tracking public opinion for 16 years in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
www.zogby.com/
Jean AbiNader
Jean AbiNader is Deputy Director of the Moroccan American Center and is a founding board member of the Arab American Institute. He is president and CEO of IdeaCom, an international marketing firm based in Bethesda, MD. He has extensive experience with foreign relations & international business development and was the President of the U.S. – Arab Chamber of Commerce from 1986-1993. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
Helen Hatab Samhan
Helen Hatab Samhan is Executive Director the Arab American Institute Foundation in Washington D.C., an affiliate of the Arab American Institute which has represented Arab American issues in politics, elections, leadership training and public policy since 1985. Ms. Samhan lectures and publishes on Arab American affairs, particularly the immigrant experience of Arabs in the U.S., their identity and demographics, the history of anti-Arab racism, political involvement and Arab American women. She serves on numerous boards and holds a master’s degree in Middle East studies from the American University of Beirut. Ms. Samhan is active in civic affairs in northern Virginia, where she resides with her husband and two children.
Board of Governors
Mr. Wajdi Abdeen
Business Owner
Glendale, AZ
Mr. Hossam Abdel-Maksoud
Pharmacist/Business Owner
Maksoud Pharmacies
New York, NY
Dr. Samir Abu-Ghazaleh
Physician
Sioux Falls, SD
Dr. Yahya Basha
Radiologist
Founder, Muslim American Council
Basha Diagnostics, P.C.
Royal Oak, MI
Dr. Ali Bazzi
Physician
North Miami Beach, FL
Ms. Sherine El-Abd
President, New Jersey Federation of Republican Women
Clifton, NJ
Mr. Nijad Fares
CEO, Link Group, LLC
Mrs. Samia Farouki
CEO, HaiFinance
McLean, VA
Dr. Hani Findakly
Investment Banker
McLean, VA
Dr. Abdel Kader Fustok
Physician
Founder, Arab American Cultural & Community Center
Houston, TX
Hon. Edward Gabriel
CEO, The Gabriel Company, LLC
Former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco
Washington, DC
Mr. Samuel Halaby, Jr.
Attorney
Pittsford, NY
Mr. Tariq Jawad
Director of Investment Banking
Rodman and Renshaw
Mr. Assad Jebara
CEO, Zanadi Jeans
Morristown, NJ
Mr. Ghassan Saab
CEO
Sorensen Gross Construction Co.
Flint, MI
Mr. Majdi Wadi
CEO, Holy Land Bakery and Deli
Founder, Arab American Business and Professional Association of MN
Minneapolis, MN
