DONATE NOW
ZAKAT

Meet Our Team

Here are the people that make our mission possible.

Make a BIG difference

PAUSA STAFF

Our work would be impossible without this team of dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to improve the lives of those in need both here at home and globally. The PAUSA Staff are committed to fighting the injustice of poverty. 

Leadership

Dr. Dilara Sayeed
Educator
Chief Executive Officer

Major Gifts

Arsalan Iftikhar
Senior Advisor

Programs

Ismail Safi
Director of Programs

Imal Oxus
Programs Coordinator

Sa’idah Sudan
Domestic Violence Projects Manager

Dr. Nasheika Glenn-Moore
Shelter Advocate

Rosetta Phifer
Shelter Coordinator

Communications

Maleeha Darab
Communications Coordinator

Yusra Chaudhry
Graphic Designer

Development

Kimberly Jordan
Senior Donor Database Coordinator

Finance

Dawn Willson
Director of Finance

Simone Martins
General Accountant

Sara Beshir
Finance Coordinator

Operations

Sana Rasheed
Administrator

Board of Directors

Our Board Directors commit their time, talent, and treasure to ensuring we have the right resources,  strategy and governance structure to serve our mission. Their foresight, oversight and insight enables us to serve our beneficiaries in the best manner possible. 

Rehan Dawer
Board Chair

Shaun Ahmad
Vice-Chair

Wasim Lala
Board Member

Go Back
Our Mission
Donate

2461 Eisenhower Ave
2nd Floor
Alexandria, VA 22314

[email protected]

(888) 755-1556

State Disclosure Agreement

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Connect

2461 Eisenhower Ave, 2nd Flr
Alexandria, VA 22314

[email protected]

(888) 755-1556

State Disclosure Agreement

Facebook Twitter Instagram Snapchat Linkedin

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Facebook Twitter Instagram Snapchat Linkedin

Bring some goodness into your inbox by subscribing to our email list!

Explore.

Home

Thirst Relief

Zakat

Apply for Grants

Get to know us.

About Us

Meet the Team

Contact Us

Reports
Privacy Policy

Get involved.

Events

Volunteer

Careers

Fundraise

Donate

Subscribe to Penny Appeal USA's mailing list

* indicates required
Facebook Twitter Instagram Snapchat Linkedin

2461 Eisenhower Ave, 2nd Flr
Alexandria, VA 22314

[email protected]
|  (888) 755-1556

State Disclosure Agreement

Privacy Policy

Great Nonprofits Logo
Charity Navigator 4 star badge
Great Nonprofits Logo
Guidestar Candid Seal 2023
Charity Navigator 4 star badge

Copyright @ 2026Penny Appeal USA

Penny Appeal USA is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Tax-ID/EIN #: 47-5165837

Crafted by Cornershop Creative

Quick Donate

$35 - Quick Donate

Dr. Dilara Sayeed

Educator | Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Dilara Sayeed serves as Chief Executive Officer of Penny Appeal USA, an American Muslim-led humanitarian organization working at the intersection of urgent Relief, long-term Resilience, and sustainable community Empowerment.

With more than two decades of award-winning leadership across education, humanitarian response, civic engagement, and public policy, Dr. Sayeed assumed the CEO role at the start of 2026 at a pivotal moment – when compassion must be paired with strategy, courage, and measurable impact.

Previously, Dr. Sayeed served for nearly ten years as President of the Muslim Civic Coalition, helping build one of the nation’s most impactful civic justice institutions.

Dr. Sayeed holds a Doctorate in Education Leadership and Policy from Harvard University. She often notes that her most cherished credential is graduating from Head Start Preschool for low-income families at age four – a journey that grounds her leadership in faith, family, humility, and service.

In 2021, Dr. Sayeed was appointed to the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes. She is an advisor for public officials at local, state, and federal levels, and also serves as a Trustee of the Field Museum. Dr. Sayeed and her husband Dr. Yousuf Sayeed have three children – and are excited new grandparents.

Arsalan Iftikhar

Senior Advisor

Arsalan Iftikhar is an international human rights lawyer and author of several books including FEAR OF A MUSLIM PLANET and SCAPEGOATS. Arsalan has also been a research faculty member at Georgetown University for 5 years where he researched and published about global Islamophobia as a Senior Research Fellow. Arsalan is a double graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and he was the recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Young Alumni Award from Washington University School of Law.

Ismail Safi

Director of Programs

Ismail Safi is an international development and humanitarian leader with 15 years of experience working across 36 countries. He has directed large-scale global programs with USAID, the World Bank, and international nonprofits, managing portfolios exceeding $250 million and strengthening governance, stabilization, and community resilience. Throughout his career, Ismail has mobilized communities, elevated local voices, and empowered emerging leaders to take ownership of long-term development and humanitarian initiatives. His expertise spans strategic project management, organizational transformation, and cross-cultural team leadership, enabling him to deliver high-impact solutions in crisis-affected and underserved regions. Driven by a deep commitment to human dignity and sustainable change, Ismail builds trusted partnerships and leads mission-focused teams that improve outcomes for vulnerable populations worldwide.

Imal Oxus

Programs Coordinator

Imal Oxus is an international development professional with over 17 years of experience managing U.S. government contracts and grants in partnership with leading multinational organizations and USAID contractors. He has led complex stabilization, resilience, learning, and MERLA initiatives across Asia and Africa, with global experience supporting U.S.-funded programs.

Sa’idah Sudan

Domestic Violence Projects Manager

Sa’idah Sudan has worked in a Level I Trauma Center for over 20 years, 10 years as their Certified Domestic Violence Specialist and liaison for Muslim women & children. Sa’idah has been certified in domestic violence since 2007. She has recently completed her courses to become a Certified Life Coach and a Batterers Intervention Facilitator. Working with Penny Appeal USA has allowed her to demonstrate the powerful advocacy that Penny Appeal USA believes in where she now manages our Domestic Violence Shelter, one of the few in the nation that supports Muslim survivors. Empowering victims of domestic violence is the best feeling one can have, coupled with observing their emerging sensation like butterflies who are deep and powerful representations of life. What a great feeling! When she’s not supporting survivors, Sa’idah enjoys international travel. Her ultimate love and passion is roller skating.

Maleeha Darab

Communications Coordinator

Maleeha is a marketing and communications professional with several years of non-profit experience working with organizations that provide wraparound support services for women and children in the DC-MD-VA area. A graduate of George Mason University’s Health Administration and Policy program with a minor in Public Health, Maleeha is an advocate for marginalized communities all over the world and seeks to use her talent and creativity to highlight those stories and be an agent of change. Her goal is to be a part of the generation that breaks the cycle of socioeconomic disparities and bridges the gap between vulnerable populations and access to resources and opportunities. Maleeha’s passion for working with mission-driven organizations led her to Penny Appeal, where she supports the creation and execution of the marketing program and strategy. Outside of work, Maleeha is an artist and Arabic calligrapher, and most weekends you can find her teaching art workshops in her community.

Yusra Chaudhry

Graphic Designer

Yusra is a creative professional with over 12 years of experience in advertising, design, and user experience, driven by a deep passion for graphic design and digital marketing. She blends artistic vision with UX strategy to bring ideas to life through visual design. She holds a Master of Arts in Graphic Design and Visual Experience from the Savannah College of Art and Design and is a certified Digital Marketer from DePaul University.

Kimberly Jordan

Senior Donor Database Coordinator

Kimmy officially joined Penny Appeal USA in 2022. Her role is to ensure all of our valuable donor information, and donations are properly recorded in our database.

Dawn Willson

Director of Finance

As Director of Finance, Dawn oversees Penny Appeal USA’s ensures the company has effective financial procedures in place.

Simone Martins

General Accountant

Simone joined Penny Appeal in 2022. She provides accounting support with more than 10 years of experience in the accounting field. 

Simone started in the accounting field when her father opened a business in Brazil. In college, she then studied accounting, while working for an accounting firm in Brazil. After moving to the United States, she continued her work in accounting at an accounting outsourced firm and non-profit in the DC area.

When not working at Penny Appeal Simone enjoys spending time with her family, camping, traveling and enjoying all that the DC metro has to offer. 

Sara Beshir

Finance Coordinator

Sara works within the Finance Department at Penny Appeal USA, supporting internal financial and accounting operations. Sara holds a degree in Business Management Information Systems with a minor in Global Affairs. Sara initially joined Penny Appeal USA in 2024 as an intern and has since returned to continue contributing to the team’s operations.

Sana Rasheed

Administrator

Sana is a strategic Project Management professional with extensive experience supporting nonprofit fundraising, campaigns, and community engagement initiatives. She specializes in end-to-end project coordination, digital marketing operations, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver high-impact results.

Rehan Dawer

Board Chair

Rehan is a Social Impact entrepreneur and investor, philanthropist, and transformational leadership mentor to professionals.  His 27 years of strategic planning, organizational development, and enterprise management experience was developed during various management roles held at Bank of America, American Express, Morgan Stanley, and Guidance Residential — where as part of the founding executive team, he led the start-up’s initial $1 billion in sales and marketing strategy.  He is committed to developing human-centered sustainable institutions and is currently a founding board member of Communities in Schools of Northern Virginia, a non-profit organization helping “at risk” students graduate from high school and attend college.

Shaun Ahmad

Vice-Chair

Shaun has been with Penny Appeal USA since the beginning and was formerly the Board Treasurer. Shaun is a businessman, investor and philanthropist. He has been involved with several community service organizations that promote interfaith dialogue, foster racial and ethnic understanding, and work to fight poverty.

Wasim Lala

Board Member

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” – Arthur C. Clarke 
 
Wasim believes that advancing technology (cloud in particular, and now GenAI) is key to enable organizations to unlock the full potential of their data and build new capabilities – and therefore enable them to create “magic” experiences for their stakeholders, whether it be making customer journey experiences seamless when ordering a new phone, or using cloud computing to improve the accuracy and speed of health insurance claim approvals and reimbursements. He is hugely passionate to support organizations to move and mature through these horizons at pace and in a cost-effective way. 
 
Wasim has over a decade of experience in consulting, and has worked across the MENA region, Europe, Latin America and North America. He also leads various DE&I efforts.