Members of the Board
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Samia Hussein Samia is an American-Egyptian citizen who volunteers her time in her community. She earned her Masters in Public Health from the University of Connecticut and her Bachelors of Biology from Central CT State University. She is currently employed at Hartford Hospital as a health educator and teaches part-time at Madina Academy. Samia is a certified Emergency Medical Technician and CPR Instructor. Her passion is to eliminate health disparities in the community and provide cultural competency in the workforce. She has been an active member of MCCT since 2010 and became a board member in 2014. Michael "Mike" Karpman Mike is an energy engineer and law student at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Born in Russia, he moved to the United States with his family at the age of three. He has lived in Connecticut for nearly 20 years and attended the University of Connecticut in Storrs as an undergraduate. He currently resides in New Britain with his wife, Maschal, a Pakistani-American. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family, enjoying the great outdoors, and reading good books. Mike Karpman is a board member of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut. Nermin "Miki" Duric Nermin is a Bosnian-American who came to the United States as a refugee in the fall of 2000. He has over 14 years of experience in insurance, real estate, and tax preparation. As a business owner, he has been servicing his clients for over 11 years in CT and NY. Nermin received his Bachelor's degree from Central Connecticut State University and his MBA from the University of Hartford. He takes the most pride in his work done with the Bosnian-American Islamic Cultural Center in Hartford over the past seven years. He currently serves as a board member on the Town of Wethersfield Insurance Commission. He also serves on the Muslim Coalition of CT board member committee. Nermin lives in Wethersfield with his wife Leila and two children - Merjem and Maira. Colleen Keyes Colleen Keyes holds a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from Clark University, an M.A. in Multicultural Education/TESOL from Fairfield University, an M.A. in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations from Hartford Seminary; and a Ph.D. from the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK. Dr. Keyes has been an educator since 1974 in diverse school and university settings here and abroad. She served as chief academic officer at Tunxis Community College and Zaytuna College between 2001 and 2016. Currently, Dr. Keyes teaches English, works with local refugee assistance groups, and is a member of the boards of directors of Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR)-CT and the Muslim Coalition of CT. Devoted to interreligious and intercultural understanding, social justice, and human rights for over 4 decades, Dr. Keyes is a member of the CT Council for Interreligious Understanding. Fatma Antar Fatma, a U.S citizen, is currently an Emeritus Professor and Adjunct Professor of Economics at Manchester Community College (MCC). She is a U.S citizen born in Egypt having graduated from Cairo University in Business and later obtaining a Masters in Economics from the University of Connecticut. Fatma provides many lectures on Islam, women equity in Islam and the Middle East. She is a board member of the Hartford Seminary, the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, the Islamic Council of New England, the New Britain Interfaith Area Conference, Interreligious Eco-Justice Network, and is the founding member of We Refuse to be Enemies, Christian/ Muslim Women of Hope, and MCCT. She is the Co-Chair of MCCT’s Speakers Bureau. Fatma is married and has two sons. Azhar Malik Azhar is qualified as a Certified Public Accountant from KPMG and is currently employed as a Senior Audit Manager at MetLife, Inc. He has over 15 years experience working at Fortune 50 companies such as General Electric, United Technologies, and UnitedHealth Group. He also has a private tax and accounting practice. Azhar has a Bachelors in Finance from the University of Oklahoma and a Masters in Accounting from the University of Hartford. Azhar was one of the founding members of MCCT and has served in the capacity of treasurer for many years. He currently resides with his wife and three children in West Hartford. Aida Mansoor Aida was born in London, England. Her parents came from Sri Lanka. Aida obtained her Joint Honors B.S degree in Biochemistry/Physiology at King’s College, University of London. She has a Masters Degree in Community Health. Aida also received her Masters Degree in Christian-Muslim Relations from the Hartford Seminary in 2016. She received her Islamic Chaplaincy Certificate in 2012 and has been presenting about Islam, since 1999 at various settings. She is a board member of the Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding, Hartford Hospital & St. Francis Hospital Pastoral Service Committee, the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, and has been awarded the Human Relations Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice in 2011. Aida has been a board member since 2009 and President of MCCT from 2011 to 2016, committed to building bridges through various outreach efforts.She is married and has two children, Yasmin and Yusuf. Reza Mansoor (Founding President) Dr. Mansoor is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology and practices as a Cardiologist at Hartford Hospital. He has received his medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine in 1992. He completed his medical internship at the University of Connecticut in Internal Medicine in 1992-1995. He was a Chief Medical Resident at Hartford Hospital from 1995-1996 and received his Cardiology fellowship from the University of Connecticut (Hartford Hospital program) from 1996-1999. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Dr. Mansoor is President of the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, advisory board member of MSA-CT Council, and founding president of MCCT. He is a past president of the Islamic Center of Connecticut and Islamic Council of New England. He is actively involved in the inter-faith community and provides ongoing didactic presentations on Islam. He is First Vice-chair of the Board of Trustees of Hartford Seminary. He is a member of the board of trustees of Covenant Preparatory School in Hartford. He is married to Aida and has two children – Yasmin and Yusuf. Rabia Shahid Rabia works as an HR Systems and Benefits Specialist at UTC Aerospace Systems. She earned her Bachelors Degree in Political Science from Wesleyan University. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors, finding ways to make traditional Pakistani food healthier, volunteering with community outreach organizations, and educating people on how to make better use of employer benefits. Ali Shakibai Ali is an Iranian-American citizen who has been practicing adult internal medicine and clinical cardiology in Connecticut, since 1973. He is a member of several non-medical and medical associations including Islamic Medical Association of North America, Physicians for Social Responsibly, and Doctors Without Borders. He is a member and representative of Jafary Association of Connecticut and Islamic Inst. of Ahl Albeyt as well as a Corporate member of the Hartford Seminary. He is also one of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of Alavi Foundation in NYC. He has been a board Member of MCCT for several years now. Mukhtar Suleiman Mukhtar is currently a Medical Laboratory Technician at the University of Connecticut Health Center’s Department of Laboratory Medicine for 27 years. He has been actively involved with MCCT, currently serving as Treasurer and chairman for the annual Eid Carnival. Mukhtar enjoys serving at the Hartford Mercy shelter every first Saturday/every month. He has assisted in the building of the Abrahamic house with the Habitat for humanity collaborating with Muslims, Christians and Jews. He is also a member of the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford Mosque in Berlin. Mukhtar has received the honorable Husky Hero Award (one of 15 within UConn Health Center) and one of the first recipients of the Black and Hispanic Award. Fahd Syed Fahd is a Correctional Lieutenant for the State of Connecticut Department of Correction, with 15 years’ experience. Fahd was born in Danbury, CT, and has lived in Waterbury since childhood; he has an Associate Degree in Science, with a major in Criminal Justice. He is engaged in local interfaith educational initiatives with a focus on Islamophobia, peace, unity, and justice. Fahd has met with politicians and addressed concerns regarding the Muslim community. He has participated in interfaith dialogues at churches, Mosques, and community colleges. Fahd was the Vice President of the Muslim Student Association at Naugatuck Valley College; he also serves on committees such as the Muslim Leadership of Connecticut, Muslim Voters, NAACP, CAIR-CT, and Naugatuck Valley Project. Fahd has been married to his wife Zainab Salem, whom he met in Yemen, for 11 years. They have four children Dailya, Farooq, Abdullah, and Sumaya. Arbaaz Tanveer Arbaaz works as a systems and software engineer at Belcan Engineering Corporation. He earned his Bachelor's of Science in Engineering from Trinity College. In his free time he enjoys skiing, hiking, kayaking, volunteering with the Town of Windsor, and watching football. Maheen Rahman Maheen recently graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Allied Health Sciences from the University of Connecticut. She is currently working at Hartford Healthcare, and is an advisor for MSA CT Council as well as the Muslim Youth Association of CT. Maheen also helps to manage the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford's Sunday School. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, and like to invest her free time in blogging, reading, working out, and baking. |
