Staff
Shaymaa Khalil - Operations Director
Shaymaa was born in Babylon in October 1984, but was raised in Baghdad. She graduated from high school in 2002 and went back to college in 2009, graduating from Al-Mamon University College Department of Translation in 2013. She worked as a freelance translator with British Council in Baghdad. In addition, she volunteered as the project manager for a Reading Club to encourage kids who drop out of school to go back and continue their education. She designed and delivered creative projects to increase enrolment in schools, reduce dropout, and increase access to education for disabled children. In March 2019, she and her family moved to Minnesota as immigrants. Shaymaa earned her certificate in Interpreting and Translation from Century College and now works as an Arabic-English interpreter and translator in medical fields and schools.
Jamal Ali - Iraqi Voices Community Engagement Facilitator
Jamal Ali was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq. He graduated from Spartan College of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1979 and had a career as an aircraft maintenance engineer for Iraqi Airways. His moved with his wife and two children to Minnesota in 2009. Jamal now lives in Spring Lake Park and works as a medical interpreter. He has been a part of the Iraqi Voices project since 2012. Jamal tells his own story through the Iraqi Voices program with his film “That's What We Hear on the News” and went on to direct three additional films in collaboration with other Iraqi Voices participants. Now as the first Iraqi Voices Community Engagement Facilitator, Jamal played a key role in producing the original theater piece “Birds Sing Differently Here” at the Guthrie in 2017 and on tour in Minnesota in 2019. Jamal was awarded the Outstanding Refugee, Entrepreneurship Award by the Minnesota Department of Human Services in 2019 for his role in creating innovative art and spaces to strengthen cultural awareness and understanding as part of IARP’s Iraqi Voices series.
Lina Alsharefee - Communications and Development Assistant
Lina is a student originally from Iraq, who has lived in three different countries. She started in her homeland of Iraq, spent three years in Turkey, and now resides in Minnesota, United States. Currently, she's studying at Anoka Ramsey Community College with the aim of majoring in Biology, driven by her childhood passion for the medical field. She enjoys painting cultural pieces that are inspired by her Iraqi heritage and reading with her mother. She enjoys reading mystery/thriller books that "keep you on your toes throughout the book".
Board of Directors
Dr. Azar Maluki
Dr. Azar Maluki MD, was born in Najaf, Iraq. He is a board-certified dermatologist, and was a consultant physician and professor at the University of Kufa, Iraq. He is married to Shaymaa Jakjook (M.Sc., Geography) and has two sons and one daughter. Azar first visited Minneapolis in 2011 and 2013 with a delegation of Iraqi health professionals as part of the exchange visits between Najaf and Minneapolis organized by the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project. He arrived in Minneapolis with his family in 2015 and joined the Dermatology Imaging Center in the Department of Dermatology at the UMN-Twin Cities Campus as a Research Fellow. Dr. Maluki has directed one short documentary film as part of the Iraqi Voices project.
Hiba Qader Al Hasnawi
Hiba Qader Al Hasnawi has been actively involved in IARP since 2009 in both Iraq and Minnesota. She was a part of the team that welcomed the Minneapolis delegation to Najaf, Iraq in 2012. She is currently serving in several St. Paul schools as an AmeriCorps Vista Leader. Hiba is passionate about celebrating and preserving Iraqi culture. You may have seen her at Sister Cities Day, the Festival of Nations, or perhaps our annual potluck.
Kathleen Adam - Chair
Kathleen Adam is a local peace activist and volunteer with a long history of service in education and non-profit organizations. From 1979-2013 she was a Director of Christian Education for Adult/Youth/Children at various Lutheran Churches. She has experience in nonprofit fundraising, administration, ESL instruction, and special event planning. She has led or participated in service and mission projects locally, nationally, and globally (Greater Twin Cities Area, Appalachia, and South Africa), and led an international pilgrimage for greater understanding of peace and justice to Palestine/Israel. Kathy holds a BA in Christian Education from Concordia University and an MA in Educational Leadership from Luther Seminary.
Shaymaa Hassan - Vice-Chair
Shaymaa Hassan joins the board after actively volunteering on several IARP event committees. Shaymaa works as a medical interpreter, has her degree in graphic design and was involved for many years with International Relief and Development (IRD) in Iraq. If you experienced Noura at the Guthrie Theater then you engaged with Shaymaa's critical behind the scenes work as cultural consultant for the production. She is passionate about sharing her culture and learning about the cultures of others.
Ahmed Al-Sheikhli - Treasurer
Ahmed Al-Sheikhli was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and works in the field of television and professional photography. He holds a high diploma in Fine Arts and photography. He is a member of the International Journalists Syndicate and the American Photographers Association. Ahmed previously worked at several prominent Arab and international television broadcasters such as MBC, Al Arabia News Channel, Al-Hurra, as well as the Associated Press. He also worked as a cameraman and media officer with the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff in Iraq. In 2014, he moved to the U.S., where he has worked as a freelance photographer and joined in many community activities, including IARP’s 2017 and 2019 productions of “Birds Sing Differently Here” at the Guthrie theater and across Minnesota.
Leila Hussain - Secretary
Leila Hussain is a Minneapolis-based organizer who is dedicated to improving the immigrant and refugee experience in Minnesota. Leila is the child of an Iraqi immigrant father and Scandanavian mother. She has a BA in Global Studies (Human Rights and Justice) from the University of Minnesota and diverse experience working with disenfranchised immigrant communities in ESL and mental health case management. She is currently the Community Health Manager at CAPI USA where she helps lead their community health equity and refugee resettlement work. Her favorite way to spend her time is to travel; she attended the Forward Global Women convening in Greece, studied Arabic in Oman, taught in a peace and reconciliation program in Najaf, Iraq, and was a member of an interfaith peace delegation in Palestine.
Board Members Emeritus
Steve Clemens, Founding Board Member, IARP
Kathy McKay, Founding Board Member and former Executive Director, IARP
Luke Wilcox, Former IARP Development and Communications Director and Board Member
Salam Murtada, Former Board Chair, IARP