ABOUT

Our Board

Nancy Youssef

Board Member

Ms. Nancy Youssef currently serves as Chief Business Development Officer for Soles 4 Souls, a not for profit social enterprise based in Nashville, TN focused on sustainably repurposing apparel and footwear. Ms. Youssef is also founder and President of award winning Curves with Purpose, a women’s e-commerce marketplace celebrating shape diversity, and disrupting the cycle of poverty through charitable partnerships. Youssef is an adjunct professor of Fashion Entrepreneurship and Retail Management at Belmont University.

Ms. Youssef served as senior vice president, international business development for Canton, MA-based Destination XL group, the largest omni-channel specialty retailer of big and tall men's apparel. Prior to joining Destination XL, Youssef was vice president, international business development for NYSE-listed Genesco, Inc. where she pioneered the Fortune 1000 footwear and apparel retailer’s portfolio of brands outside the U.S. In this role she successfully directed the entry of the Fortune 1000 company into more than two dozen countries around the world and was pivotal in acquisitions, partnerships and licensing relationships. Prior to that, she served as senior brand manager for interactive multichannel retailer HSN, Inc. and has led business development for fashion apparel and accessories importer and distributor SAS-Egypt.

Ms. Youssef earned her B.S. in Marketing from The Pennsylvania State University with focuses in Accounting, French & International Studies. Ms. Youssef completed a diploma in International Fashion Design studies at the Instituto Marangoni in Milan, Italy which gave her the opportunity to become fluent in her fifth language, adding Italian to Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

Heather Ibrahim-Leathers

Ms. Ibrahim-Leathers, as the President and Founder of the Global Fund for Widows, has raised millions of dollars to address widowhood, a significant yet often overlooked root cause of global poverty. She pioneered a financial inclusion platform, a "microbank," which has economically empowered over 105,000 widows and their children across emerging markets by establishing 236 microbanks. Ms. Ibrahim-Leathers also advocates for widows at the highest international levels, including the UN, US Congress, and the House of Lords. Her strategic advocacy led to the unanimous adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution AR 76/252 in 2021, which recognized widowhood and called for global social protections. For her contributions to financial inclusion, women's rights, economic development, and peacebuilding, she has received numerous awards, including the 2023 Crain’s Notable Nonprofit Leaders and a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.

Sandy Debbas

Sandy Debbas serves as Underwriting Counsel for TitleVest where she focusses primarily on New York Commercial transactions. She is also responsible for overseeing the 1031 Exchange division at TitleVest.

Pierre Debbas

Pierre E. Debbas is a partner and founding member of the Romer Debbas firm. Pierre has extensive experience in the areas of real estate and general business law.

Olalekan Akinyanmi

Olalekan ("Lekan") is an accomplished international businessman, engineer, and philanthropist. He is the founder and CEO of LEKOIL Nigeria, overseeing a significant portfolio in oil and gas, and also chairs Cambridge Growth Partners, investing in natural resources, mining, and agriculture. Passionate about supporting widows and women's issues, Lekan co-founded the Lekan and Tomi Akinyanmi Foundation and is active on several boards worldwide. With over 20 years in the oil and gas sector, Lekan has held influential roles at Alliance Bernstein and UBS, and holds degrees from Obafemi Awolowo University and MIT Sloan School of Management.

Christine E. Dawood

Christine Dawood is an Organizational Psychologist, Executive Coach, and Change Agent with over two decades of experience spanning diverse sectors such as retail, textiles, engineering, agriculture and mental health. She serves as the Senior Vice President for International Engagements of Engro Corporation, supporting impactful initiatives in different fields, including education and community development.

Laura Osman

Laura Osman is the President of Amunet Advisors, an advisory firm providing strategic consulting services globally. She previously served as Chief Investment Officer at Concord International Investments Group, LP from 1996 to 2021, where she managed top-performing equity funds and was a key member of the Investment Committees. Before Concord, she founded and led Prudential's Portfolio Analytics Group in New York. Laura is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the Economic Club of New York and 100 Women in Finance. She also holds leadership roles on various boards, including the Global Fund for Widows and ABANA. Laura earned her BBA in Marketing and MBA in International Finance from Baruch College, City University of New York.

Dominique Ghazar

Farhang Mehregani

Mr Mehregani is a Founding Partner of Silver Ridge Asset Management, responsible for Risk, Marketing, Silver Mine development, Recruiting and Business Development.

Jennifer Wu

Jennifer joined the Global Fund for Widows in 2012 as a board member and is responsible for the Fund’s social media strategy. With over 20 years of work experience in financial services and strategic consulting, she has held numerous positions at global institutions across the United States, Europe and Asia.

Dr Heba Elnazer

Dr. Heba Elnazer is a highly experienced Internal Medicine doctor with over 17 years in the field, known for her pioneering work in integrative and digital health solutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. As the founder of Revive Medical Group, she has significantly enhanced patient care through innovative treatment protocols and technology. She co-founded Evoke Diagnostics, further showcasing her forward-thinking approach by integrating diagnostic interpretation in a digital format. Dr. Elnazer, educated at Ain Shams University and trained at Mount Sinai, is internationally recognized for her expertise in chronic healthcare. Her dedication to improving healthcare, particularly in underserved communities, aligns with her commitment to supporting widows in creating sustainable businesses.

Elena Yoon

Elena is the Head of Global Markets at Haitong International Securities’ in New York, overseeing the US institutional equities and equity capital market efforts for the firm.

June Munshi

Ms. Munshi has over 25 years of experience advising executive management teams, public and private corporate boards and institutional investors on strategy, M&A and corporate finance initiatives across a broad range of real estate sectors. She is the Co-Founder of The CenterCap Group, LLC, was Co-Head of M&A and a Senior Managing Director with CB Richard Ellis Investors (now CBRE Investment Management) as well as a senior coverage banker at Lehman Brothers and Wachovia Securities.

Angela Stulley

Angela was an original employee and Head of Sales at quant trading platform Archipelago/ Arca, which became the first US electronic stock exchange. Arca IPO’d, and then was acquired by the NYSE, where Angela was an SVP and Head of Global Sales, as well as CEO of Arca Europe.

CONTACT

Get in Touch

To find out more about what we do and how we are tackling issues around widowhood in our countries of programming and around the world, please contact us below.