Celebrating the life & work of Mr. Amjad Noorani
1947-2022
Arif Gafur, President
Houston
Mr. Arif Gafur has been a member of the Board since 2013 and presently serves as the President. Prior to his current role, he had served as the CEO from 2014 to 2018. Under his leadership, TCF-USA continues to grow every day. Mr. Gafur is a Professional Engineer (PE) and has worked for major oil companies on senior leadership positions. In addition to this, as a volunteer community organizer he has been successful in mobilizing Houston’s local communities to participate in the American political process and elections. Mr. Gafur has a Master of Science in Engineering from University of Texas. He and his wife, Najma, have two boys and live in Houston. His wife also serves TCF in her own capacity.
Haji Mody, Secretary
Dallas
Mr. Haji Vali Mody has been on the board since 2014. He currently serves as the Secretary. He is also one of the founding members of TCF-USA Dallas Chapter. Mr. Mody is the president of a hardware distribution business in Dallas-Fort Worth. Before starting his own business in 1991, Mr. Mody worked for Greyhound as the Director of Accounting. He also volunteers at the mosque in Richardson, participating in various inter-faith activities. Mr. Mody has an MBA in International Business from University of Dallas and a Bachelor’s degree from University of Karachi. Mr. Mody and his wife, Jane, live in Dallas and have two children.
Faraz (Farri) Khan, Treasurer
San Francisco / Austin
Ms. Faraz (Farrri) Khan has served on the TCF-USA board since 2014 and also co-founded the TCF-USA Austin Chapter. Currently, she is the Chief Financial Officer for Denver Health. Previously, she served as Chief Accounting Officer for UCSF Health in San Francisco and formerly as Chief Financial Officer of a Texas subsidiary of Universal Health Services. Earlier, Ms. Farri served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Seton Health Plan and Accountable Care Organization for the Ascension Seton Healthcare Family in Central Texas. Ms. Farri has been a Texas Health & Human Services Commission appointee to the Hospital Payment Advisory Committee, has served on the State of Texas Tobacco Settlement Advisory Committee, and is a past member of the Supervisory Committee of the Board of Directors of University Federal Credit Union. She is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MBA from W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Abdullah Jafri, Director
Houston
Mr. Abdullah Jafri serves as the Chairman of Outreach & Fundraising Committee of TCF-USA in addition to his role as a Board Member since 2012. After spending approximately four decades in commercial aviation, he retired in 1998 from the position of President and CEO of Skyways International, Inc., a company that operated large corporate jets. Mr. Jafari has also been involved in various humanitarian causes. In the past, he has served as the President and CEO of Shifa Healthcare and Community Services USA, Inc., a non-profit organization. He has also served on the board and as secretary of SIUT North America, Inc., benefiting the Sind Institute of Urology and Transplantation in Karachi. Moreover, he was a member of Daya’s advisory board, an organization that serves South Asian victims of domestic or sexual violence in Houston. Mr. Jafari is also a member of the Houston Rotary Club. He is married to Anjum Jafari who in her own right brings a lot of strength to TCF-USA. Mr. Jafari was an active sportsman and played cricket representing Karachi and Pakistan International Airline teams in first class cricket.
Azhar Hameed, Director
Los Angeles
Mr. Azhar Hameed leads the TCF-USA Los Angeles Chapter. Since his association with the board in 2017, Mr. Hameed brought with him not only the proverbial entrepreneurial energy but also the discipline and experience required to help build projects from the ground up and scale them to global heights. Mr. Hameed is a serial entrepreneur whose last company, GfKEtilize, is now part of one of the world’s largest market research company, GfK, based in Nuremberg, Germany. He is also a well-respected social activist and philanthropist. Mr. Hameed is trained in the fields of Computer Science from University of Oklahoma and Business Management from the Anderson School, University of California, Los Angeles. An avid golfer, he has represented Pakistani Golfers Group as a team captain and organizer.
Amjad Noorani, Director
San Francisco
Mr. Amjad Noorani had been serving as the Secretary of the Board from 2016 to 2019. He has been associated with TCF since 1999, and has served on leadership positions in TCF-USA since 2004. Mr. Noorani is a retired physical therapist and safety consultant. He operated a clinical practice in California from 1971 to 1999, and has served on boards and committees of professional and non-profit organizations at the local, state and national level. He completed his education at the School of Physiotherapy, University of Karachi in 1969. His personal interests include hiking, music, tennis, photography and gardening. He and his wife, Najma, live in Los Altos, California. His wife is also an active supporter of TCF-USA.
Jawaid Ekram, Director
Seattle
Mr. Jawaid Ekram has been a board member since 2013. He is also the founder of the Seattle Chapter, and under his leadership, the Seattle Chapter, along with the community, has built and continues to support over 30+ schools. Mr. Ekram is a Cloud Computing industry veteran and an entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in engineering and operations of large-scale systems. He is the co-founder of Uhuru Software, a services company. He is also on the Board of Entrust Technology. Moreover, he has served asthe General Manager at Microsoft, responsible for Global Foundations Services (Data Center) and Live Meeting Services (SaaS). Prior to this, Jawaid was Chief Information Officer/Vice President Services at Placeware. He also served as Senior Vice President at Visa International for 5 years, responsible for global engineering and operations. During his time at United Airlines, he was instrumental in the development of Apollo, one of the largest global airline distribution systems. He is on the Board of Entrust Technology. Mr. Ekram holds an MS degree in Computer Science from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). His passion is to provide education to underprivileged children, so that they may have equal opportunities in life.
Shimmi Kidwai, Director
Washington, DC
Ms. Shimmi Kidwai has been a board member since 2018. She is also the founder of TCF-USA Washington, DC Chapter, and with the support of DC community, has been instrumental in building over 26 schools. In addition to this, she has offered valuable leadership since the inception of TCF-USA, and has been active in raising awareness and funds for the cause. Ms. Kidwai also serves on the board of Friends of Pakistan Club (FOP) and American Pakistani Women’s Association (APWA). She also supports a number of American and Pakistani charities. Her dedication stems from her belief that quality education for the poor is the best solution for Pakistan’s many challenges.
Ejaz A. Shameem, Director
Chicago
Mr. Ejaz Shameem has been serving on the Board of TCF-USA since 2017. He also heads the Chicago chapter and has played a significant role in strengthening its activities. Currently, he is Senior Vice President and Director of the Energy Business Consulting group, where he is responsible for the overall management and direction of the group’s various global engagements. He has 15 years of experience in the nuclear power industry, including seven years in Seoul, Korea as part of a technology transfer initiative with KEPCO. He is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in the states of Arizona, Illinois and Michigan. Mr. Shameem is dedicated to the cause of education. He contributes towards building schools through TCF and also funds a University of Illinois Foundation scholarship for deserving engineering students.
Masooma Bhaiwala, Director
Boston
Ms. Masooma Bhaiwala became a member of TCF-USA board in 2021. She also co-founded TCF-USA Boston Chapter in 2007 and since has been working to advance the cause in the community. Ms. Bhaiwala is currently the Vice President of the Discrete GPU SOCs (DGS) within the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics (AXG) Group at Intel Corporation. Prior to this, she had been working as Corporate Vice President of the Semi-Custom business unit at Advance Micro Devices (AMD) for 15 years. Moreover, Ms. Bhaiwala served as the President of Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs and Professionals (OPEN), New England from 2014-2016.She also volunteers for Saheli, a South Asian association providing services to female survivors of domestic violence. She holds an MS degree in Computer Engineer from University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
Haroon Ismail, Director
New York
Mr. Haroon Ismail became a part of the board in 2019. He has been involved with TCF-USA’s efforts in South Florida and New York. He currently serves as the Co-Head of the TCF Young Professionals New York chapter, which he co-founded in 2015 to foster engagement among the NYC-based professional community. Till date, over 1,000 members from the community have already become a part of the movement. Mr. Ismail is the Vice President of AEA Investors, a global private equity firm with over $15 billion in assets under management. At AEA, Mr. Ismail specializes in investments in the industrial and business services sectors. In the past, he has managed four of the firm’s investments and presently serves as a board observer involved with several strategic initiatives. Prior to AEA, Mr. Ismail was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. He graduated from the Stern School of Business, New York University with a BS in Finance and Accounting and a minor in Politics.
Kashmala Sharif, Director
New York
Kashmala became part of the board in 2018. She has been involved with TCF-USA’s efforts in New York since 2009. She currently serves as the Co-Head of the New York chapter which has been a critical pillar for the growth of TCF-USA. Kashmala holds a LLB from the University of Buckingham (UK) and a LLM from the Cardozo School of Law.
Dr. Adil Najam, Director
Boston
Dr. Adil Najam joined the TCF-USA Board in June 2020. As an acknowledged international expert on global governance and various aspects of human development, Dr. Najam brings a wealth of knowledge and relevant expertise to TCF. He is a public policy scholar whose research, teaching and public engagement focus on environment, diplomacy, politics of South Asia and Muslim societies and education in developing countries. Dr. Najam was named the inaugural Dean of Boston University’s Fredrick S. Pardee School of Global Studies in 2014. He is also a Professor of International Relations and of Earth and Environment at Boston University. Earlier, 2011 2014, Dr. Najam served as the Vice Chancellor of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan. He has also taught at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Prof. Najam holds a PhD (in environment and development policy) and two Masters degrees (in technology policy and in environmental engineering) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a Specialization in Negotiation from the Program on Negotiation at the Harvard Law School, and Bachelors in\ civil engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Pakistan. Dr. Najam has published widely, written over 100 scholarly papers and book chapters. Some of his recent books include: South Asia 2060: Envisioning Regional Futures (2013); How Immigrants Impact their Homelands (2013); The Future of South-South Economic Relations (2012); Trade and Environment: Visions from the South (2007); Pakistanis in America: Portrait of a Giving Community (2006). He was the Lead Author for the Pakistan National Human Development Report (NHDR), published in 2018 by UNDP- Pakistan. He serves on the Board of WWF International, The Asia Foundation, and the Consensus Building Institute. In 2009 Dr. Najam was nominated to serve on the UN Committee on Development (CDP), on which he continues to serve. In 2010 he was awarded the Sitara-i Imtiaz (Star of Excellence), one of Pakistan’s highest civil awards by the President of Pakistan.
Salman Zafar, Director
Seattle
Mr. Salman Zafar became part of the board in May 2022. He has been associated with TCF-USA Seattle chapter since its inception and has been serving as the Chapter Leader for the last 5 years. Under Mr. Salman’s leadership the Seattle chapter has built and continues to support 40+ schools. Currently, he is a Partner Director of Engineering at Microsoft. A veteran of the tech and cloud computing industry, he has 20 years of experience in managing and leading engineering teams helping scale and grow Microsoft 365 and Azure. Mr. Salman is also an active member of the Seattle community and serves as President of Alsadaqa, board member of Muslims Association of Puget Sound and board member of American Recreational Cricket League. Mr. Salman holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Computer) degree from McGill University, Montreal and is married with two children.
Haroon Ismail, Director
New York
Mr. Haroon Ismail became a part of the board in 2019. He has been involved with TCF-USA’s efforts in South Florida and New York. He currently serves as the Co-Head of the TCF Young Professionals New York chapter, which he co-founded in 2015 to foster engagement among the NYC-based professional community. Till date, over 1,000 members from the community have already become a part of the movement. Mr. Ismail is the Vice President of AEA Investors, a global private equity firm with over $15 billion in assets under management. At AEA, Mr. Ismail specializes in investments in the industrial and business services sectors. In the past, he has managed four of the firm’s investments and presently serves as a board observer involved with several strategic initiatives. Prior to AEA, Mr. Ismail was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. He graduated from the Stern School of Business, New York University with a BS in Finance and Accounting and a minor in Politics.
Tariq Khan
Director (New Jersey)
Tariq Khan is actively involved with the Pakistani-American community in New Jersey. Tariq was the founder of the TCF-USA New Jersey chapter. Under his stewardship the Chapter built two schools in Pakistan, the “NJ Campus” in Chakwal, and the “Shaheed Aziz Bhatti Campus” in Attock. Tariq was instrumental in setting up the North New Jersey Chapter. He is a graduate of St. John’s University – School of Risk Management and has worked for the Property &Casualty insurance industry. Tariq’s philanthropic activities have included organizing the New Jersey community to ship medical supplies and food in the aftermath of the 2010 floods and volunteering in Balakot, AJK, after the 2005 earthquake. He has led the effort of the Matawan, NJ Sunday School to establish a need-based college scholarship program for deserving children.
Barbara Janes, Director
Chicago
Ms. Barbara Janes has been serving on the board since 2010. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peshawar in the early 1960s. Friends of Pakistan USA, a community formed by Barbara and her former Peace Corps colleagues has been raising funds to support different TCF projects like student scholarships. Ms. Barbara also visited Pakistan in 2007 to conduct TCF teachers’ training workshops in Karachi and Lahore. In 2009, Barbara worked alongside TCF teachers to organize summer science camps.
Zarrar Sehgal, Advisor
New York
Mr. Zarrar Sehgal had served on the board for a decade, from 2008 to 2018. As a board member, he also served as the President from 2010 to 2018. At present he contributes as an advisor to the board. Mr. Sehgal is an attorney. He is a partner in Clifford Chance’s US Finance and Restructuring Group and Co-Head of the Asset Finance Practice. Mr. Sehgal is also head of Clifford Chance’s Global Transport & Logistics sector group. He has extensive experience representing underwriters, lenders, lessors, and governmental agencies in a wide variety of asset finance transactions. Mr. Sehgal was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He was also recognized by Chambers USA in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. He received his Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Georgetown University Law Center and his undergraduate degree from Boston University.
Azher Khan, Advisor
Indianapolis
Mr. Azher Khan had served on the board from 2008 to 2018, and currently serves as an advisor to the board. Mr. Khan is the President of Calderon Textiles Inc., established in 1983 in Indianapolis. Mr. Khan has also been serving as a Treasurer at Al-Fajr Masjid for the past 24 years. He is also the Treasurer of Muslim Alliance of Indiana and the President of Seeds of Learning, a non-profit dedicated to building goodwill, friendship, peace and tolerance between the people of Pakistan and America through education. A native of Karachi, Pakistan, Mr. Khan came to the United States in 1972. He earned a Bachelor’s in International Relations from the University of Mankato, Minnesota in1975 and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the American University, Washington, DC in 1979. Mr. Khan and his wife, Pinky, have three children.
Danial Noorani, Founder
Chicago
Mr. Danial Noorani founded TCF-USA in May 2002 and served as President till 2008. Mr. Noorani was then appointed as the CEO and managed the organization in that capacity until March 2015. Mr. Noorani also served as President and member of the Board of ‘Apna Ghar’ (Our Home), a twenty five year old agency for domestic violence survivors in Chicago. Mr. Noorani worked at AT&T for 26 years, where he took a leading role in the efforts to introduce competition in the Telecommunications industry. He co-chaired the Illinois Commerce Commission workshop that set the national guidelines for competition in local phone service. He represented AT&T at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and several other state utility commissions. Mr. Noorani has an MBA from Western Illinois University and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Economics from University of Karachi. Mr. Noorani and his wife, Karen, have three children and live in Roselle, Illinois.
Uneza Akhtar, Director Administration
Chicago
Uneza Akhtar joined TCF-USA in June 2006 and manages its operations, including donor and project management,facilitating fundraising efforts for US chapters, and working with volunteers on the Marketing Committee. Uneza was editor for The Review, a weekly magazine for Dawn, Pakistan’s leading newspaper. At Dawn, she led a staff team and supervised an internship program for six years. She also served for three years as a Development Grants Associate for Apna Ghar in Chicago, a domestic violence agency, and as editor and researcher for a development and design firm. Uneza is from Mumbai, India, and went to Elphinstone College. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Literature, from the University of Bombay. She is deeply interested in human rights issues and the arts.