PRESENT PERSONNEL
Salma Zarook
JYG Coordinator
Salma is an enthusiastic community leader and a proud Muslim. She moved to LA from Melbourne, Australia where she was born and raised, and where she recently graduated from a B.A in Creative Writing. Salma has been involved in many community works including teaching at a Sundayschool, being an MSA leader and an active participant of halaqas and interfaith networks. She loves to learning about Islamic history and spends much of her time reading and writing in hopes of publishing a book. Salma currently teaches a New Horizon school and looks forward to becoming an active member of the Muslim community in LA.
Maryam Qudrat, Ph.D
Founding Director
Maryam founded the Muslim Student Association at Cleveland High School. She later graduated with a doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Afterwards, Maryam became a lecturer with over ten years of experience at California State University, Long Beach. Her additional teaching experience includes five years with the New Horizon's Sunday school at the Islamic Center of Southern California. Other achievements include producing youth driven shows on IIS TV and authoring a book on the Muslim-American identity following the events of 9/11. Last, but not least, she is the proud mother of a six-year-old son who is currently enrolled in New Horizon's Sunday school.
Henda Ibrahim
Arabic Instructor
Henda leads the JYG's specialized Arabic instruction.
PAST PERSONNEL
Kevin Lee
Research Assistant
Having grown up in the Islamic context of Malaysia, Kevin was struck by the growing wave of Islamophobia in the West, and by the pervading misconceptions surrounding Islam. Thus, while an undergraduate at UCLA, he was compelled to study Philosophy and the Study of Religion--an academic endeavor he furthered through his role in JYG. He is active in the Los Angeles undocumented youth movement, and left JYG in August 2016 to pursue graduate studies at the University of Chicago, where he will undoubtedly bring to bear the many lessons that JYG has so graciously taught him.
Nazaneen Habib
Research Assistant
Nazaneen Habib started the Pennies for Peace Club at Santa Monica High School, which fundraised money to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She later attended the University of California, Irvine and completed a B.A. in Classical Civilizations. After graduation, she moved to Tatebayashi, Japan to teach English to middle school students for a total of one year.