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08:00AM - 9:30AM 9:45AM - 12:30PM |
Registration Welcome Keynote- Zaid Shakir Networking Break • Business/ Entrepreneurship • Legal/ Advocacy/ Activism • Education/ Youth • Engineering/ Technology |
| 12:30PM - 02:00PM |
Lunch Dhuhr prayer |
| 2:00PM - 05:00PM | Parallel Sessions • Media/ Communications • Banking/ Finance • Volunteerism/ Philanthropy/ Non-profits • Healthcare Networking Break Closing keynote- Arshad Matin & Maha El-Genaidi Asr prayer |
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Dinner Reception 06:00pm - 11:00pm |
Networking & Book Signing with Zaid Shakir Maghrib prayer & Dinner Keynote- Farooq Kathwari & Zaid Shakir Entertainment Isha prayer |
Session Summaries
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| Business Entrepreneurship |
Not only are Muslim professionals rising through the ranks in mainstream corporations, they are also breaking out of the corporate mold establishing businesses and ventures of their own. This panel will spotlight the achievements of our panelists, and also the challenges they have faced along the way. How and why they do what they do, and the lessons learned from their successes and failures. What does it take to succeed at the individual level; Why is our presence in business and entrepreneurship so important; and what do we need to do as a community to support and nurture each other. These and other questions will be addressed and discussed. | |
| Moderator | Fu'ad Butt (New York Life) | |
| Panelists | Omar Amanat (Amanat Capital), Shahed Amanullah (Halalfire Media LLC), Sajjad Chowdhry (Zayan Finance, Dinar Standard), Afzaal Akhtar ( Interactive Broadband Consulting Group ) | |
| Legal Advocacy Activism |
More North American Muslims than ever before are beginning careers in the fields of law and nonprofit advocacy. As they do, they are finding a growing, increasingly sophisticated network of peers and mentors to support them. Panelists will discuss their career choices, including how and why they chose their particular areas of focus, as well as the lessons they have learned from their successes and not-quite-successes. Panelists will also discuss the direct and indirect ways they engage in advocacy and activism, and whether they believe doing so is essential for all members of the North American Muslim community. | |
| Moderator | Umbreen Bhatti (ACLU) | |
| Panelists | Salam Al Marayati (MPAC), Shakeel Syed (Shura Council), Nasrina Bargzie (ACLU) , Asaad K. Siddiqi (Walder, Hayden & Brogan), Arif Hyder Ali ( Crowell & Moring LLP’s ) | |
| Education Youth |
How are we supporting young Muslims as they develop their religious identities in North America and the rest of the world? How do we impart young people with the skills they need to be proud of their identity and be active citizens? This panel will focus on organizations, individuals and corporations that are building the capacity of young people - through education and through engagement with the broader community. We will discuss the key projects of the panelists, and what motivates them to engage in this work. We will also discuss ways that we can all be involved in shaping the young people in our community. | |
| Moderator | Zeenat Rahman (IFYC) | |
| Panelists | Shamil Idriss (Alliance of Civilizations), Rubina Siddiqui, Maha El Genaidi (ING), Sajitha Jahangir (Kaplan), Sameer Shariff (Impelsys Inc) |
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| Engineering Technology |
Since the dawn of Islam, Muslims have been credited with scientific advances in fields including, Astronomy, Mathematics and Chemistry. More recently, technology is one of the fields of engineering that Muslim professionals in North America have been closely associated with. As we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, technological advances continue to fuel innovation and have become an integral component of the global economy and our daily lives. This panel will seek to leverage the diverse experience of panelists to provide an assessment of the opportunities and challenges Muslim professionals face in this field. The panel will focus on emerging trends in technology and how young Muslim professionals can take advantage of these trends to advance their careers and further their influence in their communities. | |
| Moderator | Zafar Iqbal (E*Trade) | |
| Panelists | Mona Diab (Columbia U), Farooq Azami (JP Morgan), Arshad Matin (SeismicMicro Tech), Murad Pandit (KSK Development LLC & The Plan Source LLC) | |
| Media Communications |
Media is a powerful tool for positive change. In the past 10 years, Muslim presence in the media and communications world has significantly evolved. Muslims in North America have gone from having little to no presence to becoming the center of talks, conferences, books, articles, op-eds, TV shows and debates.
Despite the progress that we have made, Muslims are still under represented in the media. Our diverse panelists represent different aspects of media and communications, and are all providing Muslims with a voice - both in the mainstream and within our own communities. |
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| Moderator | Miral Sattar (Time Inc.) | |
| Panelists | Firas Ahmad (Islamica), Saba Ali, Salam Al Marayati (MPAC), Shahed Amanullah (Halalfire Media LLC), Shamil Idriss (Alliance of Civilizations) | |
| Volunteerism Philanthropy Non-profits |
In recent years in North America, there has been an increasing focus on social responsibility, volunteerism and philanthropy. Concurrently, the number of civil society and non-profit organizations has increased, as has interest from the private sector and private individuals to become involved. This panel will discuss North American Muslims, their involvement and their contributions in this sphere. Topics to be discussed include: What motivates the corporate sector or private individuals to donate money, or partner on projects? How have secular and religious non-profits been able to harness interest in this sphere to meet their missions? What implications does this have for North American Muslims and the Muslim world? | |
| Moderator | Shireen Zaman (Vital Voices) | |
| Panelists | Salim Manzar (Princeton Advisory Group), Sayeeda Mirza-Jafri (One Nation), Shakeel Syed (Shura Council), Omar Amanat, Yousef Abdallah(Islamic Relief) |
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| Healthcare | Traditionally, Muslim healthcare professionals have built careers focusing on the science of healthcare. Today, an increasing number of Muslim professionals are building careers with a focus on the business of healthcare. The healthcare panel will discuss our community's science-to-business transition. The panel will also discuss the opportunity to build a healthcare career either with a large enterprise or an entrepreneurial venture. Furthermore, given the large number of Muslim professionals working in healthcare, the panel will discuss how we can assist fellow Muslims in realizing individual career goals as well as our potential as a group. | |
| Moderator | Atif Chauhdry (Healthcare and Legal Services staffing) | |
| Panelists | Hassan Mohaideen (Health Plan Systems), Dalia Mahmoud (Roche, MFPA), Saadia Akhtar (Beth Israel Hospital), Sameer Shariff (Impelsys Inc), Umair Khan ( GE Healthcare) | |
| Banking and Finance | The field of Finance has only recently been elevated to the status traditionally reserved for Medicine, Law and Engineering amongst Muslims. In light of this new-found interest, our panel will attempt to examine: the breadth of the field; entry opportunities and career options in the field (as individuals and as Muslims); challenges and leadership in Finance - how to excel in a field where Muslims are a (growing) minority; and Islamic Finance - current state of this niche, its recent expansion and growth potential. Our panel includes senior professionals with leadership experience in alternative investments, Islamic finance, trading, private equity, investment banking, retail banking, equity research and wealth management. |
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| Moderator | Mohammad Abdul Aziz (Macquarie Capital) | |
| Panelists | Naveed Siddiqui (Zayan), Saquib Toor ( Centerbridge Partners ), Shakil Ahmed (Citi Group), Shireen Qadri (Pilot Advisors L.P), Usama DeLorenzo ( Saturna Capital ) | |
