Advisory Board

Ryan Crocker

Ambassador (Ret.)
US Ambassador to Iraq, 2007-2009
Ambassador to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait
Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom

Ryan Crocker is currently an Executive Professor at Texas A&M. From 2010-2011 and 2013-2016, he served as Dean and Executive Professor at the George Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University where he was holder of the Edward and Howard Kruse Endowed Chair. He retired from the Foreign Service in April 2009 after a career of over 37 years but was recalled to active duty by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan in 2011. He has served as U.S. Ambassador six times: Afghanistan (2011-2012), Iraq (2007-2009), Pakistan (2004- 2007), Syria (1998-2001), Kuwait (1994-1997), and Lebanon (1990-1993). Born in Spokane, Washington, he grew up in an Air Force family, attending schools in Morocco, Canada and Turkey, as well as the U.S. He received a B.A. in English in 1971 and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2001 from Whitman College (Washington). He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the Association of American Ambassadors. In August 2013, he was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors which oversees all U.S. government-supported civilian international media. He is also on the Board of Directors of Mercy Corps International. Ambassador Crocker received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, in 2009. In July 2012, he was named an Honorary Marine, the 75th civilian so honored since the founding of the Corps in 1775.

Jeremy Christopher Kohomban, Ph.D.

President and CEO, The Children’s Village and
The Center for Child Welfare Research at The Children’s Village Institute

Jeremy Christopher Kohomban, Ph.D. is the President and CEO of The Children’s Village and The Center for Child Welfare Research at the Children’s Village Institute. The Children’s Village provides a broad continuum of programs including evidence-based support for families, shelters for homeless youth and immigrant children, alternatives to incarceration, non-secure detention, alternative schools, affordable housing, and specialized services for nearly 9,000 children and families in community settings and over 1,000 children in residential settings annually.

Prior to his appointment at The Children’s Village, Dr. Kohomban was the Senior Vice President at Easter Seals and the President of the D.C. based National Association for Family-Based Services.

Dr. Kohomban is a noted expert in child welfare and his leadership successes have been noted by The New York Times, NPR and other publications. In their story discussing the child welfare crisis in New York, City Limits magazine identified Dr. Kohomban as a leader with a “clear vision for the future.” Most recently, Dr. Kohomban was honored by the Alliance for Children and Families with the 2011 Samuel Gerson Nordlinger Child Welfare Leadership Award for his dedication and effectiveness in the child welfare field.

Dr. Kohomban currently serves on the boards of the Child Welfare Watch, Child Welfare Organizing Project, Alliance for Children and Families, Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Center for Effective Family Services and Systems, and Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA), the Washington D.C. based American Youth Work Center which publishes the periodical Youth Today, and Charity Navigator’s Advisory Panel. He has earned a reputation as a leader who effectively blends human services with accountability and a pragmatic business sense. Dr. Kohomban is the author of a number of articles and a nationally recognized speaker on topics of organizational leadership, system reform, and family-focused service delivery.

Dr. Kohomban is a vocal advocate for juvenile justice and child welfare reform. He provided expert testimony to the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Task Force which, together with support from The Vera Institute of Justice, produced a blueprint for juvenile justice reform in New York State. He is a member of the Westchester County Department of Social Services’ Advisory Council, NYC’s Division for Youth and Family Justice Advisory Board, and co-chair of the New York State Strategic Plan Action Committee Local Continuum and Coordination Structure on Juvenile Justice. Dr. Kohomban received his undergraduate degree from Teacher’s College in Kansas, his Masters from Long Island University, New York and his Ph.D. from the School for Leadership in Virginia.

Samir Sumaida'ie

Ambassador (Ret.)
Ambassador of Iraq to the United States, 2006-2011
Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations, 2004 -2006

Ambassador Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida’ie was appointed Iraq’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in July 2004. In April 2006, he moved to Washington DC as Iraq’s first ambassador to the United States of America for fifteen years. He retired as Ambassador in December 2011.

Prior to his appointment to the U.N., Ambassador Sumaida’ie served as the Minister of Interior in Baghdad. In this capacity he managed a domestic security force of over 120,000 and made considerable progress in reconstituting, and reorganizing the Ministry and its operations. In addition, Ambassador Sumaida’ie served as a member of Governing Council (GC) in Iraq. In the GC, he was Chairman of the Media Committee, and in that role he played an integral role in the founding of the Iraqi Telecoms and Media Commission and the Public Broadcasting Institution. He was also Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and member of the Security and Finance Committees.

Prior to the removal of the Baathist regime, Ambassador Sumaida’ie was actively involved in opposition efforts. From his exile in the United Kingdom, he co-founded the Association of Iraqi Democrats and later, the Democratic Party of Iraq. And, as leader of these organizations attended practically all opposition conferences throughout the world, and built close working relationships with other leaders of the opposition who went to become principal political leaders of the New Iraq.

A successful businessman, Ambassador Sumaida’ie founded a procurement agency in 1978 and embarked on a number of entrepreneurial ventures in his career. In the 1980’s, he established a design office in London, pioneered the use of computers in Islamic art and completed important works in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom. In the mid-nineties, he expanded his activities into China and opening an office in Beijing as a business consultant.

Ambassador Sumaida’ie was born in Baghdad. Upon finishing high school in 1960, he won a scholarship to study abroad, in the UK where he graduated from Durham University with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1965, and took a diploma in Computing in 1966. He then returned to Iraq as one the first few computer specialists, to work with the Baghdad Electricity Board and Iraqi Petroleum Company before leaving the country in 1973.

Ambassador Sumaida’ie enjoys a wide range of cultural interests, including writing Arabic poetry in classical form, Calligraphy and design in the Islamic decorative medium.

Shameem Rassam

Executive Producer

Shameem N. Rassam is a recognized media expert and television executive producer with over  thirty years of experience in media programming, planning, budgeting, recruiting, training, and government relations with the Arab world. She worked for the Ministry of Information in Baghdad before becoming Radio Manager and TV consultant for the Arab Network of America in Washington, DC.  She later worked as a reporter for Voice of America, an interpreter for the U.S. State Department, and as a manager for two Iraqi national radio stations and Al-Iraqiyah satellite television station.  She served from 2003 to 2012 in a variety of roles instructing and advising US officials on communications, civil society, culture, history, and conflicts in Iraq and the Arab world. She most recently served as Executive Producer for Alhurra-Iraq TV in the Washington, DC area, where she oversaw news and current events programming, including issues related to Iraqi orphans and vulnerable children.

Maxwell Quqa

Founder

Max served in Iraq from 2006 to 2009 as an American bilingual bi-cultural advisor to U.S. diplomatic and military personnel. He is fluent in Arabic and knowledgeable about Iraqi and other Middle Eastern cultures and traditions. He has 20 years of experience in dealing with NGOs as well as 30 years of international business development. Max founded ICF in 2007.

“I am a strong believer in what we do. Giving hope to the hopeless children of Iraq, gives them the drive and motivation for a better future. We can allow them to dream again.”

Connect with Max on LinkedIn.

Ryan K. Bell, CPP

Iraq & Afghanistan War Veteran
Director of Operations, Jard Inventory & Loss Prevention Solutions

Ryan Bell, an expert in asset protection and corporate security, is currently the Director of Security for Internal Risk & Profitability Solutions in Dubai.

He is also a US Marine veteran where he served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom from 2004-2008.

A graduate of the University of Oregon, Ryan is a Certified Protection Professional (CPP), a licensed pilot, and experienced in Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

Ryan has also served on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, a nonprofit that uses one-on-one mentoring to help children “who have the odds stacked against them,”

May Yang Ying (Sumaida'ie)

Businesswoman

May Yang Ying Sumaida’ie received her degree in Politics and Government Organization in Beijing, China, and, after a few years working for the government, established a successful IT business which is today a leading software company. She went on to establish other prominent businesses and, as a result, was named, in 2004, by the National Women Association as the most successful woman entrepreneur.

Mrs. Sumaida’ie joined her husband, Ambassador Sumaida’ie, during his diplomatic assignments in New York as Iraq’s Ambassador to the United Nations, and later, in Washington, DC, as Iraq’s Ambassador to the United States.

Mrs. Sumaida’ie is also an artist and developed her own style of oil painting after studying under the renowned Taiwanese painter Yan Yong Zong. Her art has been shown at several exhibits.

In addition to the Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF), Mrs. Sumaida’ie has been active in charities to protect and help sick children in China and to provide vocational training for widows in Iraq.

Raymond G. Lahoud, Esq.

Chair, Immigration Law Practice, Norris McLaughlin, P.A.

Raymond G. Lahoud, Chair of the firm’s Immigration Law Practice, focuses primarily on immigration law and deportation defense for individuals and corporations in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania (Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown, and the surrounding region).

His practice includes Citizenship, U.S. Non-Immigration Visas, E Visas, E-3 Visas, H-1B Visas, H-2B Visas, L Visas, O Visas, P Visas, Q Visas, R Visas, TN Visas, U.S. Immigration Visas, EB5 Investor Visas, Exceptional Ability Immigrant Visas, Extraordinary Ability Immigrant Visas, K-1 Visas, K-3 Visas, Multinational Manager/Executive Immigrant Visas, Outstanding Professor/Researcher Immigrant Visas, PERM Labor Certification, Family Petitions, Adjustment of Status, Marriage Petitions, Asylum, and VAWA applications. Ray also has a long history of political and business management expertise.

Ray also works in the field of Immigration Waivers, such as the Visa Waiver Program, National Interest Waivers, Hardship Waivers, and J Waivers. His practice focuses specifically on Deportation Defense, at the Immigration Court, Board of Immigration Appeals, and Circuit Court levels. He has defended individuals against deportation across the United States. In state and federal appellate courts, he seeks post-conviction relief for the underlying crime that led to the commencement of the deportation. He also represents individuals who overstayed their visas or entered the United States without inspection.

Ray has received numerous accolades. He has been awarded the Empire State Pro Bono Counsel Award each year since 2012, has been selected as Lead Counsel, received the Martindale-Hubbell Platinum Client Champion Award, and has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star, ranked as a Top Rated Immigration Attorney in the New York Metro Area. EB5 Investors, the leading online portal, conference series, and magazine for investors, developers, and EB-5 professionals, has named Ray one of the “Top 5 Rising Stars” nationally. He was also named one of the 40 young professionals from the Greater Lehigh Valley as the Lehigh Valley Business 2017 Forty Under 40 for his commitment to business growth, professional excellence, and the community.

At Lehigh, Ray was Editor of The Lehigh Review, earned Deans List, was named a President’s Scholar, was inducted into Phi Beta Delta, and received, among other awards, the Williams Award, Treen Scholarship, and Littner Scholarship. Prior to that, he served as a United States Congressional Page, under then-Congressman Ray LaHood (R-IL). He also served as a legislative aide to State Senator Lisa Boscola (D-PA).

In law school, Ray earned Deans List, received CALI awards in many courses, and worked on the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal. He was actively involved in additional programs and other organizations including the Barristers’ Counsel, ABA Law Student Division, ACLU at GULC, Catholic Student Association, and the Innocence Project, and worked for the Honorable Joanne Seybert, Federal District Court Judge for the Eastern District of New York.

Barbara A. Marlowe

Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A.

Barbara Marlowe is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A., a law firm in Cleveland and Painesville, OH. Barbara gained wide public recognition after helping Teeba, a young Iraqi girl who was badly injured in a 2003 bombing while riding in a taxi with her family near Baghdad. Teeba’s face and hands were badly burned and her brother Yousef was killed. Barbara saw Teeba’s story and brought her to the US for multiple reconstructive surgeries. Barbara and Teeba’s story has been featured in magazines, newspapers, television, and in their book “A Brave Face”. Barbara oversees Dworken & Bernstein law firm’s “Ohio Lawyers Give Back” initiative, which has worked with over 300 recipients of cy pres, distributing more than $50 million to charity. She serves on the University Hospital Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital Leadership Council and is co-chair of an event called Save a Smile, Save a Child that has benefitted Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Rainbow. She also serves as a board member of Dogs Unlimited animal rescue.

“I am a strong believer in the good we do. In creating a better future for the children of Iraq, we can allow them to dream again and work towards achieving a better life.”

Connect with Barbara on LinkedIn.