Board of Directors

Ahmad Zubair Sahar Mahjoor, Chairman                                                  azs@educationandpeace.org

Ahmad founded the Afghan Education Peace Foundation in 2008 and has since, with the help of his colleagues, worked to develop relationships with education and government officials both in the United States and Afghanistan. He also leads the Foundation’s board development, executive and advisory committees and sets long-term fundraising and development targets.

In prior professional roles, Ahmad held a variety of positions with some of the worlds leading public relations, sales, marketing and event planning firms.

An Afghan immigrant who fled the Soviet invasion of his homeland at 3 years old, Ahmad arrived in the United States in 1982. Ahmad grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, and is a product of the NYC public education system as well as the state university system having earned his degree in History from the State University of New York, College at Oneonta in 1999.

Jeffrey Takeshi Omura, Vice Chairman                                                omura@educationandpeace.org

As Vice Chairman, Jeffrey helps lead the Foundation’s day-to-day activities and has played pivotal roles in its development since its incorporation in 2008.  Jeffrey serves as a liaison between higher education institutions across the country, the Foundation’s board, and plays a senior role in developing the Foundation’s short-term and long-term fundraising strategies.

Jeffrey has worked on several political campaigns and as a policy analyst for the New York City Human Resource Administration. An actor by trade, he has appeared in numerous roles in film, television, and theater. Jeffrey received his bachelors in Drama and Political Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

Michael F. Colosi, General Counsel

As General Counsel, Michael provides strategic and legal direction for both the Chairman, and the Foundation’s board and officers.

Michael currently serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. He previously served as Corporate Vice President and General Counsel for the Company from 2000 to 2007 and as Corporate Secretary since July 2004.  He was also the Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for The Warnaco Group, Inc. from 1996 to 2000. After clerking for Judge J. Edward Lumbard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, he was engaged in the private practice of law from 1992 to 1996. Michael received his law degree from the University of Michigan.

Chester “Chet” Kane, Trustee

Chet is responsible for protecting and advancing the Foundation’s reputation, increasing awareness of Foundation issues, and overseeing external and internal communications functions.

Chet Kane has over 40 years of experience in advertising/marketing with Y&R, Interpublic (Exec-VP) Colgate (New Products Director) and Revlon. In his last 20 years he founded Kane Bortree & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in new products and messaging/framing with Fortune 500 companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Clorox, American Express etc, etc.

Since retiring he has done Pro Bono projects for The Democratic National Committee; Big Brothers, Big Sisters; FLI; a Harlem Charter School; and Everybody Wins Organization devoted to corporate sponsorships of children’s reading programs.

M. Ashraf Haidari, Trustee

Mr. M. Ashraf Haidari is the Deputy Chief of Mission and Political Counselor of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C. He directly assists the Ambassador in his diplomatic responsibilities, helping maintain bilateral relations with the United States Administration and Congress.

As the Head of the Political Affairs Department, Mr. Haidari has effectively managed coalition affairs; overseen non-resident diplomatic relations with Brazil and Colombia; and coordinated Afghanistan’s diplomatic, defense, development, and law enforcement relations with the relevant institutions of the U.S. Government and the Washington-based missions of the Coalition and non-resident countries.

Mr. Haidari previously served the Embassy of Afghanistan as the First Secretary for Political, Security & Development Affairs, as well as Director of Government and Media Relations. He formerly worked as Federal Relations Specialist, Research Analyst, and Assistant Director of Development at Georgetown University. Mr. Haidari has extensive work experience with the United Nations, having held positions of complex responsibility with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN World Food Program (UNWFP) in Afghanistan, Europe, and Central Asia.

Mr. Haidari is educated in the United States, Switzerland, and Afghanistan. He holds a Master of Arts in Security Studies (Concentration: International Security & Development) from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service; and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from Wabash College. During 2002-2003, Mr. Haidari was a Fellow in Foreign Service at the Georgetown University Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, and holds advanced certificates in International Affairs and Refugee & Humanitarian Emergencies from the University. In 2000, Mr. Haidari pursued coursework in European Studies & International Law at the Kent State University Geneva Study-Abroad Program in Switzerland.

Mr. Haidari is married and has a son. He speaks English, French, and Russian.

Tim Kleiman, Trustee

Tim joined the Board of the AEPF in 2009 and has been involved with the Foundation since its inception.  Tim is an investment analyst in the Portfolio Acquisitions and Syndications unit of D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., an investment and technology development firm.  He previously worked as a business analyst at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm.

Tim holds a B.A. in Psychology, summa cum laude, from Yale University, and has published research exploring possible genetic influences on the clinical course of Alzheimer’s Disease.  He co-chairs the Young Executive Board of iMentor, which pairs working professionals with high school students from underserved NYC communities in a technology-based formal mentoring curriculum.

Board of Advisors

John Donnelly

John Donnelly serves as an expert in US Resource Mobilization for UN-Habitat.  He consults for a variety of other UN agencies, including the Office of Internal Oversight Services, where he introduced the concept of internal consultancies and analysis on results based management.  He also chairs the marketing and strategy committee for the New England Baptist Hospital. Previous responsibilities include serving as Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Computer Corporation of America, a Marketing and Sales Executive for Cullinet Software, and Vice President and General Manager of Donnelly Advertising. He’s consulted for several high tech companies, major non-profits, and government agencies, and specializes in strategic planning, fundraising, IT product management, legal safety issues, brand development, and market expansion. John is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. He proudly serves his alma matter as the Harvard University Director of Corporate Giving as well as the Director of Major Gifts for the Harvard School of Design.

John Coonrod

John Coonrod is Vice President, Strategy and Impact of The Hunger Project. He was one of the first volunteers in The Hunger Project in early 1977, assisting in the research during the organizations formulation, and was then a volunteer leader in its enrollment, educational and financial family campaigns through 1984. In 1985, he joined staff to assist in opening the Global Office in New York and facilitate our work with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

John has been instrumental in the formulation and management of the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger since 1986, and in the development of all Hunger Project programs. The board elected him Vice President in October 1997.

John grew up in the Midwest, and was trained as a physicist at Stanford (BSc) and the University of California-Berkeley (MS, PhD), during which time he was active in the civil rights and anti-war movement. He worked as a research physicist at Princeton University from 1978 through 1984. As a physicist, he was involved in the design and construction of the High-Energy Astronomical Observatory satellite, the first whole-body CAT scanner, and the first tokamak designed to achieve a break-even fusion reaction.

At a Hunger Project event, he met his colleague and future wife Carol. They were married in 1988 and are living happily ever after.

Richard C. Iannuzzi

Richard has served as president of New York State United Teachers since April 2005, leading the union through a period of tremendous growth, with membership now at more than 600,000. A leading voice in the labor movement at both the state and federal levels, Richard serves as a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and of the New York State AFL-CIO. He also serves as delegate to the national AFL-CIO and as co-chair of the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition.

Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a union household, Richard taught elementary school in the Central Islip public schools for 34 years, including 20 spent as a fourth-grade teacher.

A graduate of CUNY’s Brooklyn College, Richard was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 1970. In addition, Richard earned a master’s degree with distinction from Hofstra University and a labor studies certificate from Cornell University.

He and his wife, Joanne, have three grown children, including daughter Deborah, a NYSUT member who teaches English at Central Islip High School. The Iannuzzis are the proud grandparents of four grandchildren.

Susan Karp

For nearly thirty-five years, Susan Karp has served as a senior development professional with a number of prestigious nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to creating greater opportunity for youth through access to high quality education.  She began her career with the Institute of International Education (IIE), where she raised millions of dollars by developing and stewarding relationships with senior-level officials of corporations, foundation, and international government agencies. At IIE, Susan negotiated the first US-USSR Student Exchange Program and then developed partnership relations with multinational corporations that funded scholarships for hundreds of students from the former Soviet bloc countries.  After twenty years with IIE, Susan served as Director of Corporate, Foundation and Major Donor Relations with the American Jewish Committee (AJC). At AJC, she was instrumental in securing a $1 million gift for the founding of the International Interreligious Understanding Institute, among other large-scale donations.

Because of her passion for women’s rights, Susan accepted the position of Vice President of Development at Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund), where she helped build the Board, grew all revenue streams and transitioned a small fundraising luncheon into an annual $1.3 million event. She is currently the Chief Development Officer with the Young Women’s Leadership Network, an organization committed to ensuring that underserved students gain acceptance to college.

Susan graduated from Pace University with a B.A. in history and did graduate studies at New York University in marketing.

Laura J. Marks

Laura J. Marks is executive director of the Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funds and awareness for the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University. An expert in nonprofit management and administration, Ms. Marks has worked with human rights and humanitarian organizations for nearly 20 years. She has been director of Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute and of the International Monitor Institute in Los Angeles. She was program officer for West and Southern Africa at the International Rescue Committee and the first fulltime staff member at the Women’s Refugee Commission. Ms. Marks holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College and a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

James Cecil

Having served in senior political advisory roles and in senior positions in international PR firms, James Cecil offers nearly 20 years experience in developing multi-faceted strategies in media relations, corporate communications, marketing, and government relations.

At Cadence Communications, James develops and manages executive visibility and media programs for clients ranging from industry leaders such as Pfizer and WIRED Magazine to small technology start-up and mid-sized companies creating new products and entering new markets.

Since 2007, James and the team at Cadence have served as senior strategy and organization-building advisors to Building Bridges to the Future Foundation, operating in Aceh, Indonesia; Building Professional Social Work in Developing Nations, in Jakarta, Indonesia; and for Harlem Children Society, a New York-based education foundation for at-risk high school students interested in science studies.

During his tenure as Vice President at Access Communications in San Francisco, James provided public affairs counsel to large technology companies such as Excite@Home, Siebel Systems, Sega, and Silicon Graphics, Inc., where he led the public relations programs to support the launch of NASA’s Columbia supercomputer.

Previously at Edelman Public Relations in Washington, D.C., James managed public affairs programs promoting economic development and job creation such clients such as Ericsson, AT&T, and Fujifilm. Verizon also tapped into James’ expertise to build nationwide public support for changes in telecom regulations and to manage communications during mergers and acquisitions.

For ten years in Washington, James served as a policy advisor, lobbyist and public relations strategist. He served as a senior advisor to U.S. Senator Phil Gramm for seven years and, in that capacity, worked closely with federal, state, and local elected officials and community organizations in 47 states. Working in over 60 campaigns for the U.S. Senate and in four presidential campaigns, James accumulated considerable demographic and economic knowledge of every region in the U.S. and skills in rapid-response strategy development.

On Capitol Hill and in national politics, James created over 300 media events in every major media market in the U.S. to promote public policies for healthcare, economic development, defense, agriculture, and international trade.

Living abroad for nearly a year, James served as project manager for U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID) programs to promote democracy in East Timor, Indonesia, and Serbia.

James’ work earned awards for PRWeek and Mercury Awards in Public affairs strategy and in speechwriting.

Howard Moskowitz

Howard Moskowitz is the CEO of i-Novation Inc. as well as President of Moskowtiz Jacobs Inc., a firm he founded in 1981.

Dr. Moskowitz is both a well-known experimental psychologist in the field of psychophysics and an inventor of world-class market research technology. Dr. Moskowitz graduated Harvard University in 1969 with a Ph.D. in experimental psychology. Prior to that he graduated Queens College (New York), Phi Beta Kappa, with degrees in mathematics and psychology.  He has written/edited sixteen books, has published well over 300 articles and serves on the editorial board of major journals.

His extensive speaking engagements span both scientific and market research conferences, as well as guest lectures at leading business schools and food science schools.  His latest book with co-author Alex Gofman, Selling Blue Elephants (Wharton School Publishing) demonstrates and popularizes how IdeaMap (i-Novation`s flagship product) creates new products and messages… from areas as diverse as credit cards, jewelry offers, presidential messaging during election years, stock market communications, and trans-national innovation.

Dr. Moskowitz has won numerous awards, among them the Scientific Director’s Gold Medal for Outstanding research at the U.S. Army Natick Laboratories, and the 2001 and 2003 awards by ESOMAR (European Society of Market Reasearch) for his innovation in web-enabled, self-authored conjoint measurement, and for weak signals research in new trends analysis and concept development.

The self-authored concept technology has brought concept/package design development and innovation into the realm of the researcher, significantly reducing cost, time and effort for new product and service development. In 2004, Dr. Moskowitz was elected as an IFT Fellow, and also was awarded the “David R. Peryam Award”, from ASTM, in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of basic and applied sensory science.

In 2005, Dr. Moskowitz was awarded the Charles Coolidge Parlin Marketing Research Award for his substantial contributions and dedication to the advancement of marketing research practices.  Most recently, he is the recipient of the ARF Research Innovation Award and The Market Research Council Hall of Fame Award, both in 2006.  From November 2004 to November 2006, Dr. Moskowitz appeared weekly on ABC News Now as the Food Doctor.  His segment highlighted the most innovative and interesting aspects of the food industry.