Maha Elgenaidi is the founder and Executive Director of Islamic Networks Group (www.ing.org), a nonprofit organization with affiliates and partners around the country that are pursuing peace and countering all forms of bigotry through education and interfaith engagement, working within the framework of the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom and pluralism. Maha received an M.A. in religious studies from Stanford University and B.A in political science and economics from the American University in Cairo. She has taught classes on Islam in the modern world at Santa Clara University, Stanford University, and the University of California at Santa Cruz, and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the “Civil Rights Leadership Award” from the California Association of Human Relations Organizations, the “Citizen of the Year Award” from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and the "Dorothy Irene Height Community Award" from the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).