Our Team

Farhiya Mohamed

Executive Director, Founder

Farhiya Mohamed is a native of Somalia and a local leader in community organizing. Farhiya received her Master of Social Work from University of Washington (MSW) and her BA in Human Services at Evergreen State College while working as a Family Advocate with Southwest Youth & Family Services in West Seattle. Prior to Southwest, Farhiya worked as a Bilingual/Bicultural advocate with the Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA). For more than 10 years, Farhiya has worked assisting and advocating for domestic violence victims within the refugee and immigrant communities in King County. Farhiya has been a member of numerous community organizations including founding member and Vice-Present of the African Community Network in Seattle-King County, steering committee member of Seattle-King County Public Health community research project, board member of the National African Immigrant Refugee Women Network (NAIRWIN), and City of Seattle Commissioner Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, and founder and Executive Director of the Somali Family Safety Task Force which is dedicated to empowering and advancing the local Somali community by educating families on ways to prevent domestic and gender-based violence and strengthening community. Farhiya’s passion is to empower and advance youth & families by giving them a chance to address the issues they face and providing them with resources.

• 206-659-4755
• farhiya@sfstf.org

Mohammad Ismail

Program Manager

Mohammad Ismail joined the Somali Family Safety Task Force in 2019. He grew up in the Northwest of Pakistan. He describes some parts of the Northwest of Pakistan, where the average young woman is up early to run errands for her family. He squats to flame the dung-cake fire with a puff to make morning tea and roast cornbread. What she calls a kitchen has no running water, gas, electricity, or refrigerator. There were no newspapers, no books, no advertisements, no street names, no maps to read. Now, living in Seattle, his passion continues to be part of community building.

• 206-659-4755
• mohammad@sfstf.org

Ad

Program Manager

Ad is multilingual and brings vast non-profit experience ranging from joining as an undergrad one of the largest international student-led leadership development organizations to working with reputable non-profits like Columbia Legal Services and Refugee Women’s Alliance. As a first-generation immigrant, Ad relates to the challenges of the immigrant community and is devoted to working on empowering immigrant and refugee women and their families by removing barriers and celebrating their cultural richness. Hobbies include spending time with family and friends, learning new things, and enjoying the outdoors when it's not raining.

Saida Alim, MSW

Digital Coordinator

Saida Alim, has been involved with community work in the past 8 plus years in many different capacities as Housing and Policy Advocate with SHA,   advocate. Saida also was a Fellow Intern, EAC  through RVC.  Practicing mental health therapist and has worked in the field for the past years. Graduate from the University of Washington with her master's she is passionate about the work she does for the community and strongly believes in uplifting impoverished, disenfranchised immigrant/refugee and communities of color.

• saida@sfstf.org

Saliha Hacibektasoglu

office assistant

Saliha Hacibektasoglu Born in Turkey, moved to New York in 1980 when 11, Received Associates Degree Business in Administration from MCC in 1992, Received Bachelors Degree in Management Information Systems from RIT in 1999, Received Master Degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering from THKU in 2016, Worked at the Photography Giant - KODAK, last year in high school and after graduation from University after 1999. Got Married in 1987, has 4 children and a granddaughter, Moved back to Turkey for 16 years to raise children. While there worked at the Transportation Head Quarter - EGO in Ankara, Turkey from 2004-2016. After returning to the US, worked at EMAS – Ethiopian Online School, 2019-2020 and Volunteered at Sofia Way and Newport Covenant Church, continuing to volunteer at MAPS-MCRC for 2 years now. Joined SFSTF on Sept 7th 2021.

• 206-659-4755
• Saliha@sfstf.org

Meryn Johnson

Advocate

My name is Meryn. I am a recent college graduate majoring in criminal justice and minoring in Psychology. I am originally from Colorado, moving up to the PNW for school. I have always believed that the criminal justice system could benefit from more victim involvement. I am enjoying the experience so far, and am looking forward to continuing to grow and learn in the field!

• 206-504-4190
• meryn@sfstf.org

Mohamed Yusuf

Youth Advocate

Mohamed Yusuf is a youth advocate at Somali family safety task force. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography (GIS) from the University of Washington Seattle. His area of expertise includes Career Navigation and support for Youth through advocacy. Mohamed is passionate about urban social issues and often engages with the community through attending events virtually and in person in his spare time. He aims to empower the youth to become leaders and advance the importance of seeking higher education in communities of color.

• 206-673-0150
• mohamed@sfstf.org

Abdi Hussein Yalahow

Youth and Family Specialist

I am a passionate and motivated professional with the skills set of providing community resource coordination and advocacy. I possess a wide range of knowledge and experience, that allows me to contribute to the success of the Somali Family Safety Task Force. Education I am a certified Community Health worker. I graduated from the University of Nairobi with a bachelor's degree in Social Work. Currently, I am pursuing a master's degree in Public Health from the University of Arizona.

• 206-659-4755
• abdi@sfstf.org

Sarah Jacobsen

Development Coordinator

Connecting underserved communities with resources and opportunities is Sarah’s passion. Most recently she worked with Their Story is Our Story, an international refugee organization, and was a founder of the WholeHeart Refugee Alliance, serving Afghan refugee families in King County. Before pivoting to advocacy, Sarah worked for arts organizations like Emerald Ballet Theatre, focusing on community outreach and programming. She is also a trained dancer and professional choreographer. As an educator she taught in a variety of settings including San Jose State University. Sarah studied at the University of Utah, SJSU, and Duke (Arts Education and Non-Profit Management). She loves adventuring in the PNW with her husband and their 4 children.

• (206) 659-4755
• sarah@sfstf.org

Ruta Hailu

Advocate

Ruta Hailu is an Advocate at Somali Family Safety Task Force with 8+ years of work experience in varies professions, assisting her clients to achieve their goals. She has experience in legal advocacy, human resource management and human rights counseling with a law bachelor’s degree from Unity University and Master of Art in the field of human right from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. She is a hardworking, dedicated and aimed to pursue her career in the best way possible.

• (253)220-8314
• ruta@sfstf.org

Fardusa Sharif

Ms. Sharif is an energetic, passionate person who has developed a responsible approach to any task. ​She obtained a Master of Education and has a multitude of credentials (Child Development, Single Subject, Multiple Subjects, and Administrative Credentials). Ms. Sharif strongly desires to provide excellent educational support options to all. She established and hosted several programs to enrich the lives of disenfranchised communities. Ms. Sharif had several opportunities to lead and mentor diverse groups of individuals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). She helped shape communities and policies positively and has long-standing as an agent for positive change. Ms. Sharif seeks to advance approaches to the design and development of academic success by all, the empowerment of ethically diverse societies, and the well-being of individuals in the community.

• (206) 659-4755
• fardusa@sfstf.org

Eliza Davis

Project Coordinator

Eliza is a current MSW candidate at the University of Washington, concentrating in community-centered integrative practice. She is from Santa Cruz, California and holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies from Tufts University. Eliza moved to Seattle in 2021 from Amman, Jordan, where she worked as the Deputy Country Representative for the international NGO Vision Hope. Previously, Eliza worked as the Women’s Programs Manager at Collateral Repair Project in Amman, served as a 2018 – 2019 MENAR fellow, and volunteered extensively in refugee education in Lebanon and Greece. Eliza speaks Arabic and French and is learning Spanish. She’s passionate about travel, cross-cultural connections, and women’s empowerment.

• (206) 659-4755
• eliza@sfstf.org

Mohamed Abdi, MPH

position

Mohamed currently works with the City of Seattle’s Department of Education. A longtime Seattle resident and community advocate, Mohamed has worked extensively with youth and families in schools and in social services agencies. Mohamed is one of the founding members of SFSTF and currently a board member who has passionately dedicated his time and energy in serving the mission and vision of the organization. He stayed the course with his sister Farhiya and SFSTF since then. What kept him going all these years was farhiya’s passion in serving her community through years of volunteering and after an, I have had the distinct honor of working with sister Farhiya to support her efforts in providing services to the Somali community in areas of immigration, emergency needs, healthcare, and other support for families as they arise. Farhiya’s dedication to the Somali community is obvious through her strong work commitment and passion that compels her to service in the name of humanity.

• +91-89898989898
• nick.knight@example.com

Ahoua Koné, JD, MPH

Clinical Assistant Professor at UW Global Health, Director at Health Alliance International (HAI), and Immigration Attorney

Ahoua Koné is a Lawyer, a Program Director with Health Alliance International, and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington Department of Global Health. She is a native of Côte d’Ivoire. Ahoua’s work has been on health research and community empowerment projects both locally and internationally. She is an activist, always trying to help uplift voices that are neglected or oppressed. She is a founding member and past-president of the African Communities Network in King County and has served on several advisory boards and commissions including the Washington State Commission on African-American Affairs, the Seattle Human Rights Commission, the Planning and Oversight Committee of Seattle Public Schools, the Search Committee for the Seattle Police Department Chief. Ahoua is also a co-founding member of the Somali Family Safety Task Force, an organization for which she continues to be committed to helping thrive. Ahoua was a recipient of the Seattle University School of Law 2013 Vanguard Leader of the Year award and the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow Award (2000). Ahoua and her husband are parents of two young men. Ahoua is thankful for the support of her extended family and friends and for the numerous opportunities presented to her to contribute and give back to the community.

Saido Jama

Saido Jama works as a Procurement Agent for Boeing in Seattle, WA. Before this role, she was a Supply Chain Analyst. She is well-versed in contract development, vendor/supplier relationships, negotiations, production optimization, and logistics. Saido holds a Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management degree from Western Washington. Saido joined Somali Family Safety Task Force as a board member in 2019, she was captivated by their mission “to empower immigrant and refugee women and their families by providing culturally appropriate services that embody the core values of our community”. As a fellow Somali and immigrant herself, she could relate to the difficulties of navigating in a new country and wished an organization like this existed when she was growing up. SFSTF brings enormous value to the communities it serves and is for the community. A fun fact about Saido, she has toured on most of all major Boeing aircraft.

Gyanendra Subba, Project Manager

Lead Career Coach, SHA

Gyanendra is a Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP) with over 10 years of experience in direct service, research and evaluation, policy, and management. He is currently a project manager at the Workforce Development Council of Seattle King County (WDC). Prior to joining the WDC, he worked at the Seattle Housing Authority, Refugee Women’s Alliance, and the Nonprofit Assistance Center. He is a former refugee from Bhutan and was resettled in the US in 2008. He holds an undergraduate degree in Physics from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, India, an MBA from Seattle University and a Public Leadership Credential certification from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Rania Mussa , Bachelor of Arts (B.A) History

Rania Mussa works as a Solutions Architect designing technological solutions for clients to meet their ML and AI needs. After earning her bachelor’s from Whitman college, Rania worked in the education sector for a couple of years. First with a non-profit that serves immigrant and refugee families to help close the achievement gap for k-12 students. She later joined a start-up focused on using technology to transform how students read for deeper comprehension. Most recently, she worked with health researchers on innovative informatics is driven projects to improve the health outcomes for patients. In her day-to-day, she is driven by the desire to produce results and make an impact. Rania was drawn to the Somali Family Safety Task Force because of its mission “to empower immigrant and refugee women and their families.” SFSTF is not only a community-centered organization but at its core, it is embedded in the very fabric of the community it serves as a community-led, and community-run organization. The organization is well-positioned to address many of today’s challenges as they emerge and is exceedingly adaptive to communal needs.

Abdi Y. Jama

Abdi Y. Jama received a B.A. from Western Washington University and a Masters of Law in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University. Abdi is an Immigration Program Manager and a member of the Director’s Social Justice Cabinet at Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. He has been providing advocacy and legal immigration services to the immigrant and refugee communities in the state of Washington for over two decades. Abdi has worked with numerous Non-profit and Governmental Organizations in the State of Washington and in East Africa as a policy, social justice, and legal immigration consultant. He is also a conflict resolver, mediator, arbitrator, ombudsman, peace. builder, and trainer. He specializes in resolving complex multi-party conflicts internationally and designs conflict resolution systems for governments, NGO organizations, and employers. Abdi is on the roster of volunteer mediators for Los Angeles, California’s Institute for Nonviolence. He is Statebuilding and Democratization Program Manager at New Access International (NAI). A research and development agency established in 2012 by multi-disciplinary practitioners and specialists in Somalia. NAI is a registered civil society organization in the Federal Republic of Somalia. Mr. Jama has been involved in law and policy research with development organizations for over 15 years. Abdi Y. Jama is pleased to serve as a board member of the Somali Family Safety Task Force (SFSTF). He has worked with the founder, Farhiya Mohamed in different capacities and shares her passion for the refugee and immigrant communities. Abdi understands the importance of serving the underserved communities in the state of Washington and applauds Farhiya’s commitment to these populations. Farhiya has all the right ingredients to operate and direct a grass-roots organization and has always gone above and beyond with her community activism. Fun fact: Abdi Y. Jama has so far been to 37 States in the United States. Only 13 to go yay!

Gary D. Gant MPH, MBA

Gary is a community-oriented public health practitioner and health care administrator by training, and presently serves as the Field Office Director for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Washington State. Prior to his appointment at HUD, Gary served as the Deputy Regional Administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs (IEA) in HHS Region 5, based in Chicago, serving Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Before Gary joined the HRSA Chicago Regional Office, Gary served as a Public Health Analyst for HRSA in Region 10, based in Seattle. During his tenure at HRSA, Gary has led several major initiatives to improve health outcomes for underserved populations in urban and rural areas, especially in the areas of chronic disease prevention, health workforce development, homelessness and immigrant and refugee health. Prior to joining HRSA, Gary was an Executive Officer for the Veteran Administration’s Puget Sound Health Care System where he served as the Privacy and Freedom of Information Act Officer. Gary has also worked in various capacities for state public health, including programs for immunizations and maternal and child health. Gary has an M.P.H in Community-Oriented Public Health Practice and a M.B.A. in Healthcare Management. Gary has received various public health fellowships and awards, including the Quentin Burdick Fellowship in Rural Health, the Tobacco Scholars Career Development Fellowship, and the HRSA Administrator’s Special Citation Award in 2015 and 2016 for outstanding performance.