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Meet Our Team
Dania Darwish
Co-founder
Dania Darwish (she/her/hers) is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Asiyah Women's Center, which is the first emergency temporary housing facility in NYC that addresses the gap in appropriate residential services for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence that identify with the Arab, Middle-Eastern, Muslim, South Asian (AMEMSA) and the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) population. Under her leadership, Dania manages all operations at the center including but not limited to fundraising, grant writing, partnership and strategic planning, outreach and volunteer development, and case intake.
Dania has held roles and leadership positions at Amnesty International, UN Women, the Muslim American Society, the Office of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Prior to her employment at the Asiyah Women’s Center. Darwish completed missions in Greece, Turkey and Lebanon to expand medical and dental care to over 10,000 refugees in over 35 refugee camps. Darwish completed her B.A. in Political Psychology, Business, and International Relations at the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies and her MSc in Human Rights at the University College London.
Arianna El Haloui
Arianna El Haloui (she/her/hers) is the Programs Manager for the Asiyah Women’s Center. Arianna manages all programs and events that take place for and with the Asiyah Women’s Center. Programs that include the reproductive justice initiative, Rahma. A program that advocates for reproductive rights and maternal care by providing abortion access services, pregnancy classes, maternal health services, and sexual health education workshops. In addition to this, Arianna manages all programming both short term and long term such as the Internship Program, the Language Partner Program, and the Faith Advocacy Program.
She studied at Pace University with a BA in Communications and Media Studies and focused on Gender Studies and Intercultural Communications. It has always been a goal of hers to work to provide advocacy and care to women and non-binary people in BIPOC communities. This year, she hopes to expand programming to aid as many communities in need here in New York City.
Ellyn Valdellon
Ellyn Valdellon (she/her/hers) is the Partnerships and Development Associate at the Asiyah Women’s Center. Prior to joining the team, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from CUNY New York City College of Technology. After years of working in the food and beverage industry, she wanted to work in a field where she could really do good for the local community.
She first learned about the Asiyah Women’s Center through a social media post looking for interns and wanted to utilize her event planning skills to support the organization’s mission. Ellyn started as an outreach and events intern in summer 2022 and she quickly became very invested in supporting survivors directly in any way that she could, from preparing the shelter for new arrivals to finding them connections to legal aid.
Now a full-time team member, she works to continue raising awareness about domestic violence through forming strategic partnerships, fundraising, and events.
Most of all, she wants to encourage women in the AMEMSA and BIPOC communities to prioritize their own well-being to overcome past trauma and realize their strength.
Jehan Jamee
Jehan Jamee (she/her/hers) is the Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at the Asiyah Women’s Center. She attended Baruch College with a BA in Psychology and a BA in Communications. Prior to joining the team as a full time staff member, Jehan was one of the Asiyah Center’s most valued interns.
