Fall 2023 GatorServe at 9/11 Day of Remembrance

Amanda Edwards

Candidate for TexasÔÇÖ 18th Congressional District, Attorney & former Houston City Council Member At Large

https://www.linkedin.com/in/akedwards00/

Amanda K. Edwards is an attorney and native Houstonian with a passion for empowering communities through solutions, engagement, and public service. Amanda is currently a candidate for the United States House of Representatives - Texas Congressional District 18. From 2016-2020, Amanda served as the Houston City Council Member in At-Large Position 4. During her tenure as a City Council Member, Amanda served as Vice Chair of the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee. She also served on the Economic Development Committee and the Transportation, Technology, and Infrastructure Committee.

Amanda has served as President of the Board of Directors for Project Row Houses and on numerous other boards, including the National League of Cities and Texas Lyceum. In addition to her service on various boards, Amanda serves on the Advisory Council of Accelerator for America. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., as well as the Houston Chapter of The Links, Inc. Amanda has been featured by multiple media outlets, including ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox Business, Essence, Black Enterprise, The Root, The New York Times, NPR, Politico, and The Texas Tribune, among others. While Amanda has received many accolades for her legal and community work, she finds empowering communities to be her greatest reward.

Ali Al Sudani

Chief Programs Officer

Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston

linkedin.com/in/ali-al-sudani-a5939a43

Ali Al Sudani was born and raised in Maysan, Iraq and was resettled in Houston, TX as a refugee by Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston in April 2009. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Basrah University, Iraq. In 2003 he started working with the British and coalition forces as Chief Translator in his home city. During this time, the Iraqi militia and nationalist groups began persecuting middle-class individuals who were helping coalition forces and Ali had to leave Iraq to Jordan.

Ali joined IM as a Reception and Placement Case Worker in June 2009 and in May 2010 he was promoted to the Director of Refugee Services were he served for seven years. Currently, Ali serves as the Chief Programs Officer of Interfaith Ministries. He oversees IM’s programs of Refugee Services and Meals on Wheels.

Prior to joining IM, he was Senior Program Coordinator with “People In Need,” a Czech based non-governmental organization. He became a Certified Trainer in Capacity Building with the Czech Fundraising Center and administered several medical and Capacity Building funded projects in Iraq for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and United Nations Democracy Funds (UNDEF).

Dr. Loren J. Blanchard

President

University of Houston-Downtown

https://www.linkedin.com/in/loren-blanchard/

Loren J. Blanchard joined the University of Houston-Downtown as its seventh president on March 15, 2021. During his tenure at UHD, Dr. Blanchard has launched the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan: A New Paradigm with Student Success as the University’s number one priority. Since the implementation of that plan, UHD has made progress toward multiple interrelated goals through organizational changes that ensure systematic first-year support, strategic and ongoing academic advising, and provisions to meet students’ basic needs.

Under Dr. Blanchard’s leadership, the University has received more than $30 million in awards from public and private funders who support its vision, recognize its progress, and believe in its potential. U.S. News ranked UHD among Top Performers on Social Mobility and awarded the University a No. 1 ranking as the most diverse institution of higher education in the southern region of the United States. He leads with a commitment to the civic and moral imperatives that a higher education must prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to address the critical needs of their communities and the most pressing concerns of our nation.

A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Blanchard holds a bachelor's degree in Speech Pathology Education from Xavier University of Louisiana, a master's degree in Education from McNeese State University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Georgia.