Board of Directors

Hon. Ehsan Bayat, Founder and Chairman of the Board

Hon. Ehsan Bayat is the founder and Chairman of Telephone Systems International, Inc. in New Jersey and three organizations helping to rebuild Afghanistan; Afghan Wireless Communication Company, Ariana Radio and Television Network and the Bayat Foundation.   In 2011, Ehsan Bayat was appointed to the Afghanistan House of Elders.  Ehsan Bayat has received numerous awards recognizing his ongoing dedication to business and humanitarian efforts including the Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award (2010), the Afghan American Chamber of Commerce Businessman of The Year Award (2007), Zeba Magazine’s Best Humanitarian Award (2007) and the Afghanistan Human Rights Association Human Rights National Award (2006).  Mr. Bayat left Afghanistan during the Russian invasion and was one of the first to return to help rebuild his homeland after the Taliban regime was deposed and U.S. sanctions were lifted.  Mr. Bayat earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Technology from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1986.

Mrs. Fatema Laya Bayat, Corporate President and Executive Director

Mrs. Bayat is President and Executive director of the Bayat Foundation and Senior Vice President of Ariana Television.  Through these roles she is a voice for empowering women of Afghanistan through entrepreneurship, education, health care and rule of law.  Fatema Laya Bayat moved to the USA in her youth and pursued and received a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Education and a master’s degree in Special Education.  Fatema leverages her formal education and teaching experience along with her knowledge of her country of origin to help establish education and health care opportunities for widows, women and youth of Afghanistan.     

Mr. Allen J. Maines, Director

Allen Maines is a Partner in the Litigation Department for Paul Hastings in Atlanta, Georgia where he concentrates on major commercial and civil regulatory litigation, and corporate investigations. He has served as lead trial counsel to some of the world’s largest entities. Mr. Maines provides advice with respect to corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions for a wide range of transactions. Mr. Maines has also served as co-chair of the firm’s Global Litigation Department, Chair of the firm’s Securities Litigation Practice Group, Chair of the Securities Law Committee of the International Bar Association, and Chair of the IBA’s Publication Committee. He is recognized as a top practitioner by his peers and by in-house counsel for his high-quality work.  Allen received his J.D. degree with honors from the University of Florida, is a member of the Florida and Georgia bars and has authored a number of publications.

Mrs. Mezhgan Nabi Alamshahi, Corporate Treasurer and Director

Mezhgan Alamshahi has worked with Kaiser Permanente since 1999 and is currently the Director of Patient Safety and Sepsi IA in the South Sacramento Medical Center.  Mezhgan obtained her B.S. degree in Health Education and her Master’s degree in Business Administration and has worked with Kaiser Permanente since 1999 where she currently serves as the Director of Patient Safety and Sepsi IA in the South Sacramento Medical Center.  Mrs. Alamashahi has served on the board of the Bayat Foundation as Corporate Treasurer since 2008.

Ms. Rosalie J. Wyatt, Secretary of the Board

Rosalie J. Wyatt is President of Wyatt Consulting Group International, Inc., a firm specializing in identification and mobilization of stakeholders for public/private partnerships, new initiatives and policy discussions.  Clients served include General Dynamics Information Technology Soft Power/Stability Operations and League for Hope for community development in North Africa.  She has over 20 years of private sector experience in the technology and finance sectors including marketing and business development for Motorola Personal Communications Sector in Latin America, Europe and Asia and Ready Systems Corporation in Silicon Valley, and OTC trading on Wall Street.  Ms. Wyatt is National Director for the ReadyCommunities Partnership/CCROA, Board Director for the Community Institute for Preparedness, Response and Recovery, Secretary of the Board for the Bayat Foundation and Director of the Afghan Trusted Network.  Rosalie received her B.S. in Business Administration from Pepperdine University, a Master of International Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University and is a student of French and Spanish.

Advisory Board

Mrs. Suraya Aref

Mrs. Suraya Aref is  Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of TownZilla.com and High Tech Communications, Inc.  Her professional background includes twenty plus years experience in executive management, purchasing, associate buyer, Internet and on-line marketing.  She has studied both business management and administration and consulted with Fortune 500 firms as well as small and medium size companies.  Mrs. Aref was awarded The Best South Asian American Women Entrepreneur of 2009 by SABAN Organization.  Suraya Aref is a board member and Goodwill Envoy for Educational Help For Afghanistan Association (EHFAA).  She is also a Department of Real Estate Licensed Realtor and a Member of the Board of Realtors.

Mr. Ajmal Ghani

Ajmal A. Ghani is a Founding member and current board director of Afghan American Chamber of Commerce (AACC).  He was one of the key authors of AACC’s by-laws and formulation of existing programs and policies. He was also instrumental in the opening of the AACC Kabul office and the establishment of the Afghanistan International Chamber of Commerce (AICC) in Afghanistan in 2004.  Ajmal possesses over two decades of professional experience in management, providing advisory services to international and domestic associations and companies given his first-hand knowledge of Afghan affairs.  He has spent considerable time in Afghanistan since December of 2001.

Dr. Hosai Hesham

Hosai Hesham works as an Otolaryngologist, a Head and Neck Surgeon, at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington DC.  She is also a faculty member at Georgetown University.  She is a graduate of Albany Medical College, and finished her residency training at Georgetown University in 2009.  Hosai has been heavily involved with several non-profit organizations since 2005.  She is President of the Afghan Medical Professionals Association of America (AMPAA), a non-profit organization based in Northern Virginia.  She is also a founding member and on the board of directors for Afghan American Women's Association (A-AWA).

Hon. Ali A. Jalali

Ali A. Jalali, former Interior Minister of Afghanistan (Jan. 2003-Sept. 2005), currently serves as a Professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA) and as a researcher at the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS). His areas of interest include reconstruction/stabilization and peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and regional issues affecting Afghanistan, Central and South Asia.

Ms. Pam Yarbrough

Pam Yarbrough is a realtor with the leading Atlanta real estate agency, Harry Norman Realtors, where for the past ten years she has been the recipient of various company wide sales awards.  Pam serves on the Steering Committee for the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.  She is actively involved on committees for New Leash on Life.  In the past she has been involved with several charitable organizations including Childkind, Shepherd Spinal, American Arthritis Foundation, March of Dimes, the Atlanta History Center and a prior board member of Oglethorpe Museum of Art.   Pam Yarbrough holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree.

Advisory Board