We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Saif Y. Ishoof as FIU’s Vice President for Engagement. Saif is currently executive director of City Year Miami, a nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to keep students on track to graduate through a corps of highly-trained young adults who support at-risk students by serving as tutors, mentors and role models in schools. He will step into his new role at FIU on May 3 and will also serve as a senior fellow in the School of International and Public Affairs.
A dynamic leader, Saif is known for his commitment to developing young people, as well as building civic institutions, international dialogue, and entrepreneurship. During Saif’s tenure at City Year, which began in 2009, the organization more than doubled in size and scope with an expansion from 8 to 18 schools and a budgetary expansion from $2.9million to $8.1million. His professional career includes being a startup technology entrepreneur and an executive in the agricultural and engineering space. Prior to City Year, Saif served as the CEO of FCT Technologies Corp, a firm heavily engaged in international projects in renewable energy, crop science and water resource management. In 2012, he co-founded a technology entrepreneurship initiative called TekFight to empower young innovators in Miami.
Saif also serves as co-founder and trustee of EmergeUSA, a national organization aimed at empowering MASA (Muslim, Arab and South Asian) communities. He is an advisory board member of the Good Government Initiative, and a board member of the Beacon Council. Among his other public service and involvement in the community, he served as a member of the Public Health Trust, the oversight body for Jackson Memorial Hospital. In the international realm, he participated in a U.S. State Department exchange to Turkey of Young American/Young Turkey leaders as part of a public diplomacy initiative.
He has garnered many recognitions, including being named a “20 Under 40” Leader by The Miami Herald in 2010, a 2010 Diversity Leader by the American Jewish Committee (Miami), a Thurgood Marshall College Fund Leader of the Year in 2012, and a “Rising Star” leader by the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce in 2012. In 2011 and 2012, Poder Magazine named him one of the “100 Most Influential People in Miami.” In 2014 he was the Miami Foundation’s Ruth Shack Community Leadership Award recipient.
Saif earned his Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law. He is also a graduate of Gulliver Preparatory High School.
Saif and his wife Amira, an FIU Honors College student who is studying international relations and political science, are the proud parents of two children, Rania and Nabeel.
We would both like to thank Assistant Vice President for Engagement, Nicole Kaufman Glasgow, for serving as vice president on an interim basis since October 2014. In that time she has provided leadership for a number of major new initiatives, including our partnerships with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and the City of Miami Beach, as well as the launch of the Talent Development Network, a regional internship program. She helped usher in several new endeavors, such as our historic partnership with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the largest Hispanic business organization in the country, and an agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard to provide internships and other opportunities for our students.
Please join us in thanking Nicole for her service to our university, as she will continue to serve in her ongoing position as Assistant Vice President for Engagement.
Also join us in giving a warm Panther welcome to Saif. We look forward to the future of FIU engagement under his leadership!