Meet Our Team

Zafeer Ahmad received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Aligarh Muslim University, India and came to USA as a visiting fellow at NIH, Bethesda Maryland in 1978. Besides his professional work, Dr. Zafeer has been actively involved in community services since last 35 years. Currently, he is serving as a President of Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association of Greater Chicago (AMUAAGC) and Education Committee Chairman at Islamic Foundation North (IFN). He held various positions including Vice President at Islamic Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, Secretary and Sunday School Principal at Islamic Foundation of Greater Valley Forge (ISVGF), Pennsylvania. He served as a Sunday School Principal, Education Committee Chairman multiple times, BOT member and Vice Chairman at IFN. He also served as a President multiple times and BOT chairman at AMUAAGC.  

Dr. Zafeer is holding a CSO position at RNA Therapeutics and is a consultant in the area of Therapeutic Proteins development. Previously, he held the position of Chief Technical Officer at Therapeutic Proteins International, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations at Goodwin Biotechnology, Vice President of Process Development and Manufacturing at Bradmer Pharmaceuticals, Vice President of Process Development and Manufacturing at NeoPharm and senior positions at Hoffmann-La Roche and GlaxoSmithkline.

My name is Uzma Zeeshan and I am the Director/Lead Teacher of Al-Ihsan Academy. I have over 9 years of experience teaching preschool. I have taught preschool at Libertyville Park district preschool for 7 years. As a director, I am responsible to oversee daily activities and supervise and lead staff and design program plans. I have a bachelor’s degree in Arts with a minor in child psychology. I have received my Child development Associates from Rasmussen college and I am certified in early childhood education. I have several training and certifications in ECE. Through my years of teaching and continued education I have become passionate about social, emotional learning which has become an essential component in early childhood education. As a director and a teacher, I am committed to providing high quality, developmentally appropriate education that supports the growth and wellbeing of every child in our care. It has been a truly rewarding experience to be able to work in an Islamic school. We at Al-Ihsan look forward to connecting with you and growing this community we have created here. I enjoy gardening, outdoors and most of all spending time with my family.

My name is Samar Junaid, I am based in Chicago, Illinois and have done my bachelor’s degree in commerce and economics. I have also done a 5 year diploma in Fehm ul Quran (tafseer quran) and have been teaching at AMPO for 8 years. Throughout my career, I have noticed that I gained excellence in interacting with people and teaching is my passion. At present, I am pursuing a certificate in preschool teaching. My time in school has developed my philosophy of valuing each one as part of a community. I aim to give children as many learning experiences as possible in order to engage, motivate and challenge them. Besides, teaching my family is very important to me and I love spending time with them as I have 3 beautiful children. I enjoy traveling to new places, being in nature, cooking and expressing my creativity through artistic projects.

Ayesha Khaleel is a friendly and energetic Quran teacher. She has 19 years of experience in teaching the Quran to children of all ages. Since the beginning of Al-Ihsan Academy, she has been teaching the Quran and Arabic in a fun and exciting way. She uses her story-telling skills to keep children excited, engaged, motivated and well-behaved. She lives in Waukegan with her husband and 4 children. Education and Achievements: IJAZA (certificate) in Quran reading with Sheikh & Hafidh Abdelrazek Alghawaby (Al Azhar Al Sharif, Egypt, his chain of narration being #29 from the Prophet (PBUH)). Certification in word-to-word Urdu translation of the Quran course from Al-Huda International Institute 2018. Quran Teacher at IFN Sunday school for 12 years. Judge at IFN Qirah competitions. Lead Khatmul Quran with translation in Ramadan for ladies for 5 years. Teaching translation of the Quran in English and Urdu to a group of women. Taught recitation of the Quran with proper Tajweed to a group of women. Certified Qaria from Jamia Nizamia Hyderabad, India. Master’s in commerce from Osmania University, India.