Our Honored

GUESTS

It is our honor to host these distinguished guests at our event. Thank you all for your generous support of Abu El-Reesh Children's Hospitals.

H.E. Ambassador Lamia Mekhemar

Ambassador Lamia Mekhemar took up her current post as the Consul General of Egypt in Los Angeles in September 2015.  Until 2015, she was Head of the Department of Political Planning and International Crisis Management at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for almost two years, and served as the Ambassador of Egypt to the Holy See (Vatican) for more than four years.  During her tenure in office, Ms. Mekhemar has focused on building a dialogue among religions and bridges between cultures, as well as emphasizing the multifaceted identity of the Egyptian social fabric derived from their long and rich cultural and religious heritage. We are honored to have Ms. Mekhemar attend and speak at our event, and for her assistance in bringing such a vibrant array of guests, speakers, and the southern Californian Egyptian-American community together to raise much-needed funds for the Abu El-Reesh Children's Hospitals.

Professor Rasha Ammar

Professor Rasha Ammar is the Director of Cairo University Children's Hospitals.  She grew up in Cairo, Egypt, and received a British general certificate of education in 1987 with honors, making it to the faculty of Medicine at the age of 15. She graduated in 1994 with honors and started pediatric residency in 1996.  Prof. Rasha Ammar received her Master's degree in Pediatrics in 1998 and her Medical Doctorate in 2001. Driven by an immense passion for healing hearts, she became a primary operator in Echo lab and catheterization lab in 2001, and co-founded the first cardiomyopathy clinic in the Middle East in 2002.

Prof. Rasha Ammar is internationally well published and cited in her field, and represents her university and Egypt as speaker and faculty in various elite international congresses.

She served as Deputy Director of Cairo University Specialized Children's Hospital between 2007 and 2001, during which time she worked with numerous NGOs, led a JCI self-assessment study, and worked with JICA for Japanese grant aid of an annex to the hospital. In September 2016, Prof. Rasha Ammar was appointed Director to Cairo University Children's Hospitals and has diligently worked with her team to put the hospital on the map; engaging in numerous fundraising activities, working with the hospital team to establish a full renovation/rehabilitation plan Cairo University Children's Hospitals (Abu El-Reesh) in 2020.

Prof. Rasha Ammar is a proud, devoted mother of two daughters and six cats. She loves babies and pets of all kinds, and enjoys oil painting and reading. Her personal motto is, "Love what you do or do what you love."

Professor Ranya Hegazy

Professor Ranya Hegazy graduated in 1996 from Kasr Elaini School of Medicine in the top ten of her class. She started working in Abu El-Reesh as a resident of pediatrics in 1998. She received her MD of Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology in 2004 and was promoted to professor of pediatric cardiology in 2014. She heads the pediatric cardiology research committee in Abu El-Reesh and is the author and reviewer of multiple articles in peer reviewed medical journals. She is an international breastfeeding consultant and a strong advocate for child health and rights.

Professor Ranya Hegazy was appointed the Director of Abu El-Reesh Specialized Hospital in May 2015. Since then she has been working diligently with her management team to finalize the development plan, Abu El-Reesh 2020, which represents a total upgrading of the face of pediatric health care in Egypt. She has participated in a public recognition and fundraising campaign that aims at making the people of Egypt aware of the staggering role the hospital plays as it serves half a million children yearly from all over Egypt in the most critical pediatric specialties. Investing in Abu El-Reesh is investing in the future of Egypt. More interestingly, she is the proud mother of two boys (monkeys on most days) and enjoys reading, tennis, and traveling.

Professor Mona Hamdy

Dr. Mona Hamdy is a Professor of Pediatrics, Cairo University and Consultant of Hematology at the Ministry of Health, Egypt. She is a winner of the State Award in Medical Sciences and holder of a Master's degree in Clinical Research Administration, Walden University, USA. She is the one of the founders of the clinical research center at the Faculty of Medicine of Cairo University with 15 years of experience as a co-investigator and principle investigator in multicenter clinical trials. She is a member of the Egyptian Research Network, and is an editor, review, and publisher in several peer review journals.

Porfessor Hamdy is the head of the hematology clinic at the Nile Insurance Hospital and the supervisor on the center of excellence recently initiated at VACSERA. She holds the membership of several national and international societies, and is a board member of the BMT and blood diseases committees at the Ministry of Health and the Pediatric Medical Insurance Hospitals.  She is the founder of the Patients Against Thalassemia group (PAT) which raises awareness about the prevention of thalassemia and sickle cell anemia in different areas in Egypt.