Meet Rami Nsour | Executive Director of a Non-profit

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rami Nsour and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rami, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born in Jordan. My parents met on a picket line in Jackson, Mississippi. My father is a Muslim Arab from Jordan and my mother is of Irish descent and, at the time, was Catholic. My father was a graduate student in the US on a scholarship. My mother was also a graduate student and she was involved with the UFW strike at the time. That story sums the basis of where I choose to do the work that I am doing; the intersection of education and social justice. My parents were co-founders of two of the first Islamic schools in the Bay Area. They were also influential in spreading the work of PCRF (Palestine Children’s Relief Fund) in the Bay Area. That was the house that I grew up in; people using their time, energy, entrepreneurial skills, etc to further projects of education and social justice and assisting others. Going back to my grandparents, the story repeats itself; an attention to education while helping out people in the best way that you can.

I was born in Jordan and finished the 3rd grade there in Amman. My family then moved to the US for my father to do a PhD in Civil Engineering in Clemson, SC. From there we moved to Virginia for him to work with the Federal Highway Department. And finally, we moved to California for my father to take a professor position at Santa Clara University. I spent a lot of time in different parts of the US and overseas, learned both Arabic and English, and had a lot of varied travel experiences growing up. I believe that is in part what has allowed me to see beyond what is right in front of me. I have this spirit that there is always something else out there. There is always another way. So when something, or someone seems stuck, we have to look at other avenues.

I remember being in my grandfather’s pickup truck as a child. I was maybe 8 or 9. Papaw asked me, in his Mississippi accent, what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said, “A businessman.” He said, “That’s good! The Arabs are the oldest traders in the world.” My first job was something my mother found for us in Virigina. We got a paper route and all the kids had days to deliver. I was 10 at the time. My older brother and I got up at about 5:30 to do our route Mon-Frid then to come home, get ready and go to school. At 12 in a mall selling jewelry. Then I moved onto to another store selling flags. I was 14 and was running the whole shop, from open to close in the summer time when I didn’t have school. I then worked in retail in high school and college. I then went over seas to study in West Africa and spent about 5 years studying Islam there and then another 4 in a seminary here in the US. Then my friend and I opened a clothing store in a shopping mall. That went under in part due to the economy downturn in 2008. In 2009, I took my business skills and co-founded the Tayba Foundation.

It’s not a business, but all the principles of business apply in the non-profit sector. And I run a tight ship.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I co-founded a non-profit called Tayba Foundation. Our mission is: “We believe that all people contain a wellspring of goodness within them, and we believe in the power of human potential. Even when individuals encounter dramatic setbacks in life, lasting change is possible. Tayba Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving individuals and families impacted by incarceration. We believe in the power of human change through holistic education, guidance, and support. Our work is organized into three interrelated program areas: Education, Life Skills, and Re-entry.”

What sets apart from others is that we were the first organization in the United States to offer Islamic Studies by correspondence to prisoners. We have developed other programs that are not religious in nature and are also the first of their kind to be offered to the students and clients we serve. We have grown from an initial group of 5 pilot students to now having served over 10,000 individuals, across 46 states in over 1000 prisons. Needless to say, we have learned a great deal in the last 14 years doing this work.

We have found what works and what does not and have been able to hone our programs and methods of service delivery. We run a very efficient organization. If someone were to ask what Tayba is, I would say that if a college and the US post office had a baby, that would be us. We have educational services, counseling service and general wraparound services that you would find in a college, but with the efficiency of being able to connect with people around the US. We are able to identify cutting edge research programs and deliver them to those impacted by incarceration. We are able to connect donated funds to those most in need, whether those who are trying to get on their feet after incarceration, or those affected by that incarceration like a spouse or children.

In terms of our team, we have grown from two volunteers, a cell phone and a PO Box to an organization with over 25 team members and an annual budget of over 1 million dollars. We have team members in different countries and time zones, and using latest tools for remote teams, we are able to work very efficiently and have a big impact, even though we are a small team.

The way I got to where I am today goes back to a lot of the business and entrepreneurial spirit I developed growing up in a home where I saw that. Whether with my parents, siblings or grandparents. It was also the experience of working as a teenager with small business owners and then having a business that failed due to the 2008 housing crisis. You can learn a lot more from a failure than you can from a success. I would also attribute it to the fact that one thing that drives me is that the buck stops with me. I don’t let things idle. I have to get to the bottom of it. I have dove into the IRS tax regulation and brought things to the attention of our accountant. I go through paperwork with a fine tooth comb. If something is not getting done, I don’t wait until we have “the right hire” or “a dedicated volunteer” or “have a meeting about it,” I get it done.

And at the same time I know how to delegate. And to respect the autonomy of individuals and teams within my organization. I do not believe in micro management. I believe that people who are passionate about the work that they do will be dedicated. They don’t require an authoritarian sage on the stage. They may need the gentle nudge of a guide on the side from time to time. And they may be that guide for me, and most of the time, are that. Thats another thing about where we are now; it was people. People who are on the team or who support our work, since we rely mostly on private donations. We could not be where we are today without the people. I may be an enzyme or a catalyst, but there had to be the base for me to work within.

It was not easy getting to where we are now. There were times when it was just me, and others told me to close the non-profit. I remember counting pennies from our coin jars to pay rent. I remember times when I, on my own, had to do everything A-Z at the organization. Eventually, as people joined the team, and our budget grew, I could off load one of the many hats I wore to others, who would then give that hat its due and better than I ever could.

I overcame the challenges by not forgetting the dream. For lack of some ancient mystical wisdom, I will quote Aerosmith; “Dream on..dream until your dreams come true.” And also Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” If something is worth it, raise that flag and never let that flag touch the ground. People will see you holding that banner and come. There will be people who will try to rip it out of your hands, people who will naysay, others who will try to intercept your work with their own banner. There will be times where you will question yourself and if this is what you should be doing. Your heart will tell you it is. Listen to your heart.

What I would want people to know about the work that we do is that you should never discount the worth of any human being. We work with people who were criminals and have changed, some who have not changed but have the potential, and we work with some who are innocent. The one common theme that I see, is that many have not had people in their lives, including family, who honored their humanity. When they are honored in that way, amazing things happen. Miracles occur. While our supporters thank me for the work that we do, the recipients of our service thank me, I always thank them. I get more out of serving others than the recipients get from my service to them.

One of the biggest lessons that I have learned from my work is about forgiveness. How do people forgive others? How does society forgive them? When should we forgive and when should we not? When should our forgiveness be conditional? This world and the people on this fine earth are beautiful. Some have done ugly things, but we have to be able to make them beautiful again, and see their own beauty. Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote that “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” Our hope at Tayba is that we are helping our civilization by helping prisoners.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I like this question 🙂 I would call the trip: “Redwoods and the Ocean.” We would start by driving down to Big Basin state park. Hopefully by then its open, since its been closed due to a fire a couple of years ago. We would start with the visitor’s center where they have a 1500 year old redwood fell and the did a cross section of it. They put the sprouting of the tree at about 560 AD. One of the first markers is 570 AD where it says “Prophet Muhammad is born.” The rangers have had to replace that tags multiple times as vandals have removed it or damaged it multiple time. Then we would hike among the Redwoods and end up at the Ocean. From there we would head down to Capitola and eat at a vegan restaurant.

Then spend the night in Monterey and use the next day (DAY 2) to explore the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Lunch would be some good clam chowder and then dinner at the Hopper. Coffee trips throughout the day would be a must 🙂 We would finish the day watching the sunset at Pacific grove.

Day 3 would be a drive up highway 1 north to San Francisco. We would explore the sites there including the sustainable farmer’s market at the Ferry Building (with coffee at Blue Bottle), Pier 39 (lunch at Boudin’s), drive through Golden Gate Park to see the Tatanka 🙂 and dinner at the Uzbek Halal place in SF with desert at the Ghiradelli factory.

Day 4 would be Alcatraz and then explore Sausalito and show what inspired Otis Redding’s famous “Sittin on the Dock of the Bay.” Lunch/Dinner at FISH specifically their sustainable crab sandwich ( not cheap but REALLY good and worth it).

Day 5 would be a kayak/tube trip down the Russian River ending up at the ocean. Lunch would be on the river. Dinner would be in a seafood restaurant on the ocean in Jenner.

Day 6 would be a trip up Highway one to Point Reyes and some towns beyond that.

Day 7 would be back down on 101 to see the Petrified Forest and back to the airport.

Wow! that was a fun exercise 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to my parents. They are the main people who made me who I am today. It was through all their sacrifices and dedication to nurturing me that allowed me to become the person I am today. As every day goes by in my life as a husband, father, community leader, non profit director, religious counselor, etc, I see more and more how I owe so much to my parents. One of the main things that gave me was to honor me as an individual and to allow me to grow. They allowed me to be who I wanted to be, even when they may not have understood or agreed with the choices that I made. I myself may have then later regretted somethings that I did, but to be at that later point of development, I HAD to go through that choice and process. And they let me do that. That is the true guide. They were not only my parents, but they were my guides. They were also my champions, in that they encouraged me to go out and search for myself and find myself. And it wasn’t easy. And they were gentle with me. There wasn’t a harshness in their guidance and nurturing; it was gentle nudges. Nudges that today I look back on and understand the profundity of. Thanks Mom. Thanks Baba.

Website: http://taybafoundation.com/

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