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Tamara El-Khoury

Director, Center for Arab American Philanthropy

Tamara serves as the Director of the Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP), the nation's only Arab American community foundation. CAAP’s objective is to unite and empower the Arab American community by demonstrating the impact of giving together. The institution's pillar objectives are to improve communities, build leaders, serve donors, and shape perceptions. 

Tamara graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Government & Politics. She brings more than 13 years of fundraising experience to her new role, and has a love of philanthropy. Before her recent appointment to CAAP, she served as Director of Development at St. Vincent Catholic Charities, where she led all development activities including annual planning, major gifts, donor cultivation and stewardship, grant writing, events, and volunteer management. Her strengths include relationship building, finding innovative and creative ways to keep donors engaged, and understanding the importance of compelling storytelling to communicate an organization’s mission.  

For Tamara, a main goal as Director of CAAP will involve redefining and reshaping what it means to be a philanthropist. She wants to help make giving more accessible. “When people think about philanthropy, many feel it is out of reach for them – they think of philanthropists as those who grace the cover of magazines, like Forbes. I want to help others understand how their philanthropy can make a difference,” says Tamara.  

Tamara is a first-generation Lebanese American who grew up in the Washington D.C. area She currently resides in East Lansing, Michigan with her 5-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. She enjoys playing soccer, traveling, and exploring her community with her children in her free time.