Meet Our Team
Shaykh Rami Nsour, Founding Director
Rami Nsour is a scholar, counselor, public speaker, teacher, and translator of Islamic texts. Spending seven years in Mauritania studying Islamic studies at some of the foremost Islamic colleges, Shaykh Rami received licensure (ijaza) to share his wisdom with students. Further enhancing his extensive study of fiqh, Nsour completed an extraordinary ‘in-residence’ experience, allowing him to research questions (fatawa) of Islamic faith, law, and practice.
Rami Nsour co-founded the Tayba Foundation, the first organization in the United States to offer a distance-learning program in Islamic Education to incarcerated men and women. Shaykh Rami has extensive experience in curriculum development, specifically in character (akhlaq), and holds a B.A. in Human Development with a focus on Early Childhood. He also obtained an M.A. in Educational Psychology. A resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, he lives with his wife and three children.
Nabil Afifi, Development and Fundraising Director
Nabil Afifi is a seasoned businessman and visionary with many years of experience in private and non-profit settings. With a Master’s degree in Public Administration and 4 years of seminary training at Murabit al Hajj’s mahdara in Mauritania, Nabil brings fundraising, administrative, and sacred knowledge acumen to his work with the Tayba Foundation.
A co-founder of the Tayba, Nabil is a champion of the spiritual needs of Muslim inmates, noting, “I pray to Allah that He accepts our work. Ameen. In the end, that is all that matters.” Originally from Morocco, he is married and has 3 children.
Lumumba Shakur, Full-time teacher
Lumumba Shakur works as an instructor and course developer for Tayba Foundation. He also addresses questions submitted by Tayba’s clients. Converting to Islam in 1997 prior to college, he studied classical Islam through notable online and distance learning organizations. Aware of the attributes and challenges of distance learning, Lumumba brings a unique perspective to Tayba’s delivery of educational resources.
Lumumba’s robust study of disciplines like fiqh, usul, hadith, aqida, and logic is supplemented through personal reflection, conversations, and weekend retreats. His breadth of experience is invaluable in the classroom setting. Honored by the opportunity to help the character development of those who are often neglected by society, he refines the “nuts and bolts” of class offerings, while assisting clients in their quests to master materials.
Khadija Yeung, Academic Administrator
Michelle Harmer serves as program manager for the Tayba Foundation, overseeing the development and implementation of the unique curriculum Tayba provides for its students. Passionate about client success, Michelle helps to ensure that “best practices” lead to excellent outcomes. She also helps with Tayba’s development and outreach endeavors.
Michelle holds a BA (Hons) in Retail Marketing and a professional diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK). Originally from the UK, she embraced Islam in 2004, and believes that Tayba Foundation offers, “reliable, practical education in a highly accessible form.” Married with one child, she currently lives in Toronto, Canada.
Abdul-Muhaymin, Program Manager and Teacher
Abdul Muhaymin Al-Salim (Eugene Priester, III) has been a student with the Tayba Foundation since 2013. He has been privileged to be on the staff at Tayba for the last four years and this experience has helped him to be more effective in connecting with the people he has mentored over the last seven years that he has been with the Tayba program. Abdul Muhaymin is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology while furthering his studies of the Islamic sciences. Abdul Muhaymin has had the opportunity to study several books in the Tayba curriculum and he is currently working on memorization of the text, Siraj As-Salik, and continues his study of the other branches of the Islamic Sciences.
Kelly Legere-Gallant, Program Coordinator
Kelly works as our Program Coordinator, offering administrative support to the Academy team members and other Tayba projects when needed. She is fluently bilingual in English and French. Kelly has been pursuing the Path of Sacred Knowledge since 2010. She acquired her fard ‘ayn knowledge in Mālikī Fiqh and learned some aspects of Islamic Spirituality (taṣawwuf) while studying in West Africa. She has studied some of Tayba’s courses in Adab and she is now pursuing online studies in Arabic, Sīra and Fiqh in the hopes to further advance in knowledge and understanding.
Kelly is not only passionate about learning the Traditional Islamic Sciences, but she is also passionate about teaching others; especially the young children in her care and in her community. Kelly is a certified Early Childhood Educator and Educational Assistant. About working with Tayba, she says, “It is truly a blessing to be part of the Tayba team and I am very happy to be of service to the Ummah, especially to be helping the Students of Tayba Foundation. I see it as my duty to put my natural talents and skills to use for this cause. May Allah accept these works from us all and forgive our shortcomings. May we all benefit from it. May Allah ﷻ bless our teachers and those seeking knowledge. Amīn.”
Tabari Abdul Zahir, Re-Entry Department Manager
Tabari Abdul-Zahir began formally studying the Islamic Sciences in early 2003 with Muslim scholars at Zaytuna Institute. Due to a series of bad choices and spiritual heedlessness, he found himself in federal prison for a non-violent drug crime from 2005-2016. It was in prison that Abdul-Zahir made the transformative ‘Tauba’ which Imam Ghazali said everyone needs to make one time in their life. In prison, Abdul-Zahir spent all of his time learning and teaching Aqeedah, Fiqh, Tazkiya, and Arabic.
Upon release, Abdul-Zahir completed an Associates degree in Behavioral Sciences and a Bachelor’s in Arabic Language, Literature and Culture. He was also commissioned by the Tayba Foundation to write a book to serve as an introduction to Islam and the Tayba study curriculum for Muslims who are incarcerated. This book was completed in late 2017 and is called, ‘Introduction to Islam: with practical examples and advice for incarcerated Muslims’.
Amir Amiri, Life Skills Department Manager
Amir Amiri is a first-generation American-Afghan sociologist who aspires to provide education and educational resources to those who desire. He has been rewarded with a B.A. in Sociology, is a certified WRAP (Wellness Action Recovery Planning) co-facilitator, and more. Amir has been working with Tayba Foundation with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated populations since 2018 and is currently managing the Life Skills Department.
In brief, Life Skills can be thought of as the abilities learned to help a person approach their objectives of everyday life and even larger goals; they are sets of skills learned to help a person manage their interactions with others, society, and even themselves.
Jawad Piorek, Technology Coordinator
Equipped with a degree and a decade of experience in Information Technology, Jawad Piorek develops and maintains media outlets for Tayba including its Facebook page and website. Born and raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, he converted to Islam in 2004 after a spiritual discernment trip to Morocco. A native of France, Jawad has extensive experience translating Islamic educational material from English to French. He has also assisted Montreal organizations with translation and programming.
Jawad Piorek enjoys “helping Muslim inmates learn the traditional Islamic sciences.” Married with two children, he appreciates spending time with family, studying the Islamic sciences, learning the Arabic language, and a host of other interests.