Naila Farouky

Naila is CEO for the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF), a membership-based association of foundations and philanthropic entities across the Arab region. She joined Candid’s board in 2020.

Naila became CEO at AFF in 2014, at a time of upheaval for the organization and the Arab region. She successfully revitalized the network by increasing its geographic footprint, growing membership, increasing funding, and creating global visibility for the network. Naila also chairs the board of the WINGS Network (Worldwide Initiative for Grantmaker Support), a global membership association of 130 members in 45 countries. She serves on the boards of ArteEast (New York), the Resource Alliance (global), and The Family Hub (Egypt).

With over 20 years of experience in philanthropy management, project management, media production, and strategic communication, Naila is a Peabody Award-winning executive whose career spans several continents.

Prior to AFF, Naila managed Sesame Workshop’s multi-media Sesame Street co-productions in 17 countries. She has also worked on a wide range of projects as a Media and Communications consultant.

Naila consulted for the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo. She is widely published, including co-authoring a chapter for the book “Global Best Practices for CSO, NGO, and other Nonprofit Boards: Lessons from Around the World,” published by Wiley.

Naila grew up mostly in Cairo, Egypt, and has lived in Kenya, New York, Washington DC, Jordan, Switzerland, and South Africa. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the American University in Cairo.