aboutus

About Us

The Empowered Arab Sisterhood (ΕΑΣ) was founded by Rula Othman on April 24, 2012 at the University of California, Los Angeles. Upon the recruitment of nine founding mothers, ΕΑΣ was born. Striving to bring an Arab presence to Greek life, the organization worked toward becoming the first Arab sorority in the nation. On May 7, 2013, the Empowered Arab Sisterhood was inducted into the Greek council and granted it’s letters to become officially recognized as Epsilon Alpha Sigma, the first Arab sorority in the nation. With it’s strict philanthropic focus, the women of ΕΑΣ have made an impact both on a local and global scale. As a cultural organization, ΕΑΣ expresses no religious or political affiliation, but rather focuses on the humanitarian aspect of the conflicts plaguing Arab countries today. The ladies of Epsilon Alpha Sigma aim to expose our peers to the diversity that exists within the Arab world and the impact Empowered Arab Women have made and continue to make both within our immediate communities and all around the world.

National Board of Directors

SALLY KAFELGHAZAL
President

REEM KHATIB
Vice President

gina waneis
director of administration

Valerie Younan
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

ELLEN KHOURY
Director of marketing

DEEMA KHARUF
Director of philanthropy

silan fadlallah
director of chapter relations

maria ulayyet
director of finance liaison

nora sharba
director of expansion

MISSION STATEMENT

The purpose of this sorority shall be to unite it's members in a sisterhood based on the bonds of sincere and lasting friendship, to stimulate one another in the pursuit of knowledge and success, to promote the moral and social culture of it's members, and to develop plans for guidance and unity in action. Most of all, this sorority seeks to promote respect and loyalty to one's heritage and to remind its members to never forget the culture of their ancestors.

goals

To educate our peers on the ongoing conflicts in the Arab World and its vast effects on our lives as Arab-American women living in the United States.
To express female empowerment within the Arab World and contradict the common misconceptions of oppression.
To show the diversity in culture that exists within the Arab World and the ways in which Arab women have impacted Arab culture, society, and history, and continue to be active representatives of Arab culture around the world.
To break down the cultural barriers and stigma against Arabs within our sisterhood and our immediate community.

FOUNDER

RULA OTHMAN, M.S.

“As a young child, I remember watching gruesome images on the news constantly wondering why there were so many tragic things going on in the Arab World. I was too young then to understand, but as I grew older I realized that a large part of the cause of these conflicts was due to the simplest of differences. Rather than focus on the vibrant culture that united them, I noticed that people of my Arab world used things such as religion and politics to divide them. The same thought always crossed my mind, “How wonderful and oh how we would flourish if we would just focus on ...read more.