Hagir Elsheikh
President
Hagir Elsheikh is an entrepreneur, an electrical engineer, a registered nurse, the owner/CEO of HSE Staffing Agency, and Tomorrow’s Smile Inc, Talk show host, Producer, Author & philanthropist. She is best known for her Human Rights, Women's Rights activism, domestic violence, and immigration advocacy. She was recognized in 2017 by the Central Penn Business Journal (CPBJ) as a “Women of Influence," was the recipient of the health care hero award in 2017, and was also inducted into the GCU Hall of Fame, representing the College of Nursing 2019. In August 2019 she was named Simply the best community activist as the winner of the “Simply the Best People Award in Central PA.” Hagir published her memoir Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled and it is available at Amazon. Hagir’s company HSE Staffing is a top nominee for the 2021 Best Place to work
Ellen Corbett
Board Member
Ellen Corbett was born one of 7 children and grew up in the Harrisburg area. She is a graduate of Bishop McDevitt High School and West Chester University. She currently resides in the Colonial Park area with her husband, Dan, of 23 years and her children Delia and Mitchell. She is currently the Director of RFP & Client Messaging at United Concordia Dental, a Highmark company. She has a total of 13 years working for Highmark Health and has also worked for Astra Zeneca and Novartis in sales roles. Ellen has been involved in several non-profit and volunteer organizations such as The Junior League of Harrisburg, United Cerebral Palsy of Central PA, the Hogar Miguel Orphanage in Guatemala and the schools and church that her family has been part of for many years.
ElShafei Dafalla
Board Member
ElShafei is a sculptor, photographer, painter, and installation artist with a special interest in sound. His work is noted for its political engagement with different world cultures and has been celebrated for its capacity to create solidarity among communities and peoples across political, cultural, and racial differences. ElShafei's journey with art began at age thirteen, when he was recognized as a videographer. At age nineteen, he had his first solo exhibit which included sculpture, drawing, and calligraphy. At age twenty-four, he was elected a member of the Sudanese Artists Association Executive Committee. His work also includes documentation of the lives and cultures of the Umbororo, a nomadic group in Sudan that hosted him for two years. In addition, he documented the life histories of more than fifty Sudanese artists through photographs and biographies for the African Studies Center at Cornell University. In 2001, Elshafei moved to the United States, arriving just in time to participate in a major exhibition of Sufi and Muslim artists in New York City in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In 2004, he was awarded a Visiting Artist Residency at the Center for Afro-American and African Studies and the School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan, where he was awarded a fellowship to pursue his Master of Fine Arts in 2005. In 2007, he was awarded the University of Michigan's Martin Luther King Spirit Award, and his experiences traveling with the Umbororo in Sudan led to a public sculpture installation, called “Umbororo Crossing,” which won him the Golden Paintbrush Award from the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2008. That same year he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts, and his installation “Delirium” was selected for exhibition at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Elshafei has participated in more than fifty exhibits worldwide, and his work is part of public and private collections in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. He continues to lecture and to exhibit his work, holding artist residencies, participating in community building activities, and creating performative installation events around the U.S. and internationally.