Brooklyn, New York City,
Pakistani-American woman and CEO of APNA Community center Brooklyn, Erum Hanif declared as 40 under 40 nonprofit rising Star by city and state New York.
City & State, in collaboration with its sister publication, New York Nonprofit Media and writers Jana Cholakovska, Erica Scalise, Madeline Lyskawa and Kimberly Gonzalez, highlights the next generation of leaders on these front lines in their Nonprofit 40 Under 40.
These rising stars are running soup kitchens for the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless and assisting the formerly incarcerated as they adapt to a new life, and Erum Hanif is one of rising star .
According city and state New York “Erum Hanif used to work with the city government to create a designated halal grab-and-go meal site between March and June of 2020.
In July, APNA established its food pantry, which serves 250 to 300 families every week and provides 1,500 to 2,000 cooked meals four days a week.
According to Erum Hanif, through these new programs, APNA has become a hub for not just the Muslim community but for everyone in the neighborhood.
Before joining APNA, Hanif spent most of her career working in Pakistan, which included serving as chief human resources officer for a background screening company.
Since joining APNA almost four years ago, she has overseen the operations of the organization’s two adult day care centers and its community center, which provides a wide range of services including free tax preparation and filing, voter-registration workshops, and entitlement and case management services. With the coronavirus pandemic, those services have only expanded.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Erum Hanif, CEO APNA’s influence in the South Brooklyn community and has grown exponentially.
Outside of APNA, Hanif is a member of Community Board 13, co-president of P.S. 253’s Parent Teacher Association and a member of the school leadership team.
Describing her self Erum Hanif said that “she is a Muslim-hijabi woman, taxpayer, resident, so her needs and voice matters as all other voices matter”.
“still we are seeing that communities of color, Muslims and immigrants are still being neglected”, she added.
