Fellow Democrats,

At our general meeting held on May 3, 2019, our new DA-UAE Executive Committee was elected to serve on the UAE country Executive Committee.

The new Executive Committee is excited to be representing you and working hard for the Democratic Party and the Nation.

Ridah Sabouni - Chair

Ridah has been elected Chair, after serving as our chapter Secretary for the past two years. He has been involved in the Democratic Party since the 2008 election when he worked for the Obama Campaign in the Pennsylvania state headquarters in Philadelphia. He has also volunteered for the Obama 2012 reelection campaign, the Tim Kaine for Senate race, and the Don Beyer for Congress campaign. Ridah has been very active in community organizing and volunteer leadership roles throughout his life, including the Network of Arab-American Professionals, Muppies, Tau Beta Pi, Engineers Without Borders, and Habitat for Humanity. Ridah has a BS and MS in electrical engineering from the University of California, and currently leads the MENA region office of the American clean energy consultancy, Energetics.

Saba Brelvi – Vice-Chair

Saba has been re-elected as our Vice Chair. She is a Californian living and working in Abu Dhabi and cares deeply about increasing voter turnout among US citizens living abroad, particularly for the 2020 presidential election. She is committed to building the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. She has volunteered for local and state campaigns in California and has been involved with Democrats Abroad since 2016.

Sam Khunaizi - Secretary

Sam has been elected as our Secretary. Sam has worked for an Actuarial consulting firm in Dubai for the past 3 years. He has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and a minor in Political Science from the University of Windsor, Canada and has earned a Certificate in Actuarial Science from University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has been engaged in politics since he was in college and looking forward to being an active member in the Democrats Abroad - UAE.

Orlando Vidal – Legal Counsel

Orlando has been elected Legal Counsel. A native of Puerto Rico and longtime resident of Washington DC, Orlando Vidal is a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright and has lived in Dubai for the past six years.  A former federal prosecutor, Orlando served two terms as International Counsel for Democrats Abroad and is currently a member of the Democratic National Committee. He proudly served as our Chair for the past four years.

Tony B Graham – Treasurer

Tony has been re-elected as our Treasurer. He is a native of Minneapolis, MN, and has lived overseas since 1993. A career banker, he has worked in 10 countries across the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe and Canada. He is currently leads retail banking advisory for EY in the Middle East and North Africa and has been active in Democrats Abroad since March 2016.

Eileen Lee-Connor – Member-At-Large

Eileen was re-elected as a Member-at-Large. She is an experienced entrepreneur in international business development, marketing and community-building based in the Middle East since 2007. She is a graduate of Boston University with a Sociology degree and passionate about Progressive values particularly during this last election cycle. She uses her ability to communicate effectively within multi-national organizations as well as start-ups based on her diverse marketing and project management roles in New York, Paris, London and Seoul.

Cassie Destino - Member-At-Large

Cassie was also elected as a Member-at-Large. She is from Los Angeles and has been in the UAE for 5 years. She is a lifelong Democrat with a Masters Degree in Film from The London Film School. Cassie spends a lot of time volunteering for various issues related to Women’s Health in Dubai. She is very excited to be working with such a dedicated and passionate group of people to further the Democratic cause in 2020.

Gina Pistone - DPCA Voting Representative

Gina has been elected as one of our two Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA) voting representatives. Gina has lived in Dubai since 2007 after moving to the UAE from Las Vegas. A lifelong Democrat, she is currently in the process of switching careers to focus on politics and international relations. She will be attending graduate school this fall and studying Diplomacy & International relations at Zayed University.