The Beirut Foundation is guided by a board of individuals committed to its purpose and long-term direction.
Lebanese American entrepreneur and philanthropist Thomas A. Abraham was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1952 and adopted from the Crèche of St. Vincent at the age of four by Genevieve and Anthony R. Abraham, who were esteemed for their entrepreneurial and philanthropic legacy. After completing his studies at the University of Miami and the University of Denver, Thomas embarked on a career spanning business and philanthropy, driven by his desire to make a meaningful difference in the world. He currently leads the Anthony R. Abraham Foundation as Chairman—a foundation established by his parents in 1976—and serves as president and partner in several family enterprises. Thomas’s commitment to combining the arts, sports, and charitable initiatives led him to establish the StarArt Foundation in Miami in 1992. This non-profit merges the creativity of international artists, athletes, and entertainers with corporate sponsorship to support projects benefiting various charities, blending the worlds of sports, music, and art for a greater cause. In 2020, Thomas launched the Help Us Rise initiative in response to the Beirut port explosion, working with trusted local partners to support affected families and neighborhoods. What began as an emergency relief effort has since evolved into a broader initiative focused on community support across Lebanon. In 2021, he founded The Beirut Foundation as an independent organization committed to the well-being of individuals and communities in Beirut and throughout Lebanon. Help Us Rise now continues under the foundation as one of its key initiatives, extending its work through collaboration, partnership, and long-term support. In September 2023, in a historic move, the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, the National Governing Body for Paralympic blind soccer, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation appointed Thomas as the first-ever Sport Ambassador for Blind Soccer. This role highlights his dedication to advocating for adaptive athletes on both national and international stages. In 2024, he founded two transformative organizations: The International Blinders Network, a pioneering organization dedicated to enhancing opportunities for individuals with disabilities across all aspects of life, and A Club, a global community promoting athletic excellence and impactful philanthropy through sports. In addition to these initiatives, Thomas actively contributes to various charitable organizations, serving on the boards of Camillus Health and House Concern, City Year, the Rene Moawad Foundation, and the American Task Force for Lebanon. He is also a trustee for the Beirut Marathon Association and the Lebanese American University and an Emeritus Board Member of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Thomas A. Abraham’s lifelong commitment to positive change embodies his personal mission and establishes a legacy of lasting impact. Read More
Carlos Moubarak is a Lebanese architect and founder of Carlos Moubarak Architect, an architectural design studio based in Beirut with local and global experience. He is currently design director of the practice which develops a transversal approach through a multidisciplinary team and provides holistic design solutions. El Khalil has been recognized with major honors, including the AIPS Power of Sport Award, the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award, and Lebanon’s National Order of the Cedar. Her widely viewed 2013 TED Global talk highlights sport’s role in peacebuilding. She is a mother of four and grandmother of four. Read More
www.beirutmarathon.org/president.php
May El Khalil is the Founder and President of the Beirut Marathon Association and creator of the Beirut International Marathon, an IAAF-accredited race that draws tens of thousands of runners from over 100 countries. After surviving a near-fatal accident in 2001, she dedicated herself to uniting Lebanon through running, notably leading the 60,000-participant “United We Run” event after the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Born in Aley, Lebanon, Mrs. El Khalil spent much of her adult life in Nigeria after her marriage to business man Faysal El Khalil. In Nigeria, Mrs. El Khalil became part of an international community and established the Lebanese Ladies in Nigeria, a non-governmental organization dedicated to providing assistance to the underprivileged members of Nigerian society and to promoting educational development by way of grants and scholarships. When Mrs. El Khalil returned to her mother country of Lebanon, she encountered inflamed religious divisions, political impasses, and military checkpoints on roads that were once open to all. In 2001 she suffered a near-fatal accident that placed her in a coma. Mrs. El Khalil spent two years undergoing dozens of surgeries that enabled her to walk again. Determined to celebrate the gift of life and mobility, she founded the marathon to help mend divisions in Lebanon. She wanted to shift the focus from that which divides the Lebanese people, and bring them together to celebrate that which they have in common. This mission became ever more important in the aftermath of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri's assassination in February 2005, when the bustle of downtown Beirut came to a standstill, the Beirut Marathon Association organize the "United We Run" race that attracted 60,000 runners. Every year since, each race that the Beirut Marathon Association organizes unites thousands of people, including national political leaders and royalty, all this in the world's most turbulent region. Mrs. El Khalil has been recognized for her work nationally and internationally; she has received the AIPS Power of Sport Award from the AIPS in Lausanne, and the Laureus World Sports Academy Lifetime achievement award in Abu Dhabi. She has been decorated by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman with the National Order of the Cedar, and has been granted appreciation awards from the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism, The Brazil-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, and the Lebanese Ministry of Youth and Sport. Mrs. El Khalil was also a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International for 2010 and 2011. In 2013 she was presented with an honorary Ph.D. from the Lebanese American University (LAU). In 2014, she was honored by the YWCA Lebanon on March 8 (International Women's Day ). She was also honored at the Annual SEAL Dinner (Social and Economic Action for Lebanon) held at the Metropolitan club in New York on May 16, 2014. Mrs. El Khalil spoke at the TED global conference in Edinburgh Scotland in 2013. There she shared the Beirut Marathon Association's story with an international audience, and she explained that she founded the largest running event in the Middle East as an instrument of peace through sports. The assertion she made in her talk was that "peacemaking was not a sprint, but a marathon", meaning that this kind of endeavor was a long race that requires commitment, endurance, and optimal belief in the ultimate goal. For May this optimum goal is peace and prosperity for her country, as she still runs her figurative marathon towards that goal. To date, Mrs. El Khalil's TED talk has been viewed almost four million times on the official TED Youtube channel, she was also a speaker in Brussels, at the Innovation Convention for the European Union. And in 2014 she received the the Fair Play for Peace Award by the Premio Fair Play Mecenate in Italy. In addition to her work at the Beirut Marathon Association, Mrs. El Khalil is a mother of four children and grandmother to four grandchildren. She speaks at different universities and organizations about the power of sport, perseverance, unity, and making the impossible dream of peace happen through running. Read More
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nada-abdelsater-abusamra- 7704a78b/?originalSubdomain=lb
Nada Abdelsater, Esq., is an international lawyer admitted to practice in New York, Lebanon, and the Hague at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. She is the founding and managing partner of ASAS Law, a law firm based in Beirut with activities throughout the Middle East, Europe, and the USA, as well as Africa. Nada holds a master in law (LL.M) from Harvard University. She holds a dual degree of French and Lebanese law from the St Joseph University (USJ), and a Bachelor of Science degree from the American University of Beirut (AUB), and she has completed the coursework of master in international affairs from the Lebanese American University (LAU). She is the recipient of the International Corporate Governance Award from Yale University’s School of Business for her international contribution to corporate governance. Ms. Abdelsater is a pioneer in the fight against corruption. She chaired the Transparency International Lebanon Chapter and was later the first woman from the Middle East to be elected to the International Board of Transparency International sitting in Berlin and present in more than 100 countries. She was also decorated by the Antonine University for her work in governance and transparency. Nada is the exclusive representative of ICC-Fraudnet in Lebanon, the leading asset tracing and asset recovery worldwide legal network operating under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce based in London. She is consistently named Leading Lawyer by the most recognized international legal directories including Chambers Global, Who’s Who Legal, and the International Financial Law Review. Read More
