Mohamed Gula Appointed as CEO of Emgage

This year, Emgage reached an extraordinary milestone: 20 years of building Muslim American political power and helping shape a more representative democracy. It is a moment to honor how far we’ve come, but, more importantly, to look ahead. If the first 20 years were about laying the foundation, what will we build in the next 20?

We believe the answer must be bigger than any single election, campaign, program, or generation of leadership.

At Emgage, we are not simply asking how we mobilize Muslim Americans to vote. We are asking what it takes to build lasting political power that ensures communities too often marginalized have a meaningful voice and are represented at every level of our democracy. One of us was raised with a simple lesson from his late father, “If your dreams don’t outlast you, you aren’t dreaming big enough.”

Emgage is an American institution whose impact should endure far beyond our individual lifetimes. There is an ihsan in building an institution that is resilient, transparent, consistent, and worthy of the trust our communities place in us.

And we want to pause to recognize our staff, the people who make this work possible every day. The progress we celebrate today is a reflection of your hard work and dedication.

Like every growing organization, we face challenges. We meet them head-on by strengthening our processes, investing in our people, deepening community engagement, and holding ourselves to a higher standard. We do this guided by the values of our faith and a commitment to excellence, even as we pursue an ambitious vision with limited resources.

We are deeply grateful to Wa’el Alzayat for his visionary and steadfast leadership over the past nine years. His contributions have helped shape Emgage into the organization it is today. When Wa’el stepped aside as CEO, the Board appointed Mohamed Gula as interim CEO, and we are grateful for his leadership throughout this important transition.

This transition has reinforced something we have always believed as a Board: good governance is not simply an administrative responsibility; it is what allows an institution to endure. Leadership will change. Circumstances will change. Elections will change. Change is the only constant. Our organization has transitioned from its founders to new board leadership while also now selecting our second full-time chief executive officer. This organization can now outlast the dreams of its founders and its first leaders.

Our responsibility is to build an institution strong enough to thrive through all of it. That is why this next chapter is not simply about succession. It is about stewardship.

Over the past eight months, we have been deeply impressed by Mohamed’s leadership. He has brought steadiness and vision to this transition while delivering remarkable outcomes in a critical election year. After careful consideration, the Board has unanimously voted to appoint Mohamed Gula as permanent CEO of Emgage Foundation and its affiliate organization, Emgage Action.

We are confident that under Mohamed’s leadership, the next 20 years of Emgage will be defined not simply by how much we grow, but by how deeply we institutionalize our values, how intentionally we develop our people, and how lasting an impact we create for generations of American Muslims and our allies.

And we want you to know that you are central to that future. The next chapter of Emgage will be built not just by its leadership, but by all of the people who make this mission possible every day. Thank you for believing in this mission. Thank you for carrying this work forward. And, most importantly, thank you for helping us build an institution that can outlast all of us.

The first 20 years built the foundation. Together, we will build what comes next.