TEAM
Cori Saleh
Founder, Teacher
Ustadha Cori graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Lycoming College in 2013. During her undergraduate studies, she was a teacher’s assistant and tutor for the Religious Studies Department. Since 2014, Cori has been teaching in a variety of roles and settings, including a religious institution and non-profit organization. In 2020 Cori started Revival Ihya School, a fully integrated academic and Islamic education program for 1st to 6th grade students. Aside from teaching and program management, Cori is also a curriculum writer for Tayba Foundation and a graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching in Classical Education at Templeton Honors College.
Omar Amir
co-founder, Teacher
Ustadh Omar Amir was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. He began memorizing the Qur’an in 2016 with Sheikh Haggag Saber from Al-Azhar University. In 2018, Omar completed the one-year Advanced Arabic program at Al-Maqasid Seminary. For the last five years, he has studied Fiqh, Tasawwuf, and Aqidah with Sheikh Walead Mossad and Hadith, Usul al-Hadith, and Aqidah with Sheikh Umer Mien. Omar studied Aqidah, Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, and Logic with well trained traditional scholars. Omar received an Ijaza in teaching al-Ājurrūmiyyah with Shaykh Mohamed Hasan Othman. Omar is pursuing the sacred sciences at Al-Azhar University.
Since 2019, Omar has served as a faculty member at Al-Maqasid Seminary. Omar is the co-founder and teacher at Revival Ihya School. He also serves as an instructor for the Dar al-Rayyan (Sabeel Community) Traditional Studies Program.
Michelle Biondi
Operation Manager
Michelle graduated from Thomas Jefferson University (f.k.a Philadelphia University) in 2005 with a dual degree in Marketing and Management. After graduating she moved to New York City where she worked for the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services during Mayor Bloomberg’s administration. She currently works part-time for the New York City Department for the Aging’s Office of Procurement.
Maureen Monaco
Outreach Manager
Maureen Monaco was born and raised in the Allentown area, and attended Hofstra University and Kutztown University, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She embraced Islam at the age of 21 and was blessed to spend the next few years learning the religion from Imam Muhammad ‘Abdur Razzaq.
Marrying her husband Jason in 2001, she embarked on the life-changing journey of raising a family. She and Jason have 7 children, ranging in age from 19 to 5 years old. Maureen has operated a halal health and wellness business for 17 years out of her home.
Brandon Rakowski
Board member, curriculum developer
Shortly before graduating with a B.A. in philosophy from Kenyon College, Brandon embraced Islam and began studying Arabic and the Islamic sciences. He spent two blessed years at Al Maqasid’s seminary program, where he first became involved with Revival Ihya. He then moved to Ankara, Turkey where he continues to pursue studies under his shaykh, Sh. Abul Huda Al Naqshbandi. He is also pursuing a masters degree in clinical counseling.
Brandon believes strongly in Revival Ihya’s mission and is grateful to help develop, refine, and expand the school’s curriculum.
Natascha Ekici
Teacher
Fatima Wiswall
Teacher
Ustadha Fatema was born in Bangladesh. In her formative years, she traveled to different countries and cities. Inspired to seek knowledge at a young age, she enrolled in Darul Uloom Al Madania, Buffalo NY, where she primarily learnt the basics of Quran recitation, Seerah (Prophetic biography) and Hanafi Fiqh (Islamic Law). She then continued her studies at Nakhla Institute under Ustadha Nadia Salma and Shaykh Abdur Rahman Ahmad focusing on Arabic, Hadith (Prophetic sayings) and Aqidah (Creed). In 2011 she traveled to Tarim, Yemen to study at the prestigious school of Dar az-Zahra. In 2015 she returned to the States with her husband and two children and since then has continued to tutor children and adults in Arabic and Islamic studies while continuing her own studies of the sacred knowledge.
Aliya Klockemann
Teacher
Ustadha Aliya was born in Northern New Mexico where she spent most of her childhood before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. From a young age she had a passion to learn the Arabic language and pursue seeking sacred knowledge. This desire increased after being exposed to traditional studies at Zaytuna Institute and attending some of the early Rihlas. At the age of 14 she traveled to Tarim, Yemen where she studied Arabic full-time and other Islamic sciences. She has had the opportunity to teach Arabic and Qur’an to children and adults since 2007, both privately and through institutions. After moving to the Lehigh Valley with her family at the end of 2015, Aliya has continued her studies at Al-Maqasid where she completed the one-year Advanced Arabic program as well as various other classes to further her journey of seeking sacred knowledge. Currently she is continuing her studies at Al-Maqasid, formally learning tajweed and Quran recitation, and teaching.
Ruhaan Syed
Teacher
Ruhaan Syed has been working with children and art for the last 25 years. After graduating from a high school program dedicated to visual art students, she attended Kutztown University’s College of Visual and Performing arts before embracing Islam and starting a family. During that time, she performed as a muralist and returned to school to receive her associate in fine arts in 2007.
She has taught and lead art classes at Islamic schools, summer camps, and homeschool coops for the last 15 years while managing a family business and creating modest active wear for our youth. She is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys spending time in nature, hiking and exploring this vast world.