Thirty-three years ago, Daisy Khan, 48,  left behind a high-powered career as a project management director for a Fortune 500 company to pursue her dream of helping Muslim immigrants adjust to their new life in the US.

Today, Daisy is the executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), a non-profit Islamic cultural and educational organization that assists Muslim immigrants and builds bridges between American Muslims and other communities.

 “My dream is to help young Muslims who have immigrated to this country see our shared values, cherish them, and be able to integrate themselves fully into American life,” says Daisy, who immigrated to New York City from Kashmir, India when she was 15 years old.

Daisy facilitates a monthly discussion group for young Muslim women and men, encouraging them to search for "the highest" knowledge in Islam and counseling them on the challenges of integrating into a new culture.

Daisy herself sees overlap between Islam and the values of her adopted country. “I practice a culturally American expression of Islam based on tolerance and religious harmony, two of the core convictions of our Constitution and my faith,” she says.

Through ASMA, Daisy is also building a network of Muslim women leaders from around the world dedicated to elevating Muslim women’s roles within their faith. 

Daisy lives in New York City with her husband, Imam Feisal, who is the religious leader of a mosque, Masjid al-Farah.