Team Spotlight: Safra Khan, Director of Operations
1. How does your role support An-Nisa’s mission of empowering families and individuals?
Safra Khan, Director of Operations: Operations is one of those things that’s kind of behind the curtain, right? You don’t necessarily see it all the time, but it’s everything. I don’t even know how else to put it. It’s everything you see on the outer shell: your appointment booking systems, your helpline calls—all of that is Operations. We’re the behind-the-scenes workers, and you’ll see us when you see us. But I think the biggest impact of our role is just doing the work. And because we do it, everybody else gets to have it.
2. What part of An-Nisa’s work keeps you grounded and motivated, even during high-stress days?
Safra Khan: Our clients, the people that we help. During the height of all the chaos, the organized chaos, the coordinated chaos—I think during the height of all of that, it’s our clients. The happiness that comes from our clients, the satisfaction, the gratitude—that definitely puts things into perspective. It reminds you why we do it. There’s always something bigger, and there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.
3. In what ways do you see the impact of operations on the lives we serve—even if it's behind the scenes?
Safra Khan: That goes to our financial team. A lot of times, people think that we’re just handing someone a check and sending them on their way—and from the outside looking in, it might seem like that. But we are creating a foundation for these people’s lives. We’re giving them essentially a chance, a short-term chance to be able to rebuild their lives, to get a break from things like paying hefty rent.
In the middle of turmoil, everyone needs financial assistance at some point. You can see from the ground up what that assistance can do. For somebody who’s battling, let's say, for instance: job loss, or a newly arrived refugee trying to find their way. When you see what financial assistance can do for that person, that extra $300 or $500 a month, can go towards things like their careers, job training, or even their children’s school. If we can take even a little bit of that burden off anyone, that’s more than enough.
4. If someone followed you around for a day, what would surprise them about your job?
Safra Khan: How many different offices I’m sitting in, in one given day.
5. What’s one system, process, or change you’re most proud of implementing at An-Nisa?
Safra Khan: It's not necessarily a process or a system, right? But I do truly, truly commend the marketing team. I think that the marketing team is constantly trying to find innovative ways to showcase what we do and to make it look as beautiful as possible. And even with the darkest of topics or the heaviest of days, the marketing team always has a very unique way to switch hope into fear. No, to switch fear into hope and that is something that not many businesses or organizations have.
6. What makes An-Nisa’s team unique—and how do you keep that team spirit alive operationally?
Safra Khan: One thing that makes us unique is that we are driven by faith. A lot of what we do and most of our staff and team members at An-Nisa—are volunteers. And I believe to do this kind of work, you have to be working for a bigger purpose. And I think everybody in An-Nisa is working because they know there is a bigger purpose in life. There’s a greater meaning behind what we do, and that’s truly what makes us, and our staff, so unique.
To keep our spirits up, we spend a lot of time together. It goes beyond the usual team-building—it’s deeper than that. We form real connections, and we do our best to uphold and nurture those relationships. It’s the kind of environment where, if you’re only feeling 50%, someone else will say, ‘It’s okay—I’ll carry the other 50%’, and together we’ll be 100%.’ I think that kind of support is what really keeps our spirits up.
7. How would you describe the An-Nisa team culture in one sentence?
Safra Khan: When you’re here, you're family.
8. What values guide your approach to leading operations in a nonprofit setting?
Safra Khan: Transparency, honesty, and humility.
9. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone managing operations in a mission-driven organization like An-Nisa?
Safra Khan: That is a great question actually. I would say: be as organized as possible. In mission-driven organizations, things can get chaotic very quickly. The one thing you’ll always need to do is stay organized and be as prepared as you can—because you never know what tomorrow will bring.
You don’t know what changes might come from the government and you just never know how you're going to have to wake up and respond to those issues. That’s why being prepared and having resources readily available is so important. Building a strong community of resources around you is very, very important.
10. What new skills have you gained during your time here, and how have they contributed to your professional growth?
Safra Khan: I owe An-Nisa every single part of my professional growth. There is nothing I’ve done professionally that hasn’t been because of An-Nisa. My leadership skills—that’s because of An-Nisa. My marketing skills—that’s because of An-Nisa. I’ve been here for 16 years, and every single bit of my professional development has come from the work I do here.
11. How has your perspective of the world changed since working at An-Nisa?
Safra Khan: I have a very 50/50 view of the world right now. Half of it, to me, is very dark—there’s domestic violence, mental illness, neglect, abuse, government crises, and all of that, right? But then, on the other side, my faith in humanity is restored—because I know that when our community, or any community, comes together for a specific cause, things always end up following through.
And I think all of it—truly all of it—is by the mercy of Allah (SWT). It’s like: yes, there is a problem, but people will come together, and they will solve it—or at the very least, they will lessen it. So again, I see it as very half and half. But I also know that when the problem comes, our community will show up too.
