Leadership Team

NERMIEN RIAD

Nermien Riad is the founder and executive director of Coptic Orphans, an award-winning international Christian development organization.
Coptic Orphans unlocks the God-given potential of the most vulnerable children in Egypt, empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and become change-makers in their communities through the power of education.
Ms. Riad founded Coptic Orphans in 1988 and worked on a voluntary basis for 12 years before becoming executive director in 2000. Under her leadership, Coptic Orphans has established a grassroots network of over 925 volunteer child advocates in Egypt and mobilized thousands of donors and supporters worldwide.
She has overseen the organization’s expansion into development programs in literacy, girls’ empowerment, microfinance for widowed mothers, and peace-building initiatives to strengthen Egyptian communities for sustainable impact. For its role in connecting Copts abroad to communities in Egypt, Coptic Orphans has been singled out as a unique model for diaspora-led development.
Today, in addition to its headquarters in the United States, Ms. Riad has transformed Coptic Orphans into a global charity with offices in Egypt, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom; that has reached over 86,000 vulnerable children in Egypt.
Under Ms. Riad’s leadership, Coptic Orphans has received numerous awards and was named a semi-finalist in the Washington Post Excellence in Nonprofit Management Award. In addition, Ms. Riad is a recipient of the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area’s Community Human Rights Award; and the Women’s Forum Excellence in Leadership Award.
Ms. Riad holds a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. Prior to establishing Coptic Orphans, Ms. Riad worked throughout the Middle East as an engineer with the United States Foreign Service.