Maha Elnashar, MA, is the Center for Cultural Competence in Healthcare Director at the Institute for Population Health of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar. Ms. Elnashar holds two master's degrees in human development and comparative religions and a post-graduate diploma in interpretation and translation. Ms. Elnashar founded the Center for Cultural Competence in Healthcare at WCM-Q and is co-founder of the Qatar Institute of Intercultural Communication, later named the Intercultural Communication & Collaboration Forum (ICCF). Ms. Elnashar is licensed by the Cross-Cultural Health Care Program in Seattle, USA, as a medical interpreter and cultural competency trainer, is a member of the US National Council on Interpreting in Health Care, and is certified by TalentSmart Inc., USA, a certified trainer of emotional intelligence. She has extensive experience training healthcare providers and educational professionals on cultural competency, emotional intelligence, and medical interpretation skills. Her research focuses on the influence of culture and language on healthcare, and she has published various scholarly articles in prestigious peer-reviewed journals.​