It has been heartening to read the many memorials shared online after the passing of Ismael Ahmed this weekend. He has had an outstanding and enduring impact on my life. I first came to know Ismael when I joined the Arab American National Museum staff during its opening in 2005. I had the good fortune of working with him while he was the Executive Director of ACCESS, and I always admired his leadership and his vision for a more just world. As Executive Director, he helped found AANM, a national institution of ACCESS, and he continued to support the museum for years as a member of its National Advisory Board, including during my time as director.

When I became the deputy director of AANM in 2009, we grew closer. I began working with him on the annual Concert of Colors and on the museum’s sister program, Global Fridays. We often debated talent and other elements of the festival, and I learned an enormous amount from him during those years.

In 2013, after the founding director retired, it was Ismael who encouraged me to take on the challenge of becoming the next director of AANM. It was not a role I had been seeking, and I did not feel ready for it as someone in my mid-thirties. Even in those early years, when imposter syndrome felt especially heavy, he was among the mentors who helped me learn the responsibilities of leading a complex national organization.

Ismael became a trusted mentor, a valued colleague, and someone I deeply admired. I know many young Arab Americans felt the same way and felt a genuine sense of honor in receiving his guidance and counsel. He was an extraordinary person who made a profound and lasting impact on this world. His leadership at ACCESS transformed it from a grassroots community organization into a national institution. He later served in Governor Granholm’s cabinet as the head of Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services, went on to become an associate provost at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and was appointed by President Biden to the National Council of the Arts.

He achieved so much and touched countless lives, yet to me he will always be remembered as a friend. My thoughts are with his family, and I hope they find comfort and peace during this difficult time.