Executive Director of The Fresh Air Fund
Fatima Shama is the executive director of The Fresh Air Fund, the over 140 year-old nonprofit agency that provides free summer experiences for New York City children from low-income communities through summer camps and a host families program in rural and suburban communities across 13 state, and provides year-round academic enrichment and support both at camp in New York City.
Ms. Shama served in Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration as the commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs from 2009 through 2013. From 2007 through 2009, she served as Mayor’s senior education policy advisor, and in 2006 when Ms. Shama joined Mayor Bloomberg’s office she worked on a special initiative on the intersection between health care, language access and literacy. Immediately after the administration and prior to joining FAF, Ms. Shama served on the senior team at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York overseeing their External Affairs department and special projects.
Ms. Shama serves as a Trustee on the boards on the New York Foundation, the Pinkerton Foundation, the New York Immigration Coalition, and Coro Leadership New York. Born and raised in the Bronx, Ms. Shama is the daughter of a Brazilian mother and a Palestinian father, and speaks several languages.