Leena is a woman of many hats – a proud mother of three children, a wife, a nuclear engineer, an insurance professional, and a community leaderLeena was a pioneer in many areas. A physics and mathematics graduate from SUNY Albany, she earned a Masters in Nuclear Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York in 1979, the first woman of Bangladesh origin to do so. Her nearly 20-yr engineering career spanned nuclear power industry, the US Air Force Weapons Lab in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and oil industry consultation. At Air Force Lab, she organized the First Women Professionals Conference in the Air Force.Leena has always been passionate about women’s and family issues. While raising her children, she recognized the unique challenges Bangladeshi women and their families face in a new society, with the children often navigating between two cultures. So in 1998, with support from Bangladeshi women in Southern California, she founded the Bangladesh Women’s Organization of California (BWOC) to provide a forum on the issues and help them bridge that gap. She ran it for nearly 10 years till she moved to the Bay Area.

Wahida has been working as an environmentalist and an urban planner for the California Department of Transportation for the past sixteen years. She got a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from B.U.E.T. Bangladesh and a Master's degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from UC Berkekey, California.Wahida believes, that women are the focal point of a family, community, society, institutions or organizations; therefore, empowering women contributes to the betterment of families and communities. Wahida being of Bangladeshi origin wants to participate in the process of helping and empowering Bangladeshi women in the greater Bay Area.Wahida is an artist and a singer. She is also involved in community building and affiliated with many Bay Area philanthropic organizations. She is a promoter/activists of minority rights and women’s rights at work and in her community.

Nuzhat has been working at Bank of America for seventeen years and is currently a VP/ QA Manager for the Bank’s ‘e-commerce’ division.She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science from California State University, East Bay.‘Women empowering other women’ is a value that Nuzhat identifies with and is the reason for joining BWEN. Nuzhat raised two daughters that she hopes will become independent, thoughtful and courageous leaders in the careers they choose. She believes that spreading awareness of various philanthropic, humanitarian, cultural, and educational activities to other women in our community is the best way to engage and develop our daughters into future leaders. She is excited by the overwhelming support that BWEN has already received, and looks forward to the contribution it can make to the women of our community.In her spare time, Nuzhat likes to spend time with family and friends, cooking and traveling.

Samia works as a Project Architect, obtained her B. Arch degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh and M. Arch from University of Arizona, USA with a concentration in Design and Energy Conservation.She is very enthusiastic about helping women, Bangladeshi women finding themselves. Women around the world live their lives for others, often forget how to take care of their inner selves, to nourish their unique qualities that make a person special. After all you cannot pour from an empty cup. She is very keen on helping women finding their voice.Her interests are sustainable architecture, photography, art. She enjoys music, recitation, painting, running, hiking, gardening, volunteering, traveling and spending time with her children, family and friends.