NURTURING WOMEN, HONORING HEALTH

Empowher began in 2021 as a community educational initiative at Roots Community Space, offering monthly workshops designed to demystify the many health conditions women face throughout their lives. These sessions brought together the combined expertise of a female family physician and a female Islamic scholar to address women's health questions and explore the spiritual practices unique to our experiences as women.

Due to increasing demand, Empowher Health was launched in 2023 to provide more comprehensive services at our Empowher Workspace, where women could receive both medical and spiritual guidance.

To further extend our reach beyond the Dallas, TX area, we launched the She Should Know podcast, allowing women everywhere to engage with our content. Empowher’s mission continues to grow, and we are honored to serve and support our community.

Meet the Team

  • Dr. Sarah Hemeida

    Dr. Sarah Hemeida

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Dr. Sarah Hemeida is a board certified Family Physician with over 9 years of clinical experience and specializes in women’s health and behavioral health needs in the primary care setting. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado and Scholar with the Farley Health Policy Center

  • Aalimah Sarah Ahmed

    CO-DIRECTOR

    Aalimah Sarah Ahmed is an Islamic scholar, educator, and author. She graduated with an alimiyyah degree in 2011 from Dar ul-Uloom al Madania in New York. She has served as an Islamic Studies instructor and Qur’an teacher for the past decade.

  • Bushra Zawi

    OUTREACH TEAM

    Bushra was born and raised in Texas. She has a degree in elementary education from the University of Texas at Dallas. Outside of her love of teaching littles, she is also a digital marketer, makeup artist-and for funsies, a mocktail mixologist for her friends and family!

    We also know this—she’s excited to be a part of the Empowher team to help women learn about their health and enrich their understanding of their deen!

  • Dr. Alia Hemeida

    CREATIVE TEAM

    Originally from Austin, Alia is an outdoor enthusiast. When she's not finding a new hike for her next vacation she's a Physical Medicine and Rehab resident physician at UT Southwestern. Which means, she's never on vacation 😅. She is enthusiastic about building healthy communities through education and safe spaces.

  • Dr. Nurah Hemeida PT, DPT, CSOMT, CSCS

    CREATIVE TEAM

    You might know Nurah from her work with DMRC. As a doctor of Physical Therapy, she is passionate about health and community. When she's not running her own half marathons, Nurah is exploring the best coffee shops and restaurants DFW has to offer. Looking forward to our first Empowher coffee shop social with Nurah!

  • Amal Bader

    LOCAL EVENTS

    Amal is originally from Louisiana. Like many of our DFW folks, Amal moved to Dallas three years ago to take advantage of this amazing Muslim community.

    Once here, it immediately felt like home! Amal works in accounting. She's passionate about giving back, and volunteers for community organizations in her spare time. She's so excited about helping Empowher grow!

  • Manar Abdelqader

    OUTREACH TEAM

    Manar is from New York and grew up between the East Coast and the Middle East. Dallas has been her home for almost ten years now. She studied early childhood education and Public Relations. She creates and captures memories as a content strategist and lifestyle photographer. Manar is heavily involved in the Dallas Muslim community and is all about community, cooking, and baseball.

  • Kayla Botelho

    DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

    Kayla holds a Master's degree in Integrated Marketing Communications with a rich background in both private and public sector. Leveraging her creative vision and data-driven mindset, she leads Empowher's community-focused marketing initiatives with a strategic approach aimed at fostering impactful connections.