Mona Sherif Nelson

Mona Mohi Eddin Hassan Sherif Ali Ahmed Dawood Khalil Debbabea Kakea, also known as Mona herif-Nelson, is the founder of the Nubian Foundation and the daughter and the heir of Nubia’s cultural leader Mohi Eddin Sherif. She is the daughter of the Faddija Choosen One, the son of the Faras Chief, the granddaughter of Fatma Yassin Abu Baker the " Spiritual One", the mother of Shamseddiin and Nabrashaa, and the wife of Michael Nelson. She is a Faddija Nubian from the village of Abu Simbel. A pioneer, she is one of the first generation of Nubians to immigrant to Cairo after the construction of the High Dam and the second in her clan to marry a non-Nubian, after the marriage of her great great grandmother Ashrunnda (Nerfertari) to Ramses II. She spent a lifetime studying and documenting Fadijja Nubian culture. Mrs. Nelson worked as an Arabic Language Instructor in the International Language Institute (ILI) of Cairo, Egypt and in the Royal Army Institute of Buckingham Palace in the UK. Mrs. Nelson is a member of the Garden Society in Los Angeles, the Nubian Club and the Nubian Preservation Society in Egypt, and the Nubian Document Center in London. Mona is a native-born Nubian-Egyptian and is steeped in Nubian culture. She believes it is her responsibility to keep this vibrant, inspiring culture alive and to share it with people in America and everywhere.