Christina Tobias-Nahi

About Christina Tobias-Nahi

Christina Tobias-Nahi is the director of public affairs, research, and advocacy at Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA), a humanitarian relief and development nonprofit. As a member of the executive team, she is responsible for the organization’s media outreach, advocacy with several coalitions, representing IRUSA in speaking engagements at international summits, and leading interfaith efforts. Her academic and professional background is in education, youth, and gender.  

Tobias-Nahi has a long history with IRUSA, having served as a volunteer, board member, and director of public affairs before her current position. She provided on-the-ground relief in crisis areas as a member of IRUSA’s emergency response team. She gave up her board position to lead the nonprofit’s 2008 relocation from Los Angeles to the greater Washington, DC, area. During this time, she handled all matters related to finding and purchasing a new building, setting up the office, and hiring staff. As director of public affairs from 2006 to 2011 and again from 2014-present , Tobias-Nahi created the division and managed IRUSA relationships with U.S. government agencies, the White House, thinktanks, universities, and other faith-based NGOs.  

Christina Tobias-Nahi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ethnology with an Asia/Pacific focus from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and a Masters of Arts  in International Relations from the Paris branch of Boston University. She completed a second master’s degree, this one in education, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where her coursework focused on education policy, higher education, and international education. 

Tobias-Nahi also has experience as a program manager for the U.S. State Department funded/Legacy International program TechGirls, which brought girls from the MENA region to DC for leadership training. She led the Joint Council on International Children’s Services Corporate Social Responsibility program focused on nutrition and early childhood development. In this capacity, she oversaw trainings for caretakers working with orphaned and vulnerable children and organized conferences focused on these issues.