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Khattaab M. Khan

Biography

Khattaab Khan tuned out the adversity, violence, and sense of "predetermined failure" in his childhood environment by tapping into "the empowering potential of education and learning." He vowed, "My ambition and intellect would be my only weapons and Phi Beta Kappa the only gang I would join." The son of a Pakistani father and Puerto Rican mother, he excelled at UCLA, both academically - winning many academic honors -- and in directing UCLA's tutoring and peer counseling to incarcerated youth. He also contributed to tutorial projects for students in such tough urban areas as Watts. His fluency in Spanish made him especially valuable in helping émigrés from Mexico and Central America overcome the frustrations posed by the language barrier in their coursework.

Khattaab also interned with the U.N. World Food Programme and with Congress. Dr. James Honaker, a UCLA political scientist, recalls Khattaab returning from the experience with many questions about the political process, including how natural resource wealth in developing countries often has only served to stifle growth and perpetuate instability. Khattaab then delved into such topics as the ability of foreign aid and investment to protect lives and encourage development in countries wracked by political violence. Dr. Honaker says that the paper that resulted showed Khattaab's "excellent ability to shift between academic theories and public policy motivations and between statistical methods and substantive meanings."

Building on his biracial ethnic background and language skills, Khattaab aspires to work for the advancement of "people in need around the world" and plans to commit his life to helping make "sustainable development and self-sufficiency a reality."

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