Meet Our Team

Farah Pandith is an author, foreign policy strategist and former diplomat. A world-leading expert and pioneer in countering violent extremism (CVE), she is a frequent media commentator. She has also authored a book titled: How We Win: How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Business Leaders, and Social Media Mavens Can Defeat the Extremist Threat. She served as a political appointee under Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and most recently she was the first-ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities, serving both Secretaries Clinton and Kerry. She has served on the National Security Council, at the U.S. Department of State, and USAID in various senior roles. She has also served on the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council, chairing its task force on CVE.

Currently she is an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior advisor at the Anti-Defamation League. She is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and serves of several boards including Mercy Corps, We Are Family Foundation, The Asian American Foundation, American Abroad Media, Bedrock, and the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California.  She has been a senior fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School and a fellow of Harvard’s Institute of Politics. In fall 2020, the Muhammad Ali Center named Pandith the first-ever Muhammad Ali Global Peace Laureate for her proven track record of and commitment to promoting diversity, cohesion and respect.  

“The Muhammad Ali Index is our continuation of Muhammad’s life’s work, valuing everyone’s humanity, bringing people together, and fostering respectful communities.”

Lonnie Ali, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, completed her BA degree at Vanderbilt University in Nashville in 1978. After graduation, Lonnie began her business career with Kraft Foods, Inc. She continued her studies at UCLA’s Graduate School of Management and received an MBA in 1986.

After her marriage to Muhammad Ali in November 1986, she assumed responsibility and management of his business affairs. In 1992, she formally incorporated Greatest of All Time, Inc. (GOAT Inc.) to centralize and license her husband’s intellectual properties for commercial purposes. She served as Vice President and Treasurer of GOAT, Inc. until the sale of the company in 2006. During her tenure, Lonnie managed the company’s daily operations and accompanied Muhammad on business trips and humanitarian initiatives, domestically and around the world. After the sale of GOAT, Lonnie was asked to serve on the management board of the newly formed Muhammad Ali Enterprises.

In 1997, Lonnie and Muhammad helped launch the Muhammad Ali Parkinson’s Center (MAPC) in Phoenix. Lonnie and her husband unveiled the Muhammad and Lonnie Ali Pavilion in 2009, which houses the Muhammad Ali Parkinson’s Center at Barrow Neurological Institute.

She and her husband opened the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville in November of 2005, where she serves as a Lifetime Director and as Vice Chair of the Center’s Board.

Lonnie has been active in various charitable causes, including advocating for children’s rights and Parkinson’s disease research. From 2010 to 2013, Lonnie served on the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

Lonnie was the 2010 recipient of AARP’s Inspire Award, was named in 2012 as one of Arizona’s 48 Most Intriguing Women, and was inducted into The National Consortium for Academics and Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. She has also been honored by The Foundation of Wesley Woods with the Key to a Cure Award, Child Help, and the HollyRod Foundation. Lonnie received the Keep Memory Alive Caregiver Hero Award from the Cleveland Clinic’s Keep Memory Alive Power of Love® Gala and, most recently, the M.T Kasalu Women of Honor Award, presented by LIZADEEL in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“The Muhammad Ali Index is the missing jigsaw piece in the puzzle of how we amplify compassion in an increasingly polarized world.”

Simon Cohen is a peace activist, keynote speaker and communications expert. Inspired to spread messages of hope in the mainstream media, Simon set up the strategic communications agency Global Tolerance in 2003, aged 24. He grew the company to become the world’s leading agency in social change, representing HH Dalai Lama, HM King Charles III, The Gallup Organization, HH The Karmapa, US Department of State, Gandhi’s grandson and TED, overseeing the global launch of the Charter for Compassion.

Simon then famously gave away the £1m company for the riches of family life, through a new exit strategy for entrepreneurs. He is on the faculty for the Amani Institute, and teaches leadership to global social entrepreneurs in Brazil, Kenya and India. A moral and social commentator in the international media, Simon is a contributor to the Harvard Business Review and Entrepreneur magazine. Simon is an international keynote speaker, and has given talks on leadership and values at the UN, UNESCO, World Economic Forum, Cannes Lions, Worldwide Meeting on Human Values, Universal Forum of Cultures, as well as scores of universities and schools around the world. 

Simon is Vice President of the Mattie Stepanek Peace Foundation and sits on various nonprofit boards and advisory groups, including Global Compassion Coalition, Boma Global, American Refugee Committee (now Alight) and Charter for Compassion International.