Hoda Rashad has a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle East Studies and a Master’s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the American University in Cairo. Rashad is an American/Egyptian dual national and has been an English language teacher and curriculum consultant for the past 12 years. She is a former business owner and the mother of two children.

Due to the nature of her husband’s work, Rashad splits her time between the San Francisco Bay Area and Cairo, Egypt. She was fortunate enough to be actively engaged in developmental work in Cairo when the revolution took place.

During the revolution, Rashad was involved with people at the forefront of the protests. Consequently, during the days of the occupation of Tahrir (Liberation) Square, she wrote a non-political blog under the pseudonym Salma Mokadem, reporting on the dramatic events that were taking place as they occurred (www.egyptsliberationlive.blogspot.com). She began working on this book shortly after President Mubarak abdicated his presidency in February of 2011.Rising From Tahrir is Rashad's first book.

Prior to the revolution, Rashad owned an educational consultancy and program development organization NIYAA (National Institute for Youth and Adult Activities). Her organization created and implemented humanitarian projects such as:

• Bringing water facilities to 58 homes in an impoverished, rural area (“Zawyit Sultan”) in the governorate of Al-Minya;

• Building a multi-function medical facility in a village (“Nawara”) identified by USAID as the most impoverished area in the second poorest governorate (Fayoum) in Egypt; the closest medical facility was over 67 kms (42 mi) away with scant transportation;
• Providing and planting 70+ trees specially chosen to absorb underground water that was eroding the foundation of a local school, in addition to raising funds necessary to sponsor a full year’s tuition for 30 local orphans.

Rashad’s orientation as an educator, and her unique blend of Western and Middle Eastern perspectives gives this book a special kind of international appeal that bridges multiple cultures.