Rima Otrakji
Rima Otrakji is currently the Vice President of the Rene Moawad Foundation, USA and has its Miami Gala Chair for the past 16 years. She is a tireless fundraiser and philanthropist and supports many worthy causes both local and international. She formerly served as President of the AUB South Florida Chapter and established the Rima Moussallem Otrakji Endowment Scholarship Fund that supports women’s education within record time of one year. Rima is also an entrepreneur and a businesswoman being the owner of Rima’s Gifts, a retail personal shopper boutique located in Coconut Grove and the Vice President of “Miami Living”, a company that owns and manages Real Estate.
She was and still is active at her daughters’ school, Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, where she chaired the Annual Giving and Major Gifts committees for fourteen years and does substitute teaching.
Rima is an avid French Teacher having taught French at College Louise Wegmann in 1984 and 1985 and continues to do so privately in Miami. Rima is fluent in four languages: Arabic, French, English and Spanish. She studied classical guitar and plays competitive Tennis.
Rima also deeply cares about the environment, animals and education. “Keeping the environment clean and sustainable and educating the new generation will secure a better future for them”. When approached to be a board member of the Rene Moawad Foundation, Rima found many goals in common including education and the environment. She has been chairing the Miami Benefit dinner, which is a major fundraiser for RMF, since she joined the board 16 years ago. “Less fortunate children deserve a chance to have a better future” and she believes that she can make a difference by opening her heart and helping them achieve that goal. “Education should not be a choice”, she says, “it should be a requirement in order to live in a better world.” As for animals, she is known in her neighborhood as the ‘Cat Fairy’ having adopted over 40 cats which she feeds daily.
Rima Moussallem Otrakji was born in Beirut, Lebanon, where she graduated High School from College Protestant Français. She studied in London and Paris for a few years during the Lebanese war. She attended the American University of Beirut and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration and a minor in education. Rima was active at AUB by being member of the Music club, fundraising through live concerts for AUB and vice president of the Lebanese heritage club.
Rima is married to Dr. Christian Otrakji, has two beautiful daughters, Natasha and Danielle and has recently become a proud grandmother of granddaughter Éléa.