Niles Sharif

Background

About Niles Sharif

Niles is a first-generation Iraqi American. Born in Dallas, Texas in 1963, Niles has spent most of his life in California. He attended the University of California at Berkeley where he earned a BA with honors in Rhetoric in 1985. Niles then attended the University of Texas at Austin where he earned a Juris Doctorate in 1988. Niles passed the California bar exam in 1988 and immediately began his practice as a business litigator with the San Francisco office of Kaplan, Russin & Vecchi, an international law firm specializing in business transactions and litigation. Niles is a member of the California bar, the United States district courts for the Southern, Central and Northern districts of California, as well as the United States Supreme Court. Niles is one of only a relative handful of attorneys qualified to serve as temporary judges in San Diego Superior Court. In 2007, Niles founded The Frances Kitchen Project, now known as Global Care Alliance, a humanitarian relief organization with projects in Mexico, Burundi, Africa, and Lebanon. Niles spends much of his time in Mexico and Burundi working on GCA projects, which include lunch kitchens at poor schools, YMCA-like community centers, housing for Batwa villagers in Burundi, and clean water initiatives. Under Niles’ leadership, GCA continues to grow and expand its humanitarian activities. Niles hopes that GCA will soon be active in Nepal.