Sawsan Seikaly

Sawsan Seikaly

Sawsan Seikaly and her husband, Mouin, lived in Dallas since 1987. Mouin is a Professor of Pediatric Nephrology at UTSW Medical Center, and the Medical Director of Renal Transplant at Children’s Health, as well as the Medical Director of Metabolic Bone Disease at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital.

Sawsan, who is an RN, CPN, grew up in Beirut, Lebanon. She received her BSN from American University of Beirut and worked as an instructor in the school of Nursing until they moved to the U.S. in 1984. Sawsan lived in Washington, DC, where her husband attended the fellowship program at Georgetown University. While there, Sawsan worked as an RN at Georgetown University Pediatrics unit.

After her move to Dallas, Sawsan was a stay-at-home mom. During those years, she was involved in her children’s schools and was a volunteer substitute for the school nurse. She also coordinated the Book Fair that was held yearly at the school and coordinated the cookie sales for her daughter’s Girl Scouts troop.

Sawsan and Mouin have two children, Helane (Lulu) and Alex. Lulu, a lawyer, is a Senior Corporate Employment Attorney at PayScale, a company that focuses on pay equity and transparency. In 2020, Lulu ran for US Congress, TX-2, and won her party’s nomination but not the final elections. Alex, who got his undergrad degree in Music-Business from Berklee College of Music in Boston, is a talented musician and composer. After getting his MBA, he currently works for AT&T as a Principal Business Strategist.

Sawsan eventually resumed her nursing career when her youngest child was in high school. For nearly 13 years she worked in the Pediatric Rheumatology clinic at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, educating young patients and their families about rheumatological diseases that affect children. In 2019, Sawsan decided to take a break from work so she can dedicate more time for travel to visit family abroad.

Besides traveling, Sawsan enjoys reading, and cross stitch. She has joined a French conversation group that meets weekly and has been working on improving her French through online courses.

Sawsan has been a member of FWC for many years and has attended and participated in many events held by FWC. She loves the social connectedness FWC provides. She co-chaired the Cultural Diversity group from 2019-2023 until her present leadership role as co-president of FWC.

Previously Featured Member

Jennifer Vernino

Jennifer Vernino

Jennifer Vernino, a native Texan, moved back to Texas in 2004 from Rochester, MN. The return to Dallas with her 3 kids and her husband Steve (a professor in Neurology at UTSW) allowed her to be closer to her family.

Jennifer and Steve have three grown children. Christopher, their eldest, is a software developer in Austin, TX. Megan, their middle child and oldest daughter, works as a chemical engineer for Pfizer in Kalamazoo, MI. Their youngest, Alexandra recently graduated from college and began her medical school studies.

Jennifer grew up in Denton and was involved in training and showing American Quarter Horses. As an adult, she enjoys dog training and currently works with her black labrador retriever, Eevee, on obedience trials, agility courses and barn hunt.

As a stay-at-home mother, Jennifer remained very active with her kids’ school, sports, and extracurricular activities. She served as president of the local Mockingbird chapter of National Charity League and served a term as the Regional Director for NCL. In addition, she served in school leadership roles, on educational committees, and program development within the Catholic School system. In recent years, she has worked regularly with Dwell with Dignity, a local organization that repurposes furniture and home décor to help underprivileged families furnish their first homes.

Jennifer has been a member of FWC since 2006 where she was introduced to the group by Stephanie Haley. She attended book group regularly as well as other interest groups and recently became active in FWC leadership roles.