Manal Kahi ’15SIPA
Co-founder & CEO
Eat Offbeat
Manal is the co-founder and CEO of Eat Offbeat, a social enterprise that delivers authentic meals made by refugees who now call New York City home. She has a passion for traveling, social impact, and great food (not necessarily in that order). She moved to NYC to pursue a career in international affairs but the hummus she found in grocery stores led her on a different journey. She co-founded Eat Offbeat in 2015 to help New Yorkers discover authentic dishes from around the world all the while creating quality jobs for recently resettled refugees. In less than three years, Eat Offbeat trained and hired over 40 chefs, served close to 150,000 meals, and reached over 10 million individuals through content. Manal and Eat Offbeat’s stories were featured in media outlets including Forbes, The Guardian, the Huffington Post, Food & Wine, Newsweek, Fast Company, and others.
Prior to launching Eat Offbeat, Manal worked as an environmental consultant between Beirut, Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Panama City, and New York City. She holds a master’s in public administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, a master’s in environmental management from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, and a BA in geography from Saint Joseph University in Beirut.