Meet The Team

Zuhal

Zuhal Co-Founded and leads The 5ive Pillars Organization, launched in 2021 to support Afghan refugees resettling across Northern California. Under her leadership, the nonprofit has delivered over $1.1 million in technology and essentials, secured more than $300,000 in funding, and served 5,000+ families. Her approach to resettlement emphasizes culturally responsive design and the empowerment of Afghan women, all of them former refugees who now lead the organization’s programs. She also spearheaded the campaign establishing March Afghan-American Heritage Month in CA, recognized statewide in 2025. Featured in TIME, The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post, Zuhal was inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame for Philanthropy in 2023.

She also serves as a Senior Business Analyst with local government, where she specializes in IT contract governance and data security. She brings extensive experience as a consultant supporting business development, campaign development, public sector projects, and technology integration projects, which she now adapts to advance humanitarian and community-driven initiatives.

She founded Open Net Afghanistan, a global initiative at the intersection of technology, human rights, and connectivity. Through this work, she is mobilizing international partners, policymakers, and advocates to secure humanitarian satellite internet, expand access to VPNs and mesh networks, and create resilient digital lifelines that keep Afghans connected to education, opportunity, and the global community.

Scott Richards

Scott Richards is a global strategic advisor specializing in humanitarian diplomacy, sovereign security operations, and economic activation initiatives. He has advised the White House, Department of Defense, FBI Counterterrorism Division, U.K. government ministers, and multiple sovereign governments during major international crises, including the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the Israel-Hamas conflict. His work on the Israel-Hamas conflict has been used in the United Nations and United Nations Security Council. (UNSC) briefings.

Scott is a technology subject matter expert and was one of the founding members of the Crypto-Technical Working Group for U.S. Congress. He is currently working on sophisticated machine learning and artificial intelligence softwares that are used in national security settings.

Richards has directly negotiated hostage releases, engineered international economic cooperation frameworks across Central Asia, and contributed to national security briefings used at the United Nations Security Council, European Union, and senior sovereign leadership meetings. His public commentary has appeared on Sky News, BBC, The Guardian, The Independent, and Foreign Policy Magazine. He continues to support emerging economies in sovereign digital banking regulation, special economic zone development, and counter-terrorism strategy.