Landmark Stories

From Humble Beginnings a Philanthropist Is Born

Born in 1927 as one of seven children in a rural village in Egypt, Ibrahim El-Hefni took full advantage of a rare opportunity, defied the odds, and became a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist. After his father died and they lost their farm, Ibrahim’s family had few resources and could only afford to send one child to school. Ibrahim was given the opportunity—and he took it. Earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cairo University and a master’s and Ph.D. from Sheffield University in electrical engineering, Ibrahim worked hard and was able to pull his family out of poverty. While in England earning his advanced degrees, he met a nurse named Wensley. They married and moved to the U.S. in 1960 so Ibrahim could take a job at MIT’s Lincoln Labs. A few years later with a $2,000 investment, Ibrahim started an engineering company out of his basement in North Andover, Mass., which he grew into a multi-million dollar business that is still thriving today.

Ibrahim credited his education as the catalyst to achieve success in life, and he wanted to make sure other young immigrants and people of color received that same opportunity. In the 1980s, he established a foundation that for decades anonymously gave full college scholarships to marginalized students in the Lawrence, Mass., area. His daughter Suzanne Wright P’22 said, “Dad always thought that children from underserved communities getting straight As could get a scholarship to Harvard. But if you were a B or C student working every afternoon and weekend to help support your family, you’d be overlooked. So he really focused on those students.” 

Fulfilling Her Father’s Legacy of Decency and Generosity

After his death in 2005, Suzanne and her mom began carrying on Ibrahim’s philanthropic legacy. Suzanne, who was a litigator in Los Angeles and professor at UCLA, brought new perspectives to the foundation. As a professor she had seen firsthand how many students of color started out in her classes at a disadvantage. “After the first semester, some of these students were pulled out of my classes and put into remedial classes because they had a substandard education before getting into college,” she said. “It was obvious to me that the playing field was not level, and that we couldn’t wait for these kids to get to college to try to help.” 

From then on, the foundation focused on trying to level the playing field for young students in need. 

Giving Back to Landmark

Suzanne’s passion for educational equity became very personal when her youngest son, Jack, began showing signs of learning difficulties. “I know how privileged I am to be able to give my kids exactly what they need. Jack’s learning profile was so complex and unique, I was sort of piecing together his education—private school, tutors, anything that might help. When we finally got him into Landmark, I felt like I could breathe.”  

Suzanne jokes that Jack loves school so much he doesn’t want to go on winter or summer breaks and looks forward to Saturday school! After seeing the difference Landmark made for Jack, she knew she needed to help give other kids the opportunity to access this type of life-changing education. “I started thinking about the parents in underserved communities with limited resources to even fight for funding—immigrant parents who might not have the time or English language skills to navigate a complicated educational system. That is when I decided to help fund scholarships for those kids—the kids who needed to be at Landmark, but couldn’t get there on their own. It’s something my dad would have done.” 

The foundation has given generously to the financial aid program at Landmark over the years and has helped complete the $8 million financial aid goal for the 50 Forward Capital Campaign (pg. 30). Because of the foundation’s commitment to equity in education, many deserving students have been given the opportunity to learn at Landmark School, an opportunity that will no doubt change the course of their lives. A touching legacy for a man who took his educational opportunity and built an incredible life focused on helping others.

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