Casablanca – Kathy Carver, also known as Dr. Khadija El Cherkaoui, has built a career that moves between science, civic advocacy, and decades of work with the Moroccan community in the United States and beyond.
A biologist who has published in top-tier scientific journals, Carver has also earned repeated academic recognition over the years. She was selected and nominated as Professor of the Year in 2016, 2019, and 2023, and was named a finalist for the NISOD Excellence Award in 2020, adding to a professional record that she says has always remained tied to service.
But much of her work extends far beyond the lab and classroom.
Speaking to Morocco World News, Carver described a long-standing commitment to defending Moroccan identity and heritage in international spaces. She recalled that in 2018, during an Arab festival in Dallas, Texas, she “took action to prevent the Polisario from having a booth at the event.”
That same spirit carried into other arenas as well. During a robotics competition, she said she “advocated for and ensured the presentation of a complete map of Morocco, including its Sahara,” adding that she personally provided the map at a time when such representations “were not readily available online.”
Carver’s community work stretches across Texas, other parts of the United States, and Morocco. Since 2016, she has served as an ambassador for the International Moroccan Storytelling initiative, a role focused on cultural transmission and heritage. Since 2021, she has also been President of World Cultural Dance, based in Jakarta, Indonesia, broadening her cultural engagement onto a global stage.
Her civic efforts received formal recognition in 2023, when she was honored by the Moroccan government with first-place recognition as “Moroccan of the World” for her advocacy and public engagement.
Humanitarian action is another major part of her record. Following the devastating Al Haouz earthquake, Carver said she worked alongside colleagues to organize and send “a plane full of aid” to affected communities.
Through her Trans-Atlantic Association, she continues to organize free initiatives designed to support Moroccan families abroad and help younger generations remain connected to their roots. These include interfaith iftars during Ramadan, celebrations for national and religious holidays, community gatherings to watch Moroccan soccer matches, and a wider range of advocacy and cultural events “for the favor of my country, Morocco,” as she put it.
She also founded the DFW New Leaders Organization, where she mentors youth as young as 12, while continuing more than 20 years of support for mobile consulate services.
Most recently, that work earned another historic distinction. Her organization received an official proclamation from the City of Arlington declaring October 31, 2026, as Moroccan Cultural Day, the first initiative of its kind in Texas.
For Carver, the thread connecting science, mentorship, advocacy, and culture remains the same. All of it, she told Morocco World News, is meant “to support our community and inspire the younger generation to stay connected to their Moroccan heritage.”
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