Our Directors

 Mahtab Dastur is our founder and has served as a Director and our President since our inception. Her inspiration to share books came after Hurricane Harvey destroyed her home in Houston. All was lost including her books. The loss of her books made her realize the importance of reading for all young people. She became determined to provide books to children who otherwise would not have access to them. So, she formed Books2Smiles with the goal of giving every child a chance to experience the magic of books. 

 Ms. Vaughan has served as a Director since its formation as a Texas tax exempt corporation 2020. She is the Librarian at Eisenhower High School in the Aldine Independent School District. Mrs. Vaughan has been in education for over 26 years. She has connected students with books as a librarian for over half of those years. She also teaches digital citizenship, and research skills in her role as librarian. Mrs. Vaughan helped organize the first two book drives Books2Smiles conducted and continues to offer her expertise and help. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Master’s degree in Library Science from Sam Houston State University.  

 Ms. Dastur has been a supporter of Books2Smiles since its inception in 2018 and has served as a Director and secretary since its formation as a Texas tax exempt corporation in 2020. She is Mahtab’s mother. Khursheed assisted Books2smiles its first two book drives, which sent books to schools in Vietnam and to the hurricane stricken Bahamas, and continues to give her guidance. She is an IT Process Manager at an Oil and Gas Company in Houston and has over 25 years of experience in various IT-related areas. She currently serves on the board of a Community Cultural non-profit organization. For the last 12 years she has taught Sunday school and language classes to Elementary school students. She has a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from the University of Bombay. 

 Darius has served as a Director and as Vice President since the Company’s formation as a Texas tax exempt corporation in 2020.  He is Mahtab's brother. Darius is a priest and serves his community by carrying out prayers on various occasions.  He was the youngest person to be ordained as a priest in Houston. Darius has a passion for books, similar to Mahtab. He enjoys reading all books, but especially historical fiction books. 

 Mr. Dastur, has been involved with Books2Smiles since its founding in 2018 and has served as a Director and treasurer since its formation as a Texas tax exempt corporation in 2020. He is Mahtab’s father. Barjor is president of Phillip Townsend Associates, Inc., which is a global data analytics firm based in Houston with clients worldwide. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Production Engineering from the University of Bombay and an M.B.A. from Rice University in Houston. 

 Mr. Allen has been a Director and our General Counsel since August 2020. He has over 35 years of corporate finance and securities law experience. Sam has represented clients in corporate debt and equity financings, corporate restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, and proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission. From 1982 until 1990, he was in the corporate finance section of Brown and Wood (now Sidley & Austin) in New York. From 1990 until 2011, he was a partner in the corporate finance group at Porter Hedges, LLP, in Houston, Texas. While at Porter Hedges, Sam was named as a “Texas Super Lawyer” in corporate finance. He has been in private practice since 2011. He has a bachelor’s degree in English and Philosophy from the University of Mississippi, and a Juris Doctorate from Washington and Lee Law School.