Founding Board Member, Founder & President, with focus on Advocacy & Legislation, Volunteer since 2008.

In 2008, Lejla founded BWF, a non-profit 501 (c) 3, with a focus on eradicating illegal animal sales downtown Los Angeles. She has devoted herself to the rescue of un-weaned baby rabbits from Santee Alley and has saved and personally housed over 4000 of them. Inquisitive, indefatigable, and Vegan since the age of 17, she has vowed to do her part in changing people’s perception to the planet’s voiceless inhabitants. Lejla’s genuine passion to share a powerful message of “The Deadly Secret of Santee Alley,” compounded with the urgency to raise awareness of animal cruelty was one single asset that surmounted all obstacles and shut down this illegal trade in the heart of LA Fashion District.  She singlehandedly ensured that several legislations protecting rabbits have been voted in this great city of LA. Her relationships with media, city officials, vets, various experts, entertainment industry, and the corporate world continue to keep BWF alive and thriving. Her business acumen holds the Volunteers- Fosters - Mentors together, and her artistic sensitivity along with a unique and compelling way of storytelling on Social Media (She runs the 400K FB page and 5 BWF Volunteer Groups on FB) raises awareness of rabbit education, consequences of pet overpopulation, animal cruelty and the illegal animal sales across a wide range of audiences and demographics. Lejla is indispensable part of the BFW’s success.  Her wish is for BWF to be self-sustained and structured as one of the thriving leaders in the non-profit, animal advocacy and animal rights movement arena.

Lejla has experienced injustice firsthand, has lived and traveled all over the world, and had the exposure to some of the most extreme human living situations (Bosnia, Iraq).  Perhaps it is that ultimate connection with human suffering that caused her to have an intense connection with the voiceless animal victims, especially with the often-overlooked and misunderstood rabbits, and even more extreme – un-weaned baby bunnies taken from their mothers too young to survive. Her activist and artistic voice shapes the global scope of the BWF story, the story she lived & continues to live every day.

Lejla holds a master’s degree in Communications Management, M.B.A in Entertainment Industry Financing and is an alumna of the Annenberg School for Communication, Marshall School of Business, and School of Cinema and Television at the University of Southern California (USC).  Fluent in ten languages, she also holds a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (English, French, and Spanish) and yet another master’s degree in Classical Arabic.