With more than 30 years of IT systems experience in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, Dr. Ghafir has led the design and development of large systems for the federal government, state governments, and private sector clients. He has extensive experience with federal regulations and requirements related to Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) enrollment and eligibility systems.

Dr. Ghafir has worked with multiple state agencies to stabilize and transform Medicaid services, design their enterprise strategy, procure, and certify Medicaid Enterprise Systems to deliver business value. He has helped state Medicaid agencies with technical, operations, and procurement strategies and actionable plans to implement the strategies.

Prior to joining A&M, Dr. Ghafir worked with CMS and state agencies to develop and implement case management systems that interface with MMIS to screen Medicaid applicants, assess medical eligibility, develop person-centered plans, and authorize, bill, and reimburse Medicaid services. He also led implementation of federal products such as development of the Food Aid Information System (FAIS) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to automate commodity provision to countries to drive development programs. Dr. Ghafir also managed the development of a K-12 education reform program in Qatar with a 100+-person team across two continents.

Dr. Ghafir earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Cairo University and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. The author of several patents in computer security and database architecture, Dr. Ghafir holds Project Management Professional (PMP), ITIL, and Prosci© certifications.