Julian Maha’s story is interesting and inspiring – and quite unique.
A Malaysian who became an Alabaman with an evolving affinity for NASCAR as part of the deal, Maha is one of four finalists for The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Presented by Nationwide in 2017. The award honors NASCAR fans who are also accomplished volunteers working for children’s causes in their communities throughout the United States. It also honors the memory and the philanthropic legacy of the foundation’s late founder, Betty Jane France, who passed away in August 2016.
Maha’s charity is “KultureCity’ which he founded in 2013 with the mission to improve the lives of children with autism while also educating society about the inclusion of autistic individuals. Maha, an emergency room physician in Birmingham, Alabama – he lives in nearby Vestavia Hills – has a vested emotional interest in the mission. He has a non-verbal autistic son.
But let’s not get ahead of “the story.”
Maha came to Montgomery, Alabama as a teenager to live with his sister, who attended Auburn University on a tennis scholarship. Living near Talladega Superspeedway in true “NASCAR country”, he inevitably gravitated to NASCAR and now, at the age of 40, considers former DAYTONA 500 champion Denny Hamlin his favorite driver.
“My initial exposure to the United States in Montgomery was pretty much in terms of through sports,” Maha says. “That was the biggest thing that helped me connect with my classmates. Coming to U.S. from Malaysia was a culture shock, everything was different. The unifying aspect for me was sports, and it was largely basketball and NASCAR.”
Maha left Alabama to attend the University of Calgary but would return and become immersed in his community. He also became committed to helping autistic children like his own son; in 2013 Maha founded KultureCity, which seeks to improve and save the lives of those with autism, while also educating society about inclusion.
Culture shock to KultureCity.
Now serving as the volunteer president of KultureCity, Maha has led the development of the innovative Sensory Initiative, which addresses sensory inclusivity in locations such as arenas, stadiums and other public settings. The Sensory Initiative program has been utilized at the Birmingham Zoo and Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, and by 12 NBA teams and two NFL teams.
KultureCity also has developed the lifeBOKS program to help families monitor the movements of their children – autistic children can be prone to wandering – through GPS and Bluetooth tracking devices.
Under Maha’s leadership, KultureCity estimates that it has impacted the lives of more than 50,000 autistic children.
This has been noticed. Maha is a past recipient of the Alabama Distinguished Citizen Award; he was named “Top Southerner” by Southern Living Magazine and was a Top 40 under 40 Influencer in 2016; and KultureCity has been named a Top-10 Non-Profit by Microsoft and the Top Non-Profit in Alabama.
