Maryah Al-Dafa is from Qatar. She is currently a student at Georgetown University, where she is majoring in international politics. She is a member of the Arab Club and an Amnesty International volunteer, and served as president of the Arab Student Union while in high school.maldafa@voya.org

   Fadi Elsalameen is Palestinian. Senior at Earlham College in Indiana. Through Seeds of Peace he has spoken to audiences around the world on conflict resolution and the importance of coexistence and dialogue in the Middle East. felsalameen@voay.org

   Sandra MacDonald is American. Senior Program Officer in the AED Leadership and Institutional Development Group, Sandra has spent most of her professional life designing and managing international education and exchange programs. smacdonald@voay.org

   Grégory Valadié is from France. Knowledge Management Officer and Youth Development specialist at AED, his work focuses on international youth development, knowledge management, and social marketing. gvaladie@voay.org

  AND YOU! Become the voice of the arab youth

What's AED?

We are all working with the Academy for Educational Development. Check out AED'd website at www.aed.org
AED promotes education for all, projects the environment, fights for health care for all, and much more…

What You Do:

   Change your community

   Build a micro-enterprise

   Create a social marketing campaign

   Map your community, etc…

   Build a job Resume

   Practice leading a group

   Share your ideas with other Arab Youth

   Make this web site better

   Get a voice through the creation of a network

   Get connected

   Talk about more than politics

Background

We are raising money for Voice of Arab Youth’s Future. Click here and see what we are telling the potential funders.

Our Board

H.E Omar Al-Dafa, Chair
Ambassador of Qatar to the United States of America
Ambassador Al-Dafa became Ambassador of Qatar to the United States on September 5, 2000. From 1998 to 2000, he served as the Director of European and American Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. He has served as Ambassador of Qatar to the Russian Federation, France, Egypt, and Spain. He has also served as a non Resident Ambassador to Finland, the three Baltic States, Greece, and Switzerland. He received his Bachelor Degree in Political Science from Western Michigan University and his Master degree of Arts in International Public Policy from John Hopkins University. He speaks Arabic, English, and Spanish. And has been decorated with Order National Du Merite from the Republic of France.

Mr. David Hamod
President & CEO of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC).
Prior to joining NUSACC, he was President of Intercom International Consultants, serving such clients as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and numerous American Chambers of Commerce around the world. Before founding Intercom, Mr. Hamod worked for the Brookings Institution, IBM Corporation, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and The New York Times. He is a Past President of the Washington Rotary Club and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) and the University of Iowa, which named him “Distinguished Young Alumnus” for 1999-2000.

H.E. Idriss Jazairy
Embassy of the Democratic & Popular Republic of Algeria.
Master of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from Oxford University (1957). He graduated in Economics and Finance from the “Ecole Nationale d'Administration”, Paris (1957-1959), and received a Master's degree in Public Administration (Economics) from Harvard University (1962). A former Ambassador to Belgium and the EEC, Mr. Jazairy was thereafter elected President of the International Fund for the Agricultural Development, a United Nations specialized Agency from 1984-1992. He subsequently was the Chief Executive of an international NGO, ACORD, committed to empowering the poorest and the marginalized in Africa. He is inter alia Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of Italy, Grand Officer of the Wissam Alaouite of Morocco and Officer of the Order of Merit of Mauritania. He is the author of many books and articles on economics and current affairs.

Mr. Joop Theunissen
Chief, Focal Point on Youth, Division for Social Policy and Development at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in New York.
Mr. Theunissen has a tremendous experience in dealing with youth and development around the world through his previous work as a Social Affairs Officer, in the Intergovernmental Policy Branch Division for Social Policy and Development as well as a Social Affairs Officer, HRD Section, Social Development Division at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok. Furthermore, Mr. Theunissen experience in Bangkok also extends to the Agriculture and Rural Development Division, where he was an Economic Affairs Officer. Beyond Bangkok, Mr. Theunissen expertise extends to the Netherlands and the Philippines were he was a Junior Researcher, Development Research Institute (DRI), an Industry Analyst at Rabobank Nederland B.A, and a visiting Research Associate at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) in Manila as well as a research Trainee at the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines (PDCP) in the Philippines. Mr. Theunissen has a M.Sc., Economics, Major in International Economics from Tilburg University (Katholieke Universiteit Brabant) in the Netherlands.

H.E. Karim Kawar
Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United States of America
Ambassador Kawar was appointed Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on July 1st (2002 I think). Prior to this, he served as a member of the Economic Consultative Council. He also served as Chairman of the Information Technology Association of Jordan (INTAJ) and led the national initiative doe establishing Jordan's IT industry. He graduated from Boston College in 1987 with a B.Sc in management, finance, and computer science. He served as Vice Chair of the Jordan River Foundation and was selected as an Eisenhower Fellow for the year 2000.

Mr. A. Shakour Shaalan
Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund.

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

May A. Rihani is the Senior Vice President and Director of the AED Center for Gender Equity. A published author on girl’s education in the Middle East and North Africa, she has designed and managed education projects in many countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon. She is currently launching new programs in Djibouti, Egypt, and Yemen.

Dr. William Smith is the Executive Vice President at AED. He is a leader in the area of social marketing, fostering projects in education, health, and the environment in nearly every world region. Bill started his career with the Peace Corps, lived in Latin America for almost a decade and returned to the United States briefly before spending the next 10 years traveling and working in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Dr. Sobhi Ghandour is the Founder and Executive Director of Al Hewar Center and Al Hewar Magazine. Al-Hewar Center is an independent forum for dialogue among the various members of the Arab American community with a view to finding common ground within the community as well as bringing about greater mutual understanding between the Arab community and American society at large.

Sandra Lauffer is the Senior Vice President and Director of the International Exchange and Fellowship Programs. She oversees the design and execution of international exchange and institutional linkage projects for the U.S. Information Agency and other governmental and non-governmental clients; the administration of the International Graduate Fellowships of the National Security Education Program, and the administration of the Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship Program.

Justine Ann Ruggio is the Director of Communications and Outreach of the Middle East Institute. She designs and manages the implementation of media strategy to better position and broadens the visibility of the Middle East Institute. Her area of specialization is International Development and Social Change in the Middle East. As a private consultant in Washington DC, Justine focuses on message development, public and media relations, major conference planning and outreach to leading U.S., European and Middle Eastern non-governmental, academic and business organizations.

The Honorable Kenton Keith is currently Senior Vice President of Meridian International Center and Chair of the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange. Formerly, he was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, and, in 1992, he was appointed to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Qatar. Subsequently, Ambassador Keith headed USIA’s area office that supervised all agency operations in the Near East and South Asia. He also served as Special Envoy to Islamabad, where he served as spokesperson for Coalition activity in Afghanistan.

Dr. Barbara Stowasser is a Professor of Arabic and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Since 1993, she has served as Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. She served as the 34th president of the Middle East Studies Association (1998-99). Her publications include a book length study on Women in the Qur'an: Traditions and Interpretation; an edited volume entitled The Islamic Impulse, articles published in American, German, Arabic and Turkish journals and periodicals, and book chapters in collected volumes.

Richard F. Wilson has been the Executive Director of the Middle East Policy Council since 1992. He has over 20 years of experience in the Middle East, including working and living in the region, intensive study and Arabic language training. He travels frequently to the Middle East to meet with senior contacts in business and government.

Dr. John Duke Anthony is president and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, publisher of Gulfwire, and secretary of the U.S. - GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee. All three are Washington, DC –based non-profit and nongovernmental organizations dedicated to educating Americans and others about the Arab countries, the Middle East, and the Islamic world.

Mazhar Samman is the Former Executive Vice President of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC). Prior to his position as Executive Vice President for NUSACC, Mr. Samman has served in various senior management level positions: Senior Contract Manager for International Airports Projects in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Contract Advisor, International Civil Aviation Organization – Presidency of Civil Aviation, Jeddah (KSA), Assistant Commercial Counselor, Embassy of Saudi Arabia Washington, DC, Accountant, National Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait, Assistant Section Chief, Commercial Bank of Syria, Damascus Syria. He is an expert on US-Arab economic relations development focusing on networking with leading industries, government agencies and institutions.

POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Ambassador Dr. Hussein Hassouna of the Arab League
Ambassador Hassouna received his L.L.B and PhD in International Law from Cambridge University in England. From 1986 to 1989, he served as the Director of Cabinet to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. Ambassador Hassouna has served as Ambassador to Egypt to Yugoslavia (1986-1989) and to Morocco (1992-1996). He was posted as Ambassador to the Arab States to the United Nations in 1997, and served until 2002. He was also a member of the Egyptian delegation to successive Middle East negotiations in Cairo, Tel Aviv, and Washington Dc, leading to the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. Ambassador Hassouna is the author of a book on Middle East conflicts and has written various articles on international law and world affairs.

Ambassador Imad Moustapha of Syria
Ambassador Moustapha received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Surrey, in the UK. He is fluent in both English and French. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology at the University of Damascus, and Secretary General of the Arab School on Science and Technology. He is the co-founder of the Netwoek of Syrian Scientists. He has written many publications in English and Arabic and is a co-author of the UN sponsored Human Development Report in the Arab World.

Ambassador Abdullah Al-Hajjri of Yemen
Ambassador Al-Hajjri has served as Ambassador of Yemen to the United States since 1997. Prior to this, he served as the Minister of Plenipotentiary of the Embassy of Yemen to the United States. He has also performed duties as Counselor of the Embassy of Yemen to Egypt. He started his career working as an Official in the Administrative and Finance Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sana'a, Yemen. He graduated from Sana'a University with a degree in Law from the Faculty of Sharia and Law. He earned his Masters Degree in Law (LLM) from the Washington College of Law, at American University in Washington, DC. He continued his post graduate studies with coursework at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt concentrating in Human Right Law.