About the Center
Search
Alumni & Student News
MAAS Alumni: Amawi, Emerson, Chambers, Dougherty, Laida, Akel, Tarazi, Fetouh, Peixoto, Azoury, Tortella, Harris, Amirah-Fernandez, Torres-Garcia, Torres-Garcia, Abdel-Nabi, Turayhi, Clay, Golson, Hamid.
Published in 2006
[No download available]
Abla Amawi (1986) is currently based in Lebanon with the United Nations Development Programme and acting as Regional Coordinator for Capacity 2015 Program for Arab States. The program is focusing on enhancing the capacities in the region to achieve the millennium development goals and poverty alleviation.
Paola Emerson (1987) writes “I am currently working with the UN High Representative for the Elections in Cote d’Ivoire, for every step forward there are many sideways but if it was easy the UN would not be involved. Earlier in 2005, I spent three months in Aceh - among the most difficult but rewarding assignments Ihaveever had. I now have a small apartment atop one of the many hills of Lisbon and would like to see anyone passing through Portugal or Cote d’Ivoire.”
David Chambers (1988) was recently appointed to serve on the Kennedy Center’s Community Advisory Board. He has steadily increased the number of performances
from the Middle East and Central Asia. He welcomes any recommendations for performances and encourages all alums to visit the online portal for upcoming Middle Eastern and Central Asian performances at the Kennedy Center. To visit the website for upcoming performances and digital archives go to .
Robin Dougherty (1988) writes “I’m on the move again, this time to the Perry-Castaneda Library of the University of Texas at Austin. I’ll be taking up my new job there as Middle East Librarian around March 2006. For the last 18 months I’ve been working as Head of Collection Development at the library of the American University in Cairo. My husband, Walter Armbrust, is currently acting head of the Middle East Center of St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford.”
Adila Laida (1992) will be teaching Contemporary Arab Thought at Bir Zeit University’s cultural studies department this spring.
Andrea Akel (1994) gave birth to Zane Akel Benoh in September. Andrea, her husband Ibrahim Benoh, and son Zane are all doing well.
Monica Tarazi (1994) recently left New York City to volunteer with Medecins Sans Frontieres. She has been posted to Khartoum, Sudan, since November working as the Human Resources Administrator for MSF’s projects in the north. She writes “Sudan is a fascinating place and I’m having a great time - and of course I’d love to see anyone passing through!”
Mona Fetouh (1997) left Iraq in 2004 and traveled throughout Europe and Asia. She moved to Cairo and is working with a new USAID economic reform program covering trade, investment and financialsectorreform. She recently got married.
Octavio Peixoto (1997) is currently working in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a conference interpreter simultaneously translating at international events in Arabic, English, Portuguese and Spanish. He writes “I am about to fly to Santiago, Chile, for a 40-day whirlwind tour of the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile, the driest place on Earth. Then I’ll hop across the border to Peru where I’ll be taking a two-week immersion course in Business Spanish while feasting on the best seafood in the world.”
Candice Azoury (1999) is currently teaching and performing belly dancing in Washington DC. After working for the US Department of Commerce and traveling to Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and Israel, on their Middle East Mission she is considering a move to Norfolk Virginia.
Virginia Tortella (1999) has recently moved back to Spain, her home country, and is currently residing in Madrid.
Leah Harris (2000) and her husband Hani Akil had a baby boy, Sami Gabriel Akil, in December.
Haizam Amirah-Fernandez’s (2001) co-edited book, The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership: Assessing the First Decade which was published in November 2005. She co-organized and chaired a panel entitled “From Ideology to Pragmatism: Libya, the Rogue Turned Respectable State” in addition to presenting a paper on “The EU and Libya: Opportunities and Limits of the Rapprochement” at the MESA conference. Ms. Amirah-Fernandez is currently working for the Madrid-based think tank Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies.
Ana Torres-Garcia (2001) recently accepted a position as an Assistant Professor
for the Universidad de Sevilla, Spain. Three days prior to accepting this position, she gave birth to her daughter Lucia on September 16th.
Julie Eadeh (2002) just returned from assignment as a Political Officer at the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She will be in Washington studying French until April, when she will depart for an onward assignment at the US Embassy in Beirut.
Shereen Abdel-Nabi (2005) accepted a position as the Program Coordinator at the Kuwait-America Foundation in Washington, DC. She is currently working on a project with UNICEF for the rehabilitation of education in Afghanistan.
Rami Turayhi (2005) is currently working in the Global Power Group at UBS Investment Bank in New York. He recently traveled to Washington DC. to proudly cast his vote for the second time during Iraq’s national elections in December 2005.
Colin Clay (2006) married Christina Edwards on December 18th in Jacksonville Florida.
Related Content
No related content exists for this item.