Hometown: Amman, Jordan / Doha, Qatar

Research Interests: Jordan, Palestinian diaspora, education, Gulf petro-history

Zaina Khalil is a recent graduate of Georgetown University in Qatar, where she received her Bachelor's of Science in Foreign Service, with an International Economics major and History minor. During her time as an undergraduate, Zaina researched and documented the oral history of early Palestinian arrivals in Qatar through a project funded by the Qatar National Research Fund. Zaina has also gained valuable experience in a variety of different industries in the Middle East region. She has interned at research centers such as the Middle East Council on Global Affairs in Doha and Columbia Global Centers in Amman. At these research centers, she gained insight in communications, research, and programming.

In her free time, Zaina enjoys learning about and practicing the traditional Palestinian cross-stitching practice 'Tatreez'. At MAAS, she hopes to explore a variety of research interests, from political economy, to cultural preservation, to education.