American Gabr Fellows
Bryan Griffin
Field Director, Maccabee Task Force
Hometown: Tampa, Florida; Age: 29Bryan is currently a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research and the national field director of the Maccabee Task Force Foundation. Born in Florida, he received a Masters of International Affairs with a specialty in the Middle East from Columbia University in New York City. He holds a Juris Doctorate, Masters of Management, and Bachelors in Classical History and Political Science from the University of Florida. Bryan is also a Professionally Registered Parliamentarian (PRP) and licensed private pilot. On November 15th, 2013 Bryan was sworn in as an attorney by United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court. From 2010-2013 Bryan held the elected office of Soil and Water Supervisor of Alachua County. At Columbia, he was named the Editor in Chief of the Journal of International Affairs.. Bryan is the author of The Encyclopedia of Militant Islam, published in 2015.2nd October 2017
Courtney Joline
Development Coordinator at Search for Common Ground
Hometown: Freehold, NJ; Age: 26Courtney Joline serves as the Development Coordinator at Search for Common Ground, one of the world's largest dedicated peacebuilding organizations with operations in over 43 countries. In her position, she focuses on individual and foundation outreach, and is spearheading the organization's campus chapter and alumni initiatives. Prior to joining Search for Common Ground, Courtney served as a manager at Cogite, Tunisia's first-ever coworking space. While based in Tunisia she also served as Outreach Coordinator for TEDxCarthage, one of the largest TEDx events in the world and was a Project Manager for a communications and events company. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Middle East Studies from The George Washington University. Courtney is a member of the National Organization for Women (DC Chapter) and Phi Beta Kappa.2nd October 2017
Hunter M. King
Staff, Office of Congressman Steve King
Hometown: Mason City, IA; Age: 24Hunter is a scheduler in the Office of Congressman Steve King (IA-04), where he is responsible for scheduling all events, meetings, and travel for the Representative. Recently Hunter has also started doing more communications and press work for the office, exposing him to the many different facets on Capitol Hill. After graduating from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro with a B.A. in Political Science, Hunter moved to Washington D.C. as an intern for Congressman King. Prior to his internship, Hunter was playing professional baseball in Marion, Illinois after enjoying his successes as a Division-I player at UNCG. Hunter moved to D.C. in hopes of pursuing his passion for politics and his desire for knowledge, especially in foreign affairs. He looks to continue his career on Capitol Hill for some time to come.2nd October 2017
Jack Gordon
Co-founder of Digital Development Communications
Hometown: Westfield, NJ; Age: 35Jack Gordon is a DC-based filmmaker and co-founder of Digital Development Communications (DDC), a production company that specializes in creating dynamic visual content for international development organizations. He has produced film and photo projects in over a dozen countries for USAID, the World Bank, and many other clients. Jack is also a dedicated interfaith organizer and works to build bridges of understanding between religious communities through dialogue, the arts, and service projects. As a board member with the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, he led the creation of the annual DC Interfaith Leadership Summit, an annual gathering of young adult leaders from throughout the DC area.2nd October 2017
Jean Kwon
Professional staff member on the Senate Committee on Appropriations
Hometown: Houston, Texas; Age: 29Jean Kwon is a professional staff member on the Senate Committee on Appropriations under Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont. She manages various accounts on the Legislative Branch subcommittee, including the Library of Congress and the Government Accountability Office. Furthermore, she also supports the staff director and deputy staff director in managing the front office and carrying out the Vice Chairman’s priorities. Before joining the Committee, Jean had completed her Masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in China, where she taught English to college students in Zigong, Sichuan. Her loving community in China taught her to appreciate the world as a global community and inspired her to design and launch an annual women’s summit to empower women through professional development.2nd October 2017
Jessica Mulligan
Government Relations Manager, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
Hometown: Cambridge, MA; Age: 25Jessica Mulligan serves as a Government Relations Manager at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), a broad-based network of over 500 businesses and nonprofit organizations; national security and foreign policy experts; and business, faith-based, academic, military, and community leaders who support strong investments in development and diplomacy. Prior to joining USGLC, Jessica worked as an Associate at the Glover Park Group (GPG), where she provided public affairs and government relations counsel to a wide variety of clients in the firm’s International Affairs practice. Jessica has also served on several political campaigns, including Senator Cory Booker’s 2013 special election race and Gov. Howard Dean’s Democracy for America political action committee. Jessica graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a B.A. in Politics.2nd October 2017
Kristina Ryan
Program Officer, Global Engagement Center, U.S. State Department
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado; Age: 27Kristina is a Program Officer at the Global Engagement Center (GEC), an interagency office housed at the U.S. Department of State that is responsible for the integration, coordination, and synchronization of U.S. Government efforts to counter non-state and state propaganda and disinformation. Prior to joining the GEC, Kristina was an analyst examining foreign terrorist fighters to enhance the U.S. government’s understanding of terrorist threats globally. While in graduate school, Kristina interned with the Department of State’s Office of Opinion Research where she quantitatively examined public opinion patterns and trends among foreign populations to aid the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy. She also interned as a counterterrorism analyst with the Department of Defense at U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Kristina holds a Master of Arts in Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies with a concentration in International Security and a regional emphasis on the Middle East. She received a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and Anthropology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.2nd October 2017
Michael Matthiesen
Senior Academic and Career Advisor, Miami Dade College
Hometown: Miami, Florida; Age: 27Michael is a Senior Academic and Career Advisor and adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Miami Dade College. Before becoming a Senior Advisor, he served as a Grant Coordinator for the Community College Initiative, a U.S. State Department Fulbright Scholarship, located at MDC. Michael has worked at MDC since 2012, starting as an AmeriCorps VISTA for MDC’s Single Stop program. As an AmeriCorps VISTA, Michael raised $1.25 million in monetary and in-kind donations for MDC students living in poverty. For his service, Michael received the President’s Call to Service Award and Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the Obama White House. Michael received a Rotary Global Grant Scholarship to complete an M.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics of Health from University College London (UCL), University of London.2nd October 2017
Thomas Stein
Regional Director of Sales for American Trust Administrators
Hometown: Eudora, Kansas; Age: 33Tom is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Man Tables LLC, an Innovation company that pairs new applications of old technology with quality Amish labor. This has allowed Him to launch and acquire vendor partners for a number of new products that have been featured in numerous magazines and news outlet. Additionally, he serves as the Regional Director of Sales for American Trust Administrators for new distribution outreach. This outreach has resulted in some of the largest growth that American Trust has seen in its storied history. By working in these two spaces Tom is constantly recharged by the change in work that these two outlets afford.2nd October 2017
Egyptian Gabr Fellows
Abdelrahman Fakida
Project Manager, Tall&Short
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt; Age: 25Abdelrahman is a Project Manager at Tall & Short, an art studio specializing in image making and visual content. Before that, he was Communications Officer at Flat6Labs, a regional and leading startup accelerator in the Middle East, where he was the one responsible for developing and implementing the company’s marketing strategy. Through the years, he assisted a number of startups during their different stages, from idea stages, MVP, launch and growth. He also successfully founded a travel portal which helps Egyptian travelers document their experiences to encourage readers to explore the world and see it from different outlooks. After one year of coordinating, writing, editing and promoting the website, it was successfully visited over 500,000 times. Abdelrahman holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from the Canadian International College; CIC.2nd October 2017
Aly Salem
Caseworker/ Project Associate, International Organization For Migration (IOM)
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt; Age: 27Aly is working as a Caseworker at IOM (UN Migration agency), RSC MENA unit which is funded by the United States’ Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration to provide case processing services to the United States Refugee Admission program. For two years he has participated in two offsite surge operations in Amman and in Cairo processing the cases of thousands of refugees with the target of providing resettlement opportunities in the United States. Before that he worked as a lawyer for four years, where he specialized in Corporate and Commercial Law. Aly holds an LLM with specialization in International Commercial Law from Ain Shams University. He believes that in a world full of clashes, wars and hatred, our best chance for coexisting is when people are trading, networking and sharing ideas.2nd October 2017
Amr Seda
Co-Lecturer, Faculty of Business, Economic and Political Sciences, The British University in Egypt
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt; Age: 30Amr is a Co-Lecturer at the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Political Sciences at The British University in Egypt, delivering lectures to hundreds of business students on topics such as Strategic Management, Marketing Strategy, and Comparative International Management. He got his Master of Arts in Business Administration from Durham Business School, and is currently pursuing his PhD in Public Administration at the Faculty of Political Sciences, Egypt, with the thesis topic: The Role of the Government in Supporting Social Entrepreneurship. Amr also has experience in political campaigning, having been Political Campaign Manager for the winning member of Parliament in the Egyptian Parliamentary Elections 2015, Dr. Karim Salem.2nd October 2017
Dalia Abdallah Iha
Social Media Consultant, UNICEF Egypt
Hometown: Giza, Egypt; Age: 31Dalia is a Social Media Consultant at the UNICEF, where she proposes creative themes for UNICEF Egypt social media campaigns, and also adapts global campaigns. After graduating from the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University, Dalia decided to pursue a different career path and obtained an MBA in Global Marketing from ESLSCA Business School and moved into the sphere of copywriting and media management. She has worked as a voiceover performer, creative copywriter and copyeditor. She is especially interested in entrepreneurship, passionate for innovation, and a Tencho-holic, who likes to use her singing and music skills to bring people together.2nd October 2017
Ibrahim Hammouda
English Instructor, Berlitz Language Center
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt; Age: 26Ibrahim is a full time English Instructor at Berlitz Language center in addition to running a family business. He obtained his Master's Degree in Information Science from the faculty of Communications and Information Technology (CIT), Nile University. Throughout the years, he studied English with teaching methodologies at the British Council. Ibrahim believes in changing people’s lives through his way of teaching, by combining English with its culture to make learning a unique experience. He is also a poet and a writer who started writing poetry at an early age. Currently, he is working on his upcoming short stories collection, and applying for the in-campus CELTA certificate at Portsmouth University, England.2nd October 2017
Menna Aly Farouk
Front-page Editor, The Egyptian Gazette
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt; Age: 26Menna has been working as a journalist for four years and is currently Front-page Editor of The Egyptian Gazette. She started her career at The Egyptian Gazette newspaper in 2013 as a social, cultural and political editor. In 2014, she took part in workshops with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In 2016, she became a team member in a start-up called Direxiona which teaches girls how to drive cars. She is also contributing to Deutsche Welle, Al Monitor and Global Voices. Apart from that, she works as an associate editor at an Egyptian real estate magazine and news portal Invest-Gate. Menna graduated in English literature and Translation from the Faculty of Al Alsun.2nd October 2017
Neveen Mohamed
Founder and Program Manager, Career Development Program, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt; Age: 31Neveen is Founder and Program Manager of the Information Technology Institute’s Career Development Program at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. She has worked for the Information technology Institute for nine years, mostly in career development but also as Senior Delegate in the Egyptian – Djiboutian Human Capacity Building Cooperation Agreement, and Senior Delegate in the Egyptian – Ugandan Human Capacity Building Cooperation Agreement. Neveen holds an MBA in Project Management, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK and a B.Sc. of Political Science and Public Administration, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University.2nd October 2017
Reham Salem Gamal
Assistant lecturer, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Department of Political Mass Media
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt; Age: 26Reham is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Political Mass Media at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo. Prior to this she was Head of Communication and Executive Assistant at the Egyptian Prime Minister’s Office for Monitoring National Projects, working on a joint project between Joint project between the United Nations Development Programme and Egyptian Cabinet of Ministers. Her work for the Egyptian Cabinet of Ministers also included working as Foreign Media Specialist, and Researcher at the Secretary General’s Office. Reham holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the American University in Cairo.2nd October 2017
Sarah Badr Hesham
Reservoir Geoscientist, Schlumberger Petroleum Company
Hometown: Alexandria, Egypt; Age: 26Sarah is a Reservoir Geoscientist at Schlumberger Petroleum Company. Sarah is a science communicator as well. She is an active member in ALXUSC-AAPG (American association for petroleum geologists). Sarah is currently a student of the Presidential Leadership Program, which focuses on developing leadership skills by providing training in Public Administration, Business, Political Science and Economics. Sarah holds a BSc in Petroleum Geology from Alexandria University, and she is preparing for her MA in Applied Geophysics. In 2015 the Ministry of Scientific Research and the British Council chose her as one of the best Science Communicators in Egypt.2nd October 2017
Sherif Fathi Soliman
Process Engineer, Birla Carbon
Hometown: Alexandria, Egypt; Age: 29Sherif is currently working as a Process Engineer at Birla Carbon, one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of high quality Carbon Black additives globally, where he implements the latest technology in the Carbon Black industry, achieves a sustainable production technique, increases production yield, and decreases the environmental emissions. He is currently pursuing his M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering, University of Alexandria. Besides engineering, he has been working with the civil society initiatives in Alexandria since 2010. He worked in several simulation models like Alexandria Model of European Union, the Model of American Congress, and the Alexandria Model of United Nations.2nd October 2017