Dr. Kathy Kamphoefner (Coordinator, Community-Based Learning)

Dr. Kathy Kamphoefner earned her PhD in Communication Studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. She specialized in Intercultural Communication, with a regional specialty in the Middle East. She also studied in the Program of Communication and Development Studies. Kathy's MA focused on Interpersonal and Small Group Communication, while her BA is in Sociology, with a minor in English. Kathy taught communication courses for many years in the US, Russia, Israel/Palestine, and Egypt. In her experience as a volunteer in the US, she has worked with hospitalized children, the developmentally disabled, in social movements for peace, women's rights, GBLT rights, and for human rights, while in the Middle East she has worked in violence reduction in Israel/Palestine and for the rights of refugees. Kathy has founded a voluntary NGO, Refugees United for Peaceful Solutions, which provides mediation services, conflict skills and nonviolence trainings for the refugee communities of Cairo.

Ashraf Abdel-Hamid (Arabic Coordinator & Arabic Instructor)

Mr. Ashraf Abdel-Hamid began his teaching career as an English Language Instructor at the preparatory and secondary levels and later transitioned to teaching Arabic to non-native speakers at the university level. Most recently, Ashraf was an Arabic Language Instructor at the American University in Cairo, where he was responsible for teaching Egyptian Colloquial Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic at the elementary and intermediate levels. Ashraf’s experience includes teaching grammar, vocabulary, printed media and aural media. In addition to his professional experience, Ashraf has also volunteered as a language instructor, teaching both English and Arabic, in various not-for-profit organizations in Cairo. Ashraf earned his Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English from Cairo University in 1991 and his Masters of Arts in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language from the American University in Cairo in 2011. He is currently pursuing a M.A. in Arabic Studies, focusing on Arabic Language and Literature, and a Masters of Education in International and Comparative Education, both from the American University of Cairo. Ashraf joined the AMIDEAST Arabic faculty in 2011.