Chris Shinn, Ph.D., Chief of Party
Over the last eight years he has served as AMIDEAST Country Director in West Bank/Gaza, as well as Chief of Party for AMIDEAST’s Palestinian Faculty Development Program, Model Schools Network Program and now the Leadership and Teacher Development (LTD) Program.  He has seventeen years of experience in the education sector, including basic education reform and higher education development.  Chris has been a middle school English teacher, a trainer for a teacher certification program, and a lecturer for the Faculty of Education at the University of Sydney, Australia.  As an education developer he has worked in the field of international student exchange, scholarship administration, English language education, and faculty development in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa and parts of Asia.  Chris received his B.A. in international development from the University of Washington.  His master’s degree in comparative education and Ph.D. in education policy are both from the University of Sydney, Australia.
E-Mail: cshinn@amideast.org
Ext: 100

Capacity Building Department

Said Assaf, Ph.D., Capacity Building Program Director
Said graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison with a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction.  He started his professional life as a secondary school mathematics teacher at the Al Hashmieh Secondary School.  His involvement in higher education and teacher training began when he became an instructor at the Women’s Teachers College in Ramallah and later as an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Mathematics Department at Birzeit University.  Said participated in the creation of the first Palestinian Ministry of Education in 1994 and was the first Director General for Professional Development and Supervision.  He was Assistant Deputy Minister for Academic and Development Affairs for three years. During his career, Said has taught graduate courses at Birzeit University, Al-Najah University and Al Quds University. He has co-authored math textbooks for school children, as well as worked with the Education Development Center, Inc., an American NGO based in Washington, DC.  His previous position was Director of the Education Quality Component of the USAID-funded Education Reform Project in Egypt. 
E-Mail: sassaf@amideast.org 
Ext: 110

Naila Handosh, Capacity Building Specialist 
Naila joined the LTD Program in August 2012 after working with AMIDEAST's Model Schools Network Program for over four years as the Professional Development Specialist.  Prior to that, Naila worked as the Programs Manager at Tamer Institute for Community Education, TOKTEN consultant with UNDP, and Project Manager with the Jerusalem District Electricity Co. (JDECO).  As the Capacity Building Specialist, she is responsible for managing the capacity building activities targeting several departments at the Ministry of Education, and the National Institute for Education and Training, as well as the leadership training of 300 school principals.  Naila holds two degrees in computer information systems and business administration from California State University, Stanislaus.  She received her MBA from Cyprus International Institute of Management in Nicosia, Cyprus. 
E-Mail: nhandosh@amideast.org
Ext: 111 

Linda Abu Elhalaweh, Capacity Building Program Coordinator
Linda joined AMIDEAST in December 2009 as a Community Outreach and Professional Development Training Coordinator within the Model Schools Network Program. Currently, Linda works as the Capacity Building Program Coordinator for the LTD Program. Linda holds a B.Sc. degree in mathematics and information technology from Bethlehem University.  She holds two masters degrees; one in international relations and humanitarian affairs from Laspienza Univeristy, Italy and a second in sustainable development and institution building from Al Quds University.  Prior to her appointment with AMIDEAST, she was the Office Manager for the Hebron CHF office. She has also worked as an Outreach Coordinator with UNRWA.
E-mail: lhalaweh@amideast.org
Ext: 112

Teacher Education Department

Louis Cristillo, Ph.D., Teacher Education Program Director
Louis Cristillo earned a PhD in Anthropology and Education from Columbia University in 2004 and recently held positions as lecturer and associate research professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and adjunct instructor for Drexel University's online Master’s Program in Global and International Education.   Lou is now living and working in Palestine, where he is Director of Teacher Education for AMIDEAST's Leadership and Teacher Development (LTD) Program.  Lou's involvement in education and development includes almost two decades in Morocco's public education sector.  Since 2005 he has also conducted consultancy work with AMIDEAST's Palestine Faculty Development Program and the Model Schools Network Program, and co-directed the Teachers College consultancy for a World Bank/QIF project focusing on the enhancement of pre-service teacher education in technology education.  Lou’s scholarly interests include the anthropology of education; education and religion; methods of educational research; and curriculum design and professional development.

E-mail: lcristillo@amideast.org
Ext: 120

Nariman Rajab, Teacher Education Program Officer
Nariman has been working at AMIDEAST since 2005. Before assuming the position of Teacher Education Program Officer with the Leadership and Teacher Development (LTD) Program
Nariman was the Operations & Compliance Manager for the Palestinian Faculty Development Program for seven years. Prior to joining AMIDEAST, Nariman worked at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Maryland, USA.   Nariman holds a BA in Business Administration from Birzeit University.

E-mail: nrajab@amideast.org 
Ext: 121

Rana Asbah, Teacher Education Program Coordinator
Rana joined AMIDEAST in March 2008 as the Professional Development Assistant for the Model Schools Network Program and was subsequently promoted to Program Coordinator. Rana is currently working in the Leadership and Teacher Development (LTD) Program as the Teacher Education Coordinator. She is primarily responsible for  coordinating communications and logistics between the Ministry of Education and AMIDEAST, particularly with regard to the teacher education capacity building components for the LTD Program. Prior to joining AMIDEAST, Rana worked as a Program Assistant on the Academy for Educational Development’s USAID-funded Presidential Scholarship Project. Rana holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Birzeit University.
E-mail: rasbah@amideast.org  
Ext: 122

Communications, Monitoring and Evaluation Department

Sarah Capper, Monitoring & Evaluation Manager 
As the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Sarah is responsible for assessing the outcomes of the LTD Program.  She deals with evaluation of the program’s key components and reporting requirements.  In addition to working on the LTD Program, Sarah is also a teacher for AMIDEAST in the US State Department-funded English Access Microscholarship Program.   Prior to joining the MSN team, Sarah worked for AMIDEAST on the USAID-funded Model Schools Network Program (MSN) and the American Scholarship Fund Program (ASFP). Sarah holds a BA in Law & Society from American University in Washington, DC, and an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, as well as a CELTA certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). 
E-mail: scapper@amideast.org
Ext: 130

Khalil Bitar, Documentation and Reporting Officer 
Khalil worked at the AMIDEAST's Model School Network (MSN) Program as the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer before furthering his studies in the field of development evaluation and management. Upon completion of his masters degree at the University of Antwerp's Institute of Development Policy and Management, he re-joined AMIDEAST as the Documentation and Reporting Officer for the Leadership and Teacher Development (LTD) Program. In addition to closely supporting the monitoring and evaluation agenda, Khalil's responsibilities include helping produce all program reports and documents and contribute to the program's communication strategy. Khalil's interests are in development evaluation and management and he has studied in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Palestine and Hong Kong.
E-mail:kbitar@amideast.org
Ext: 131  

Suhaib Jarrar, Communications Officer
Suhaib joined AMIDEAST in March 2010  to manage the newly established  AMIDEAST Hebron Office. In March 2011 Suhaib moved to the Model Schools Network (MSN) Program to assume the position of Communications Officer.  He currently holds the same position at the Leadership and Teacher Development (LTD) Program.  Along with managing all program events, Suhaib is responsible for communications, public and media relations. He ensures AMIDEAST and USAID are appropriately represented locally and internationally. Suhaib holds a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature and a minor in translation from Birzeit University.  Prior to joining  AMIDEAST, he worked for Relief International (RI) as the Administrative and Communication Officer.  

E-Mail: sjarrar@amideast.org
Ext: 143   

Operations & Compliance Department

Mazen Al Mallah, Operations & Compliance Manager
Mazen joined AMIDEAST in December 2010 as the Operations and Compliance Manager for the MSN Program. Mazen is currently in charge of  designing, implementing and supervising adherence to financial policy, budgets and internal control measures for the Leadership and Teacher Development (LTD) Program. He is also responsible for providing strategic support to the LTD team in contracts and procurement. He oversees all compliance issues for the program related to USAID regulations and provides overall financial management and produces financial reports for the program. Mazen received his BA in Business Administration and Accounting from Birzeit University. Prior to joining AMIDEAST, Mazen served as a Senior Auditor at Price Water House Coopers in the West Bank.

E-Mail: mmallah@amideast.org  
Ext: 140

Bisan Saidi, Administration and Human Resources Coordinator
Bisan joined AMIDEAST in September 2011 working for the Model Schools Network Program. Bisan is currently responsible for human resources and administrative functions within the LTD Program office in Ramallah.  Prior to joining AMIDEAST, Bisan worked at the Ruwwad Youth Empowerment Project as the HR Coordinator. Bisan also worked for the V&V advertising firm as a Client Relations Officer. she holds a BA degree in Business Administration from Birzeit University.

E-mail: bsaidi@amideast.org
Ext: 141  

Jamal Bajali, Accountant
Jamal joined AMIDEAST in January 2011 as the Finance and Procurement Assistant for the USAID funded program Model Schools Network (MSN) Program.  He was promoted to accountant when AMIDEAST began implantation of the LTD Program in May 2012. Jamal is responsible for all program finances, which also includes operational support. Jamal holds a bachelor`s degree in Accounting from Birzeit University.

Email: jbajali@amideast.org 
Ext:144

Hasan Misk, Driver/Expeditor  
Hasan joined AMIDEAST in December 2010. As the driver and logistician he is responsible for delivering people, documents and materials to their various destinations across the West Bank and Jerusalem.  Prior to joining AMIDEAST Hasan worked as a driver for Al Quds Bank. Hasan speaks three languages:  English, Arabic and Hebrew.

E-mail: hmisk@amideast.org 
Ext: 142

Ashraf Rimawi, Receptionist   
Ashraf joined AMIDEAST in 2007 as the Model Schools Network (MSN) Program Messenger. He currently works as the LTD Receptionist and Administrative Assistant and is in charge of receiving all incoming calls, welcoming guests and managing the needs of LTD premises. Prior to joining AMIDEAST, Ashraf worked for the Ramallah Municipality, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, and the Palestinian Telecommunications Company.

E-mail: arimawi@amideast.org
Ext: 0