AMIDEAST is pleased to announce the appointment of James Ketterer as country director for Egypt. He assumes responsibility for AMIDEAST’s largest field operation, which includes field offices in Cairo and Alexandria, as well as activities that extend beyond Egypt’s two primary cities.

James Ketterer

Mr. Ketterer brings to AMIDEAST more than three decades of experience in education in both the U.S. and international environments. Most recently, he was the Vice Chancellor for Policy and Planning and Deputy Provost of the State University of New York (SUNY), the largest comprehensive state higher education system in the United States, and previously was Director of SUNY’s Center for International Development, where he directed a diverse portfolio of development assistance projects funded by entities such as USAID, the World Bank, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Ford Foundation. Several of these projects were implemented in countries located in the MENA region, namely, in Morocco, Jordan, and Iraq. In addition, Mr. Ketterer has experience in government at the White House and the New York State Senate. His teaching experience includes posts at Bard College and SUNY New Paltz and he is a Fellow of the Foreign Policy Association.

Mr. Ketterer is a specialist in the region, having completed a B.A. in Political Science and Middle East Studies from Fordham University, an M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from New York University, and his course work for a Ph.D. in Comparative Politics of the Middle East and Africa from The Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He is proficient in Arabic and French.

Mr. Ketterer assumes the reins of AMIDEAST’s growing operation in Egypt at a time of change and anticipation in the country. AMIDEAST has maintained a continuous presence in Egypt since 1956, when it first opened its doors in Cairo. Earlier this month, AMIDEAST went ahead with plans to move its Cairo office to larger quarters, a step that will enable it to expand educational and training services in response to recent events and reach out to new and diverse audiences.

AMIDEAST/Egypt services include English language and professional skills training, educational advising and testing, scholarship exchange program administration, and institutional capacity building. AMIDEAST has partnered with the U.S. and Egyptian governments, international organizations, local NGOs, and the private sector on projects to address specific workforce needs, such as training workers in Egypt’s critically important tourism sector; expand regional English language instruction in urban centers beyond Cairo and Alexandria; support entrepreneurship training for women and others; and enhance the institutional capacity of the country’s administration of justice system.