Exchange Programs
Fulbright Foreign Student Program: Staff
The AMIDEAST Fulbright staff
works with the United States Department of State Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs, AMIDEAST field offices,
binational Fulbright Commissions, and United States Embassies
to administer the Fulbright Program for students from the
Middle East and North Africa.
Ms. Kate DeBoer, Director, provides oversight of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program and the Israeli-Arab Scholarship Program (IASP) at AMIDEAST. She has extensive experience in the field of international education, previously serving as Administrative Director of Stanford Law School’s Advanced Degree and International Programs. Prior to that, she managed short-term home stay and youth exchange programs in the Western U.S. for several international exchange organizations. She oversees AMIDEAST headquarters and field office staff supporting the placement and monitoring of Fulbright and IASP grantees. Originally from western New York State, she earned her B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology from Kalamazoo College in Michigan and completed graduate coursework in Volunteer Management and Public Administration. Kate spent a high school year in Sweden and a college semester abroad in Germany.
Josephine Griffin, Senior Program Officer, joined the Fulbright staff with more than 25 years experience in International education. Prior to coming to AMIDEAST, she returned to the Washington area from Europe where she served for the past seven years as the Regional Educational Advising Coordinator (“REAC”) for the US State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs responsible for training, supervising and supporting educational advisors at State Department-sponsored counseling centers throughout Europe. As Associate Director of IIE’s Mexico office she similarly served as the “REAC” for Mexico, Central America and in the Caribbean and she was also responsible for coordinating the Undergraduate Scholarship Program and the placement of students into programs in U.S. Universities. Previously, Jody has held positions of Director of College Placement in International Schools in a number of countries in Latin America. She has been an active member of NAFSA, National Association of International Educators, Professional Educator’s Association and NACAC, National Association of College Admissions Counselors. She earned her M.S. in Educational Administration from Old Dominion University, Virginia, and a B.A. in Art History from Sweet Briar College, Virginia. Jody has lived and traveled extensively throughout the MENA region.
Heather Hughes, Program Officer, comes to AMIDEAST with more than six year of experience in the field of education along with a variety of study and travel periods in the Middle East and North Africa. Most recently she served as the Advisor in the Office for Study Abroad at George Washington University (GW). Heather obtained her M.A. in International Education at GW. During her graduate studies she carried out research in Algeria, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Prior to her time at GW, Heather taught primary school in Oregon for two years. While pursuing her B.A. in Education at Brigham Young University, Heather studied abroad in the Middle East and in New Zealand and later completed a self-designed volunteer program in eleven African nations.
Elisa O’Keefe, Program Officer, came to AMIDEAST from Sister Cities International where she served as Director of Youth and Education Programs. Prior to Sister Cities, she was an academic advisor at American University’s English Language Institute and served as a Program Coordinator for the Teacher Quality Initiative at the Public Education Network. Elisa also lived in Hungary for two years where she taught English and American History to high school students. She earned her M.A. in International Training and Education from American University.
Ms. Bina Sheladia, Program Officer, joined the AMIDEAST Fulbright department from Georgetown University where she was as the Internship Coordinator for the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program. Bina’s earlier experience includes serving as the Orientation Coordinator at Northern Arizona University, as Admissions and Alumni Coordinator for WorldTeach, and as a Program Intern with the International Visitors Program at Delphi International. She spent three years teaching English as a Foreign Language abroad, both in Ecuador and Japan. She earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park and holds an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan.
Kea Greene, Program Assistant, joined the Fulbright department after seven years of working for AMIDEAST as an operations assistant. During her time at AMIDEAST she was responsible for operations of the entire office as well as web design. In addition to working for AMIDEAST, Kea is working towards a B.A in Art History and Archaeology at Maryland University. Her artistic background has led her to partake and illustrate her paintings in various venues and exhibitions around the Washington metropolitan area, and is part-owner of AVK arts in Maryland.
Esther Kauffman, Program Assistant, joined AMIDEAST when she relocated to the Washington area after living for three years in Cairo, Egypt. There she worked as an English teacher at the Oasis Language School and in the Regional Security Office at the American Embassy Cairo. Esther received her B.A. in International Studies and French from Berry College and is currently taking courses for an M.A. in International Development at American University. She spent a college semester abroad in France and a semester at the American University in Egypt.
Sharon Kerekes, Program Assistant, works with the AMIDEAST Fulbright Department while simultaneously pursuing a Master's degree in International Affairs at George Washington University. She has interned at the Youth Programs Division at ECA and at U.S. Engagement with the Muslim World. Sharon has an undergraduate degree in Global Studies/Psychology from UC Santa Barbara and spent a yar studying abroad in Spain.
Ayad Zein, Senior Program Assistant, originally from Lebanon, worked in the American Embassy in Riyadh for a number of years, both in the Visa section and in the Regional Security office. He assisted nearly 9,000 grantees of the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education 2006 scholarships program (undergraduate and graduate programs) by coordinating between the Consular Section at the embassy, the grantees' international advisors in U.S. schools and the Scholarship Office at the Saudi Mission here in DC. He worked with the Consular Section's newly developed appointment website and retranslated over 50% of the English text into Arabic. In the Security Office, he monitored local print and electronic media websites and analyzed the information to identify security threats and security related incidents and issues and reported such information to the regional security officer. He has served as translator of official documents and correspondences from/to English/Arabic and as interpreter in official meetings with various local security agencies. He has lived and worked in Syria and has his degree in French Literature from the University of Damascus.
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