Advisory Boards Strengthen Amideast’s Outreach to Youth in Lebanon, Palestine

Members of the AMIDEAST/Palestine Advisory Board with AMIDEAST President & CEO Theodore Kattouf (center) and Country Director Steven Keller (far right).

Since fall 2010, Amideast’s new advisory board in Lebanon has enabled Amideast to expand its offerings of scholarships and other opportunities for youth in Lebanon. In June, Amideast’s office for the West Bank and Gaza became the second field office to adopt this community-based approach to strengthening its ability to respond to local needs.

In less than two years since its establishment, Amideast’s advisory board in Lebanon has provided a dynamic mechanism for interacting on the local level.  Generous contributions from its 23 members are helping Amideast/Lebanon provide scholarships for academic study and professional skills training. They are also supporting the efforts of the Lebanon office, undertaken through our Diana Kamal Scholarship Search Fund (DKSSF), to enable bright deserving Lebanese youth to compete successfully for  admission and scholarships to leading U.S. colleges and universities. Composed of prominent local business and community leaders who share Amideast’s commitment to Lebanon’s development, the board is also a source of guidance, as well as diverse internship, employment, and mentoring opportunities for youth enrolled in Amideast training programs, particularly at Amideast/Lebanon’s new Cisco Entrepreneur Institute. 

Recognizing the valuable contributions that advisory board members make to our mission in Lebanon, Amideast recently established a similar advisory board in the West Bank and Gaza.  This body will help Amideast advance its work in several priority areas, including the expansion of scholarship and training opportunities for Palestine’s large youth population. Amideast is pleased that the following prominent Palestinian business and civic leaders have agreed to serve on the new advisory board:

  • Mr. Ammar Aker, CEO, The Paltel Group
  • Dr. Adnan Mjalli, Owner and President of Transtech Pharmaceuticals, Greensboro, N.C.
  • Mr. Ahed Bseiso, President, Home Engineering Company
  • Mr. Bashar Masri, Chairman and CEO, Massar International
  • Ms. Maha Abu Shusheh, Chairwoman, Palestinian Shippers Council; Manager, Abu Shusheh Contracting 
  • Mr. Nasser Kamal, Chairman, Palestinian Construction Product Company, Limited
  • Ms. Reem Abboushi, Executive Director, Asala: the Palestinian Businesswomen's Association
  • Mr. Samir Hulileh, CEO, PADICO Holding Company
  • Mr. Talal Nassereddine, CEO, Birzeit Pharmaceutical Company

Amideast President and CEO Theodore H. Kattouf attended their inaugural meeting, held in Ramallah in June, during which Mr. Aker was elected the board’s first chairman.  At a reception that Amb. Kattouf hosted in their honor the night before, he expressed his appreciation of the commitment that the members of these advisory boards are making. “Amideast is most fortunate that such distinguished, successful and public-spirited individuals have agreed to serve on the Lebanon advisory board and now on our first-ever Palestinian advisory board. In both countries Amideast has sought to tailor its programs to meet the evolving needs of the local community. Going forward, our ability to benefit from the wisdom and support of these distinguished individuals will make this priority much easier to meet.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Members of Amideast’s new advisory board for Palestine, left to right: Mr. Samir Hulileh, CEO, PADICO Holding Co.; Mr. Nasser Kamal, Chairman, Palestinian Construction Product Co., Ltd.; Mr. Ammar Aker, CEO, Paltel Group; Mr. Bashar Masri, Chairman and CEO, Massar Intl.; Amideast President and CEO Theodore H. Kattouf; Ms. Maha Abu Shusheh, Chairwoman, Palestinian Shippers Council, and Manager, Abu Shusheh Contracting; Mr. Ahed Bseiso, President, Home Engineering Co.; Ms. Reem Abboushi, Executive Director, Asala: The Palestinian Businesswomen’s Association; Mr. Talal Nassereddine, CEO, Birzeit Pharmaceutical Co.; and Amideast Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza, Mr. Steven Keller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

―  Appeared in Amideast Impact Newsletter, Summer 2012