Soliya's operations are based on an extraordinary network of highly trained facilitators from around the world, volunteering their time to catalyze constructive communication. To date, Soliya has worked with over 130 volunteer facilitators, drawn from a wide range of professions and backgrounds many of which are Masters Students in International Relations or Conflict Resolution at prestigious universities in the Middle East, Europe and the US, including the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, American University of Beirut and Bradford University. It is a true global community – in the fall of 2007 we worked with 55 facilitators from 21 different countries, and we anticipate that we’ll have the same kind of diversity next semester.
Meet some of our Facilitators:
Amr Soultane- Morocco
Amr is majoring in International Studies with a specialization in Cooperation and Development at Al Akhawayn University inIfrane, Morocco. He is fluent in Arabic, French, and English. Amr’s hometown is Casablanca and he studied International and Communication Studies at Al Akhawayn University inIfrane, Morocco. He enjoys running and watching movies in his free time. Amr started as a student participant in the program and moved on to receive training and become a facilitator of the dialogue.
Sara Celiberti- Italy
Sara is working in London as Campaign and Research Assistant on Iran with Amnesty International. She grew up in Italy, went to college inEngland, worked in Dubai and recently got her Master Degree in Negotiations and Conflict Resolution from the Fletcher School at TuftsUniversity in Boston. Sara has been working with Soliya since 2006 and loves it more with every edition!
Said Hamideh- USA.jpg)
Said lives on a farmhouse in rural Wisconsin where he has been researching the way differing communities represent knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wikipedia. Two years, and twenty versions later, Said is currently writing the tenth page of his Master's thesis. Said finds the Internet to be the greatest phenomenon affecting humanity ever and is devoted to researching its potential, usually by logging into Facebook compulsively and finding new ways to update his status.
Nora Elmarzouky- Egypt
Nora is a 2006 Tufts University graduate, whose major was international relations with a concentration in global conflict, cooperation, and justice. Having grown up between Egypt and the US with parents of both origins, she has always had a strong inclination towards bridging differences between these regions. Nora continued her training with the Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution (IIMCR) in Prague. Nora moved back to Cairo, Egypt, where she attended high school at the American International School of Egypt, and has been working on youth issues. She began as a research assistant for Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, chairman of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, which developed into the position of program manager of a cross-cultural summer civic education program targeted at Eastern European and Arab youth. She is currently working as a teaching intern while continuing the summer civic education program and other volunteer activities within Egypt.
Bryan Hanson- USA
Bryan is the Assistant Director of the Werner Institute for Negotiation & Dispute Resolution at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He received a M.A. in Organizational Psychology with a focus in Organizational Conflict Management from John F. Kennedy University and a B.S. in Speech Communications from Minnesota State University. Bryan also enjoys providing training in conflict resolution skills, facilitating and mediating, yet finds free time to enjoy the natural world, music and art.
Alex Balas- Romania
Alex is a PhD candidate in Political Science at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His research is on conflict resolution, peacekeeping and international relations. He has a MA in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey and a BA in Political Science from University of Bucharest. He was a youth delegate from Romania to the 61st United Nations General Assembly and is currently a United Nations Youth Spokesperson for the Millennium Development Goals (2006-2008). He lived in Europe, Turkey and the United States. He joined the Soliya program as a facilitator in spring 2007.
Reem Almasri - Jordan
Reem is working on her Masters degree in Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University. She grew up in Jordan, studied Information Technology at La Roche College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and worked as a computer programmer in Amman. Reem has been a facilitator with the Connect Program since Spring 2006. She also interned last summer at the Global Youth Action Network in New York City and worked on producing a report on children in armed conflict for UNICEF. Reem is interested in media and development issues and hopes to begin making documentaries about Palestinians living in refugee camps in Jordan.
Mohamad Elfakhani - Lebanon
Mohamad is a doctor who has lived in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Canada and the US. He originally participated in the Connect Program as a student in 2004 at the American University of Beirut. In 10 years he says he’d like to be living in Beirut, working as a Psychiatrist.
Adele Maloney - United States
Adele is studying international law at George Washington University. She participated in the Connect Program in the Fall of 2006 as a Political Science student at Tufts University and completed the facilitation training in the Spring 2007. She is fluent in Spanish and studied for a semester at the University of Barcelona in Spain. Adele plays rugby and loves sports especially baseball and football.
Isabelle Maras - France
Isabelle was born & raised in France, and currently lives in Hamburg Germany where she’s pursuing a Doctoral degree at the University of Hamburg. She originally participated in the Connect Program while at Université Libre de Bruxelles in the Spring of 2007, and will be the student assistant for the Soliya course at ULB in the spring of 2008.
Steve McInerney - United States
Steve works as the Director for Advocacy at the Project on Middle East Democracy, a nonprofit organization doing advocacy work on improving U.S. policy in the Middle East. He received his M.S. in Mathematics from Stanford University and was a math teacher at high schools in Egypt and Qatar. He has completed graduate work in Middle Eastern Studies at the American University in Beirut and received a one-year fellowship to study advanced Arabic in Cairo. Steve has spent several years living and working in the Middle East and has traveled extensively to countries including Sudan, Algeria, Palestine, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Syria.
Sawsan Nashaat - Egypt
Sawsan lives in Cairo where she works as an English language instructor at Berlitz Language Center. She has also worked at Catholic Relief Services in Egypt where she managed two projects that promoted active citizenship and inter-religious tolerance among youth and as a Social Counselor for UNHCR working with Sudanese refugees. Sawsan received her BS degree in Economics and Politicial Science at Cairo University where she also served as a participant, judge, and then President of the 9th Arab League Model United Nations.