Soliya’s team is made up of a diverse group of talented and committed individuals from around the world.
Executive Team
Shamil Idriss, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Idriss served as Executive Director of the Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund which merged with Soliya in 2009. In 2005 he was appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as Deputy Director of the Alliance of Civilizations. He served on the Steering Committee of the World Economic Forum’s Council of 100 Leaders and as COO of Search for Common Ground, a global conflict resolution organization. He is a member of the WEF’s Young Global Leaders and of the ASMA Society’s Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.
Lucas Welch, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer
Prior to his work with Soliya, Lucas was a producer for ABC News working with Peter Jennings. He also taught media at Birzeit University, and conducted research at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Lucas also worked as the Director of Communications for America Abroad Media and served as the Associate Producer on “The Shape of the Future” – a documentary series produced in Arabic, Hebrew, English & French about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Along with Soliya Executive Director, Liza Chambers, Lucas was named one of the “world’s best emerging social entrepreneurs” in 2004 by the Echoing Green Foundation.
Liza Chambers, Co-Founder & Chief Program Officer
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Prior to her work with Soliya, Liza was a Program Manager at Conflict Management Group and a Program Director at the National Conference for Community and Justice, directing dialogue programs at the grassroots and the track-two level. She also worked for Seeds of Peace, facilitating dialogue for youth from the Middle East, Cyprus and the Balkans. She obtained her Masters from the Kennedy School at Harvard University and is a term member at the Council of Foreign Relations. Along with Soliya President, Lucas Welch, Liza was named one of the “world’s best emerging social entrepreneurs” in 2004 by the Echoing Green Foundation.
Staff
Fahad Ahmad, Director of Operations & Business Development
Fahad holds a MBA with a specialization in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Fahad's commitment to social justice and peace-building has seen him engaging with organizations in the US and Canada focusing on promoting social justice and diffusing identity conflicts. He has worked in advocacy, event planning, and vision and strategy development for nonprofits. Most recently, Fahad completed a stint with Oxfam Canada leading public engagement and campaigns in Toronto.
Fahad also has 8 years experience in the high-tech sector in North America and has led dynamic engineering teams through time-sensitive projects. Fahad grew up in the Middle East and holds a prior BS and MS in Computer Engineering from India and the US respectively.
Adham Ahmed, Operations Assistant
Adham was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. He is currently studying at Faculty of Commerce in Ain Shams University. Prior to joining Soliya, he has been involved with several local NGOs like Nahdet El Mahrousa and has had an active role in setting up the Federation of Egyptian Youths NGO.
Nahid Ahmed, Sr. Program Officer
Nahid, born in Bangladesh and raised in Oman, recently received her BA degree in International Relations from Clark University. She speaks English, Bangla and Hindi, and has studied French. Nahid was the head delegate for Clark University’s Model UN team.
Rahima Bensaid, Projects Manager
Rahima was born and raised in Fez, Morocco. She graduated from Clark University with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations and International Development & Social Change. She is fluent in Arabic, French, and English, and is currently learning Spanish. Rahima participated in the Soliya Connect Program as a student at Clark University and volunteered as a facilitator before becoming a full time Soliya staff member.
Michelle Cousland, Development Coordinator
Michelle received her BA degree in Political Science from Williams College. Prior to joining Soliya, she spent a year teaching English at Bilkent University in Turkey. As an undergraduate, Michelle also spent a year studying in Madrid, Spain. She speaks fluent Spanish and aspires to learn Arabic and Turkish.
Farah Dessouky, Program Coordinator
Farah recently received her BA in Political Science with a specialization in Public International Law and a minor in history from the American University in Cairo. Prior to graduation she spent a year living in the UK, studying at the School of Oriental and African while working with AccountAbility an international non-for profit organization. She has been an active participant in several university activities including the Model Arab League and the American University in Cairo’s Student Union. Farah speaks Arabic, French, German and English and plans on learning Spanish and Italian.
Salma Elbeblawi, Program Manager
Salma Elbeblawi has several years of experience in the development field with a special focus on youth development and informal education working in Egypt at the Ford Foundation, the Canadian International Development Agency, Population Council, and the Arab Education Forum. She did her undergraduate work at the American University in Cairo and received her MPH at Boston University.
Karim El Mantawi, Outreach Officer
Karim was born in Egypt and raised in Sri Lanka, the United States, India, Austria and Japan. He holds an MA in Media, Peace and Conflict Studies from the University for Peace in Costa Rica. Karim’s professional experience lies in print media, video production and youth media.
Merva Faddoul, Network Manager
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Merva graduated from Lebanese American University and then went on to receive her Masters degree in Film and Interactive Media Production from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. Merva has worked in Jordan, Lebanon and the US.
Soha Gad, Cairo IT Manager
Soha Gad is an experienced IT executive with close to 15 years of field and operations experience. She worked as Project Manager in EGID NASDAQ OMX, for the 1st Egyptian Back office hosted solution for Egyptian brokers. Prior to EGID, Soha was the IT Manager at Mobinil where she was mainly responsible for the IT infrastructure; she also played a major role in the creation of the Data warehouse system, Ebill System & the Data Center relocation project. Soha holds a PMP from the PMI in the US. She is also a certified IT Manager & ITIL professional from EXIN. She has attended and participated in several technical, IT and Management trainings in Egypt & UK.
Waidehi Gokhale, Program Manager
Waidehi has several years of experience working in the fields of psychology and development with a focus on children and youth. Prior to her work with Soliya, she has worked as an International Projects Manager with War Child Canada, a facilitator and researcher with the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation and as a counselor on staff for two high schools in the Greater Boston Area. She received her undergraduate degree in Literature and Philosophy from the University of York, UK, a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Boston College and a Master’s in International Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. Waidehi is committed to the transformation of conflict through the empowerment of children and youth.
Lily Hanson, Operations Coordinator
Lily, a California native, received her B.A. in Intercultural Communications from Global College of Long Island University. She has traveled extensively around the world focusing her attention on identity construction, dialogue, and world religion. Lily recently finished her thesis entitled “Facilitating Dialogue: the Impact of New Media of Middle Eastern and American Youth.”
Reem Marto, Outreach Manager
Born in Jordan, Reem grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and received her Master's degree at Princeton University's department of Near Eastern Studies. Reem has studied Arabic in Damascus, Turkish in Istanbul, and earned a one-year fellowship at the Center for Arabic Study Abroad at the American University in Cairo. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Middle East Studies and International Studies from Emory University.
Nerine Massoud, Program Coordinator
Nerine was born and raised in Egypt to Saudi Arabian and Syrian parents. She recently received her Bachelors degree from the American University in Cairo in Political Science with a specialization in Public International Law along with minors in History and Psychology. As an undergraduate she spent six months attending a pre-law program at the Universiteit van Amsterdam in the Netherlands and has been an active participant in extra curricular activities including Model United Nations and Model Arab league in Cairo and National Model Arab League in Washington.
Jennifer Merschdorf, Director of Finance
Jennifer has over 10 years of experience working with non-profits to better their strategic thinking, operational systems, and fundraising efforts. Jennifer most recently served as the Director of Development for New Yorkers for Parks where she was responsible for raising over $1.7 million in annual funding. Prior to New Yorker’s for Parks, Jennifer worked as the Director of Operations, Finance and Communications in the Office of Advancement where she managed all of the operational details for the second largest department in the national Sierra Club. Jennifer holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco and a BA from Washington State University.
Waleed Nassar, Operations Manager
Waleed was born in Cairo, Egypt and graduated with a Bachelor in Journalism & Mass Communications from the American University in Cairo. He has extensive experience in interactive media and has worked with local NGOs in using interactive media as a tool for development. He was also featured as a new media artist from Egypt in the website of the Middle East Youth Initiative (MEYI) of Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings. He enjoys sitting at an 'ahwa' (local coffeeshop), having a conversation with people while drinking tea with mint.
Deena Ramadan, Program Coordinator
An Egyptian-American born and raised in Staten Island, New York, Deena moved back to Cairo, Egypt with her family to finish her high school and university education. In June 2008, she graduated from the American University in Cairo (AUC) with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a specialization in Public International Law. At AUC, Deena was a very active participant, holding various delegate and secretariat positions, in both the National and Cairo Model United Nations and the Model Arab League. Prior to working with Soliya, Deena was an Economic Researcher for the Trade-Related Assistance Center at the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.
Katja Riikonen, Facilitation Officer
Katja's academic background is in International Relations and Peace and Conflict Studies. After completing an MA in International Conflict Analysis she has worked for the Finnish Foreign Office and as an intercultural mediator. In addition to working at Soliya, Katja is currently a PhD researcher in the Peace Studies department in the University of Bradford, UK.
Cheryl Steed, Director of Development
Cheryl joins Soliya with several years of experience raising funds for non-profit organizations. Most recently, she worked as a Major Gifts Officer of the International Rescue Committee, a leading international humanitarian organization devoted to serving refugees and displaced families around the globe. Prior to that, Cheryl worked at Seeds of Peace where she was responsible for securing private support from foundations and individuals to empower young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance peace and reconciliation. As Director of Development of Soliya, Cheryl oversees all aspects of fundraising including support from foundations, corporations, and individuals.
David Young, Facilitation Officer
An Atlanta native, David received a Master's Degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. He has worked for the the Carter Center, the Israel Policy Forum, the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, and the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia. He has spent extended periods of time working and researching in the Balkans, the Caucasus, West Africa and Israel/Palestine. He has been a regular guest on Voice of America television, an election monitor in the Former Soviet Union for the OSCE, and a blogger for the Huffington Post. His writing has appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Le Monde Diplomatique, Beirut's Daily Star, PostGlobal and elsewhere. He blogs at justwars.org.