Professional Experience

• Research Assistant           

2003                           United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees                              Jerusalem, Israel
Conducted investigations into refugee’s claims for asylum within Israel and related countries. Trained in investigative interviewing techniques aimed at uncovering illegitimate claims for asylum. Arranged the provision of refugee services with various non-government organizations, who were service providers, and coordinated relations with associated NGO’s, which increased my knowledge of UN organizations as well as interdepartmental methods for cooperation.

• Director of Israel Experience and Scholarship Services      

2000-2002                   Columbus Jewish Federation                                                 Columbus, OH
Organized yearly Jewish youth experiences in Israel including; scholarship management, participant screening, and grant evaluations for a non-profit organization. Learned grant writing techniques and budgetary management skills for the Israel Experience Fund, whose budget is $2 million. Introduced pre and post trip programming to enhance the extent of participants experience and foster communal involvement in Israeli affairs. Acquired skills in large scale event planning for annual campaign including organizing a day of fundraising for “Super Sunday” as well as creating activities to incorporate members. Sunday successfully recruited over 400 volunteers and raised $74,000 for community projects. 

• Editor-in- Chief                

1999-2000                   International Executive Housekeepers Assn.                        Columbus, OH
Performed all layout and design work for a monthly trade magazine, which helped increase my project management skills through increased publication size as well as readership of 11,000 members. Budget increase of 400% helped develop my skills in handling departmental finances, as the increased size of publication, 300%, presented challenges in arranging articles, and recruiting writers. Introduced image overhaul to reinvigorate the publication as well as raising the level of journalism within the magazine, successfully increased readership by 40% during a five month period.

• Editor-in- Chief/ Reporter/ Staff            Part-time

1995-1998                   Chatham College, Communiqué                                            Pittsburgh, PA
Served as an apprentice journalist, learning layout skills, and developing my writing abilities. Promoted to Assistant Editor in 1996 and Chief Editor in 1997. Introduced an aggressive advertising campaign and introduced color photography to the newspaper. Gained initial management and teaching experience by conducting classes in layout and design techniques as well as coordinating writers, editors, advertising, etc. staff.

• Public Relations Associate/ Project Manager              Internship

1996-1999                   Hillel Foundation                                                                    Pittsburgh, PA
Created materials and programs to advertise Hillel on local college campuses, increasing participation by 15%. Managed FSU Passover Project, an annual student exchange program between Pittsburgh and the Former Soviet Union, for two years. Increased fundraising capital by 50% enabling twice as many participants from both countries to participate in local culture programs for the community of both areas. 

Education

2003-2004                               School of Orientalism and African Studies                     London, UK

MSC in Middle Eastern Government and Politics. Focused on economics, politics, and international affairs between Arab states with subsidiary work in their relations with external forces in the region and the West. Developed analytical skills in the numerous research projects conducted in labor migration, oil pricing, Shi’a dissidents in Iraq, etc.

2002-2003                               Hebrew University of Jerusalem                                       Jerusalem, Israel

Middle Eastern History and Politics course with emphasis on Arabic and Hebrew language courses as well as Islamic Islamic law, culture, and history. Participated in 16 hrs., weekly, of linguistic classes reaching the intermediate level of Arabic.

1995-1999                               Chatham College                                                                  Pittsburgh, PA

Obtained a BA in Political Science and Communications which focused on international relations with the Middle East. Dissertation examined media treatment of Arabs in order to detect a preconceived notion of their culture which could influence U.S. political policy.

1998                                        American University in Cairo                                            Cairo, Egypt

Intensive Arabic Language Program equivalent to one year program in both written and Egyptian colloquial Arabic.

Membership

2003-2004                               The Middle East Politics Society                                                 
Co-founded the society to organize lectures by specialists and panelists including; “A Clash of Images: Arab and Western Media in Perspective,” conflict mediation, and a variety of related topics.    

1998                                        Chatham College                                                                  Turkey
Participated in an intensive program, which examined the political situation, the Islamic culture, and history.

1997                                        L'Hopital Albert Schweitzer                                              Deschapelles, Haiti
Assisted in care of AIDS patients, reforestation projects, and renovation of hospital grounds. After the trips I assisted the college in promoting its continuance by contacting media and publicizing the event.

References Available Upon Request