Rick Rendon

Founder, Empower Peace

 

Mr. Rendon is the founder of Empower Peace and Senior Partner of The Rendon Group, a Boston based communications firm that specializes in public affairs campaigns. Empower Peace was founded on the premise that young people, through communication and the promotion of cultural understanding, could help pave the way for peace. Mr. Rendon holds strong to the belief that our future generation has the ability to effect change and that they hold the key to breaking down the cultural barriers that threaten to divide the Western, Muslim and Arab worlds.

 

Throughout his career, Mr. Rendon has taken great pride in creating and developing innovative community-based initiatives and social campaigns. Working with community leaders and activists, Mr. Rendon helped create and organize the world’s largest school-based racial harmony campaign. For seven years “TEAM HARMONY” brought over 15,000 middle and high school students from throughout New England to discuss the issues of hatred and prejudice and to develop programs to promote diversity and harmony in schools and communities region wide. Team Harmony’s keynote speakers have included former United States President Bill Clinton, United States Senator and former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, former United States Attorney General Janet Reno, and the Reverend Bernice King (daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.)

 

Mr. Rendon was also the creator and co-founder of the school-based program, “UNITED WE STAND FOR AMERICA”. This program was developed post 9/11 to provide youth with an opportunity to express their emotions and feelings in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Students from throughout Massachusetts were recruited to create individual messages of peace, hope, and patriotism on six-inch tiles of red, white and blue fabric. This fabric was then assembled to create a giant quilt of an American flag (nearly half the size of a football field). Over 700 schools and 50,000 students participated in this program.

 

Mr. Rendon, working with the Islamic Society of Boston, the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, and the Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes, developed the “OUTNUMBER THE HATE” campaign. This Massachusetts school-based campaign encouraged students to rally against hate, prejudice and intolerance experienced by Muslim and Arabs in the United States post 9.11. In response to the 1,700 hate crimes reported against Muslims and Arabs living in America, Massachusetts students responded by creating OVER 1,700 messages of respect, diversity and tolerance.

 

In addition to over twenty five years of experience as a senior communications consultant, Mr. Rendon served previously as a Public Information Officer for the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and as a member of United States President Jimmy Carter’s national political staff.

 

Mrs. Mona A. Al Alami

Director, Jordanian Center for Civic Education Studies

 

Mrs. Al Alami has been the Director of the Jordanian Center for Civic Education Studies (JCCES) in Amman since 2003. Mrs. Al Alami holds a B.A. in Economics from the UK and an M.A. in Education from the USA. She started her professional career in the field of teaching in Saudi Arabia then in Jordan before assuming school management responsibilities at various levels in both countries. In that capacity she developed courses and introduced advanced teaching methods including the utilization of multi-media materials. Among her achievements was the development of interactive processes to engage students, teachers and staff to introduce new courses and pilot experimental programs. Since assuming her responsibilities at the JCCES, Mrs. Al Alami has initiated, managed and evaluated programs focusing on youth and Civic Education in public and private schools and universities in Jordan. Mrs. Al-Alami has an extensive experience in managing grants by USAID and the U.S. Department of State in addition to other grants funded by local and international donors. She also has an extensive experience in influencing educational policies and practices in the Middle East and North Africa in general, and in civil society, local governance and gender programs. She has experience in managing staff and negotiating political, cultural and social issues in national, regional and international networks. Mrs. Al Alami participated in various international conferences and workshops in South America, Europe, The Gulf States and the Middle East within her various fields of interest.

Leadership in Action

 

SOS Children’s Village

SOS Children's Village Association of Jordan is a local, private, non-political, non-governmental, and independent social development organization. It was established in 1983, and cares for 332 Jordanian orphaned and abandoned children, in three Villages: Amman, Aqaba, Irbid and seven Youth Houses in Amman, Irbid and Aqaba.

 

SOS in Jordan is one of the organizations that cares for the largest number of disadvantaged children in the Kingdom. SOS concept pioneered a family approach and long-term care for needy and abandoned children.

 

SOS works in the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and promotes these rights around the world. SOS concept is based on four principles: The Mother, Brothers and Sisters, the House and the Village. SOS Amman and Irbid Villages consist of 12 family houses, and SOS Aqaba Village consists of 8 family houses. Each house cares for 9 brothers and sisters. The 9 children in each family house are cared for by their SOS mother who provides them with love, security and warmth. The children live together like a natural family.

 

Following our theme of “Leadership in Action,” W2W – Jordan participants boarded a bus and headed north toward Irbid where they spent the day volunteering at the SOS Children’s Village. This uniquely designed foster care system, serving 96 orphans, offers children a loving home and a lifelong community support system. The village is comprised of twelve homes each headed by an unmarried woman who has made a lifelong commitment to caring as a mother for up to eight children.

 

To prepare for the day, W2W participants broke into groups and designed activities to teach the children. The kids were very excited to have new playmates for the day! After several hours of games and activities, everyone enjoyed a tasty lunch together and was treated to a Depka performance – a traditional Jordanian folk dance.

 

In the afternoon, each group of young women paired up with a family and helped them decorate a keepsake quilt. As the kids were finishing their crafts, conference participants snuck down to the office where tables of gifts they had collected prior to the trip were separated into piles for boys and for girls. With arms full of toys, the groups gave each child a small present to thank them for their hospitality.

 

The day was a tremendously rewarding experience for everyone involved. The children, who live far from Amman, do not

usually receive large groups of visitors. The young women felt both useful and gratified for having volunteered with the families.

Todd Patkin

President, Todd G. Patkin Companies

 

After graduating from Tufts University in 1987, Todd entered the family automobile parts business. For over 18 years, he along with his brother Roger and his father Steve (the founder) worked together and grew Foreign Autopart and later Autopart International into one of the premiere wholesale automobile parts businesses in the country. The company was sold in September of 2005 to Advance Autoparts enabling Todd to leave the company and put all of his time and energy into what he loves most...spending each day trying to help as many people as he can. Today, Todd runs the Todd G. Patkin Companies with investments in several different businesses many of which were started by friends who needed a little bit of help. In terms of Todd's charities, he focuses on inner city children, the State of Israel and how to facilitate more open dialogue through out America concerning the topic of depression. Todd is a cofounder of the Operatunity Performing Arts Center in Foxboro, MA, he funded Gary Marino's Million Calorie March from Florida to Boston and its now the executive producer along with Gary for Million Calorie March the movie. Todd also sits on many for profit as well as not for profit boards including the executive committee boards for both the Jewish National Fund locally and nationally, the New England Board of the Anti Defamation League and the American Friends Board for Yemin Orde. Todd has been married to and in love with Yadira since October 1991 and Todd and Yadira have Joshua an amazing thirteen-year-old son.

 

Leadership In Action

 

Queen Rania Family and Child Center

The Queen Rania Family and Child Center (QRFCC), a pioneering new innovative approach to an Arab model of a community center, was established in the year 2005 in Jabal Al-Naser area to provide services and support to families under risk and to educate children on child abuse and child rights.  The center adopts an ecological model of comprehensive and integrated services to incorporate the cultural context, to serve the community, the family and the individual (parent/child) in the process of social change and securing child rights.  A multifaceted and comprehensive approach is used to address the multiple risk factors associated with child rights, while identifying protective factors that enhance family functioning. The Center demonstrates multiple models to families and children for healthy interaction that meet the needs of a multicultural diverse population and provide hands-on training for different professionals (e.g. teachers, counselors and nurses).

 

The Center combines awareness, early childhood development, parenting, children’s self-protection and professional training to build and strengthen the skills of local community members. Target groups include children, parents and expecting parents, professionals, paraprofessionals, youth and university students seeking practicum opportunities with emphasis on early childhood development, social services, counseling and psychology.  Programs of the center tend to provide services that enhance the self-control, self-confidence, and satisfaction of family members. Wellness is more to the family than the absence of conflict; it is rather achieved in the presence of supportive, affectionate and gratifying parent-child relationship, as well as a home environment that is conducive to the positive development of children.  Services of the Center will be integrated with support for families, adult learning and professional development.

 

1,000 Voice of the Future Broadcast

 

Cyba Audi

Senior Presenter, Al-Arabiya News Channel

 

Cyba Audi is the face of business news at Al-Arabiya News Channel. Cyba produces and presents al-Aswaq al-Arabiya, the highest rated business news show on Arab television; a show she helped conceptualize and launch in force in June 2005.

 

As an anchor, Cyba is well known for her insightful coverage and detailed analysis. But it is her hard talk style of interviewing of influential personalities and business leaders that has earned her her position as the premier business television anchor in the Arab world. As a reporter, Cyba has traveled across the Arab world for live coverage of prominent business events and conferences.

 

Prior to her career in television, Cyba had worked for 10 years as a financial consultant, most recently with Merill Lynch in London from where she advised High Net Worth Individuals. Her extensive experience and travels around the world as a financial consultant helped Cyba become an authority on Arab financial markets.

 

She is in demand as a host and moderator of conferences and business workshops. Furthermore, Cyba is a main contributor to the Arabic edition of BusinessWeek. She writes an opinion column.

 

Cyba is a strong advocate of women’s active participation in business across the Arab and Muslim worlds. Recently she was invited to address the Gulf Business Women Forum in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

 

Among her hobbies are reading literature, listening to classical music, yoga, skiing, swimming, travel, and cooking.

 

Cyba is a business graduate of the American University of Beirut. She lives in Dubai and is a mother to two girls, Yasmeena and Genna.

 

Her Excellency Maha Khatib

Jordanian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities

 

Her Excellency Maha Khatib is the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Prior to Her Excellency's appointment, she was the Director General of the Jordan River Foundation (JRF), a Jordanian non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 1995 and chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah. The JRF's mission is to support sustainable social, economic, and cultural programs that empower communities and individuals based on their needs. From 2006 to 2007, H.E. Khatib served as advisor to Her Majesty Queen Rania.  From 1993 to 1997, she served as National Program Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), whose goal is to strengthen women’s empowerment and gender equality.  H.E. Khatib was also the National Project Manager for the Women in Development project from 1991 to 1993.  She served as the Unit Chief of Private Sector and Investment Unit at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation from 1987 until 1990.  In 1984 she worked at an English Literature professor at The Arab Community College in Amman.

 

Dr. Safwan Masri

Professor, Columbia University

 

Dr. Safwan M. Masri is Professor at the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University, and Director of the Columbia University Middle East Research Center. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of King’s Academy and of Queen Rania Teacher Academy.

 

Professor Masri joined the Decision, Risk, and Operations Faculty at Columbia Business School in July 1988, and was appointed Vice Dean of Columbia Business School in January 1993. He served as Vice Dean, MBA Program Director, and Faculty Director of the Samberg Institute for Teaching Excellence through December 2005.

 

Professor Masri earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University in 1982; his Master of Science in Industrial Engineering also from Purdue in 1984; and his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University in 1988.

 

Dr. Masri was a Visiting Professor at INSEAD in 1990 and 1991. He has also held teaching positions at Stanford University and Santa Clara University. Professor Masri was honored with the Singhvi Professor of the Year for Scholarship in the Classroom Award in 1990, the Robert W. Lear Service Award in 1998, and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence in a Core Course in 2000. He has also been honored with the 2003 American Service Award from the American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC).

 

Professor Masri is Trustee of International College and of the National Children’s Museum in Jordan, and is Director of a number of non-profit organizations and a former Director of the Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA). Professor Masri has also served as Director of ARAMEX International Corporation and the Nuqul Group of Companies.

 

Professor Masri’s areas of expertise include Middle East business and economy with an emphasis on reform in the education and economic sectors; supply chain management; technological change management in the financial services industry; and manufacturing flexibility and its impact on firm performance.

 

Dr. Rula Quawas

Consultant for International Relations and Programs/Knowledge Production

Jordanian National Commission for Women

 

Upon graduation with a Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of North Texas in the USA, Rula Quawas began teaching a wide array of undergraduate and graduate courses pertaining to American Literature in the English Department at the University of Jordan. She is the first one to introduce and teach feminist courses in the English Department, focusing on American feminism and its warm affiliations with Arab feminism. She also teaches Arab feminism and contemporary Arab women writers in translation to CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) students at the University. Her research focuses on feminist readings of American and Arabic texts written by women writers. She has written and published numerous essays in English on Willa Cather, Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin, Ellen Glasgow, Agnes Smedley, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Emily Dickinson, Marilyn French, Doris Lessing, Nawal El-Saadawi, and Huda Shaarawi, to name a few only. She is called upon frequently to give inspirational talks to women on a variety of issues related to Arab women.

 

She also gives seminars on Presentation Skills and Personal Development at the Institute of Diplomacy in Jordan and at other institutes in the Middle East. She is often invited to give lectures on Arab feminism in the USA, the last of which was at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She serves on several committees that aim to support and promote awareness of women’s issues and to enhance women’s participation in all sectors of society. She has founded the Women’s Studies Center at the University of Jordan and was its Director for two years, 2006-2008. She is committed to empowering women and community members to become strong advocates for gender equity and social justice. Now, she is a Consultant for International Relations and Programs/Knowledge Production at the Jordanian National Commission for Women. Her dream is to forge new pathways and to see women fulfill their aspirations and become what they are capable of becoming. Rula Quawas strongly believes that dreams do come true.

 

Samar Haj Hasan

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Mahara - Professional Consultancies in Development

 

Samar Haj Hasan is the co-founder and managing partner of Mahara "professional consultancies in development," which is the first consultancy firm in Jordan that provides comprehensive services in the field of social and human development. As a social entrepreneur, Samar established Mahara to contribute to the social sustainability in Jordan by providing professional services to the sector of social development, such services include research and surveys, data base development, monitoring and evaluation, training, project management and services related to Corporate Social Responsibility where Mahara aims to provide companies with well researched and strategic advice to identify and solve CSR challenges through social responsible business policies and practices.

 

Mrs. Haj Hasan has an educational background in International Business Administration and Marketing from the American University in Switzerland. She started her career in 1987 as a business woman, she owned and managed a business services and employment center, and before that she was a partner in silverware privately owned business. In 1998 she started working in the development sector, during which she has been exposed to national and international development experiences. Her working experience at the Jordan River Foundation as a Manager of the Child Safety Program, at the National Council for Family Affairs as a Deputy Secretary General and a Board Member in addition to her participation in different conferences and committees, provided her with the knowledge and expertise to understand the social and human development from the levels of implementation and policy development. Mrs. Haj Hassan participated in several national committees including the national committee for the development of the Youth Strategy, the Social Network Committee of the National Agenda for Jordan, The National Committee for the development of the National Strategy for the Jordanian Family and the Management Team of the National Project for Family Protection. At a regional level Mrs. Haj Hasan has worked closely with the Arab League as a member the regional advisory committee to develop the Arab Strategy for the family.

 

Mrs. Haj Hasan ran for parliament elections in 2007. Although she did not get the seat, but she established records as the highest number of votes a woman ever gets in the Amman Governorate and the third among the entire woman in Jordan during the 2007 elections, in addition she gained recognition as a professional woman who conducted the most professional election campaign. Mrs. Haj Hasan is strong advocate for women, youth and children issues and the wellbeing of the family in general. In 2008 Mrs. Haj Hasan was elected as a board member at the Young Entrepreneurs Association, and the SOS villages.

 

Lina Sidrys Nealon

Program Manager of "Demand Abolition," Hunt Alternatives Fund

 

Ms. Nealon is the Program Manager of "Demand Abolition," a new initiative by the Hunt Alternatives Fund to combat human trafficking and, more specifically, tackle the issue of demand which drives the industry. Lina formerly served as a policy specialist and trainer for Initiative for Inclusive Security, a research and advocacy organization that promotes the full participation of all stakeholders - especially women - in peace processes. She has conducted capacity-building workshops for women leaders in government and civil society around various aspects of conflict prevention, resolution, and reconstruction in conflict areas such as Palestine, Afghanistan, and Liberia. In addition to working closely with the Women Waging Peace Network of over 500 women peacebuilders from over 40 countries, Ms. Nealon focuses her efforts on United Nations advocacy work and Liberian women's engagement in security sector reform. Ms. Nealon graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame, earning a BA in Political Science with a Concentration in International Peace Studies. Lina is an active member of the Lithuanian- American community, specifically mentoring students and engaging them on social justice issues. Along with her husband, Boston bookstore owner Brian Nealon, Lina has organized over 10,000 books to be sent to Liberia and Afghanistan. Lina is fluent in French and Lithuanian Initiative for Inclusive Security.

 

Global Village

 

Her Excellency Hala Lattouf

Minister of Social Development

 

Mrs. Lattouf has over 15 years of senior-level international experience ranging from private sector corporations to the World Bank and UNDP. She has held several senior positions within the Jordanian Government serving as Secretary General for two Ministries (Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and Ministry of Public Sector Reform), as well as advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister. She was also Director of Her Majesty Queen Rania’s Office. Prior to assuming the position of Minister of Social Development, Mrs. Lattouf  was the Executive Director of World-Links Federation in Washington DC as well as of World Links Arab Region for two years.  World Links is an innovative, award-winning, and independent not-for-profit enterprise, spun off from the World Bank, which leverages the potential of technology to bring opportunity to youth around the world. Mrs. Lattouf earned her M.Sc. in International Accounting and Finance from London School of Economics and Political Science London, UK.

 

Valentina Qussisiya

Director General, Jordan River Foundation

 

Ms. Qussisiya possesses 16 years of professional experience in the corporate and NGO sectors.  Of major significance is her extensive experience with JRF in various aspects of strategic management and planning, budgeting, resource development, communication and integration of private sector into community development. Ms. Qussisiya holds a masters degree in management studies with a focus on applying business process re-engineering on income-generating projects.

 

Prior to heading the Jordan River Foundation, Ms. Qussisiya headed the resource development department that lead the Jordan River Foundation’s fundraising efforts among individual donors, seeks sponsorships from major corporations and funding institutions for programs, manages volunteers and organizes fundraising events, official launches and cornerstone activities pertaining to JRF’s project needs on local, regional and international levels.  Additionally, this department implemented media campaigns to effectively position the Foundation in the minds of local communities and other stakeholders as a leading force empowering society and protecting children.  Two major campaigns on child abuse and empowering generations were implemented by Ms. Qussisiya over the past three years.