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gEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

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gEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

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About

The Team

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The GU MENA Forum

gEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

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About

The Team

Meet the Team

President | Rawan Chaker

Rawan is a second-year Master of Science in Foreign Service student. She was born and raised in Lebanon and has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies from the American University of Beirut. Rawan served as a Policy & Parliamentary Affairs Manager at the Lebanese Parliament. She led policy development efforts, national programs, and advisory projects centered on pertinent challenges facing youth in the country. Prior to that, she worked at the Ministry of Defense as an International & Legal Affairs Coordinator. Rawan founded her own NGO focused on community development, accessible and equitable employment opportunities to engage the most marginalized Lebanese youth. Currently, she is focusing on advocating peace, conflict resolution, and supporting prosperity in the Middle East. Rawan speaks English, French, and Arabic fluently.

Co-Vice President |

AlMoataz Shikhy

AlMoataz is a Libyan student in the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at Georgetown, concentrating on International Development. He has over 10 years of experience in the public sector, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations, with country experience in both Libya and the United States. AlMoataz holds a master's degree in public procurement from the University of Rome. He was a team member of the International Cooperation Department in the Ministry of Planning, which was responsible for development cooperation with the international community in Libya. AlMoataz also worked at the World Bank Group in Health and Social Protection. He was a key player in the first Health Reimbursable Advisory Service program signed by the Libyan government.


Co-Vice President |

Suhyla Behiry

Suhyla is a Master of Arts in Arab Studies candidate at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from New York University in 2022. At NYU, Suhyla was part of the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she crafted an interdisciplinary major, bringing an understanding of contemporary and comparative politics, international relations, history, religion, and sociology to the study of the modern Middle East. Suhyla was a member of the Gallatin Dean’s Honors Society, NYU’s University-wide Leadership Honors Cohort, and the Stevens Initiative Virtual Exchange program with Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed scholars.


As a Muslim-Arab-American, Suhyla is passionate about bridging between communities. She served on the executive board of Aftab, a magazine that documents the Muslim-American experience through literature and art. She also led research efforts for a cultural broker program at NYC ACS, serving as the 2021 Gallatin City Government Fellow to repair damaged relations between government entities and local Muslim communities.

Avraham Spraragen

Editor-in-Chief |

Avraham graduated with Distinction from Cornell University, where he majored in Government with a double minor in Near Eastern Studies and History. He previously studied Middle East politics and history at the London School of Economics, Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Avraham has addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland and interned at foreign policy think tanks worldwide.


Before Georgetown, Avraham was studying Arabic in Amman, Jordan. He is pursuing a dual J.D.-M.A. Arab Studies degree at Georgetown Law and Georgetown School of Foreign Service, respectively. He was selected by the Law Center as a Global Law Scholar and intends to serve as a Human Rights Associate at the Georgetown Human Rights Institute. In addition, Avraham is completing a Graduate Certificate in Refugees, Migration and Humanitarian Emergencies at the Georgetown Institute for the Study of International Migration. This semester, he is interning at the U.S. House of Representatives for his NY-04 Congresswoman.


Director of Events |

Nargis Azaryun

Nargis is a master's student of history at Georgetown University. She previously studied Political Science and Public Administration at the American University of Afghanistan. Nargis has over ten years of professional experience in program management and grantmaking. She has worked with several national and international organizations, volunteer groups, and political movements in Afghanistan.


Nargis started her professional career with Fredrick Ebert Stiftung as a program coordinator for gender and media. After that, she worked with the United Nations Population Fund as a program officer for grantmaking in areas of women's empowerment and youth engagement. She has also worked with Save the Children, War Child Canada, and Open Society Foundations. In her role with Open Society, she led a portfolio on countering intolerance and managed the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs for the Asia Pacific Regional Office.


Co-director of Communications |

Daniela Garza Mendoza

Daniela is a second-year Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) graduate student at Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreing Service. She is focusing on Global Business, Finance, and Society (GBFS) and has a passion for women’s empowerment and international development. She was born in Mexico City but was raised in Texas, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in International Relations, Anthropology, and Arabic at the University of Texas at Austin. During her time at UT, Daniela fell in love with the Arabic language and focused her studies on the MENA region. At Georgetown, Daniela has furthered her passion for the Middle East and pursues courses that incorporate regional studies.


This summer, she interned with FINCA Impact Finance, a microfinance company in Amman, Jordan. At FINCA she was part of the business development and marketing department, where she worked on several projects to improve FINCA’s business model and marketing operations. Daniela will live in the MENA region after graduation; her goal is to work for a consulting firm, based either in Dubai or Amman. Daniela speaks Spanish, English, and French fluently and possesses conversational fluency in Arabic.


Co-director of Communications | Hala Hawatmeh


Hala is a candidate in the Master's in Communication, Culture & Technology program at Georgetown. Hailing from a diverse background as an American-Jordanian, she also resided in Canada, where she completed the innovative Bachelor of Media Studies program at the University of British Columbia. Hala holds interdisciplinarity as the central perspective by which she approaches her academic and professional pursuits, to advocate effectively in the realms of global politics and development through modern media and communication.


Before pursuing her graduate studies at Georgetown, Hala most recently served as the Digital Communications and Coordination Associate at the United Nations in the Resident Coordinator’s Office of Amman, Jordan. She took on a cross-disciplinary role, including involvement in all communications activities in English and Arabic, while working closely with the Resident Coordinator and Head of Office in coordination with 17 UN Agencies in the Jordan Country Team. Hala took a special interest in the portfolios of Climate Action, Sustainability, and in mobilizing Jordanian youth, as designated by the Youth Focal Point.


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