Prof. John Dabeet
(Previous board position: President)

John Dabeet was born in Jerusalem, Palestine. Prof. John Dabeet is the Business Department chair and a distinguished professor of Economics and … learn more >>

Fuad Ateyeh
(Previous board position: Treasurer)

Fuad Ateyeh is an entrepreneur and real estate investor based in San Francisco, California. Fuad was born in Saris, Palestine and immigrated to the United States in 1969 … learn more >>

Samiah Bahhur
(Previous board position: Secretary)

Samiah Bahhur is a Regulatory and Government Affairs expert and certified PAC Manager. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management and a Master’s of … learn more >>

Abed Elghouleh

Mr. Ghouleh was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and has a Master of Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of … learn more >>

Maher Abdelqader

Mr. Abdelqader, is a Certified Construction Manager (CCM), has over 30 years of experience being a corporate & Executive office in leading engineering firms in the area of management and … learn more >>

Faten Shellbayeh

President and CEO, We Care Elderly Care Services. Faten is a PhD. Candidate at UMASS/ Boston in Public Policy and holds a degree in Education and healthcare … learn more >>

Dr. Khalil Barhoum
(Previous board position: President)

Khalil Barhoum was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, after his family was driven out of their hometown Al-Malha, a suburb of Jerusalem, in 1948 following the establishment of Israel. He came to the U.S. on a Rotary International scholarship where he earned his first Master's degree in English Literature.

He earned a second Master's and a Ph.D. degree in Linguistics from Georgetown University. Upon graduating from Georgetown, he joined Stanford University in California and taught in the Department of Linguistics. Currently, he is Coordinator of its Program of African and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures in the Division of Cultures, Literatures, and Languages.

Dr. Barhoum is a frequent visitor to the Middle East and is a keen observer of its societies, politics, and cultures.

He has been widely interviewed on American radio and TV, and has been invited to speak nationally and internationally on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. His publications dealing with these issues have appeared in local, national, and international  journals.

Dr. Barhoum served as national President of AAUG (the Association of Arab-American University Graduates) and twice served as the organization’s president of the California Chapter. He also served as Chair of the Council of Presidents of Arab American  Organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and as president of the ADC Chapter in Northern California. More recently he co-founded and was co-chair of the Palestinian American Coalition in the Bay Area. Presently he is a member of the international advisory board of UPA (United Palestinian Appeal).

Dr. Barhoum is married and has three children.

Prof. John Dabeet
(Previous board position: Vice President)

John Dabeet was born in Jerusalem, Palestine. Prof. John Dabeet is the Business Department chair and a distinguished professor of Economics and … learn more >>

Dr. Bishara Bahbah
(Previous board position: Vice President)

Dr. Bahbah is a native of Jerusalem and a son of Palestinian refugees. After completing his PhD at Harvard University at the age of 25, he returned to Jerusalem as the … learn more >>

Shukri Taha
(Previous board position: Treasurer)

Shukri Taha is a Palestinian American who was born in New Jersey and grew up in a small town called Deir Debwan near the city of Ramallah, Palestine. Mr. Taha is a former president for six years of a Non-profit organization called Deir Debwan Charity. He is also a current Palestinian National Council member, a founding member of US Palestinian Council and served on the board of other Palestinian Organizations such as the Coalition of Palestinian American Organizations and the Palestinian American Congress. He has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and a Masters in Engineering Management. Currently he serves as a Primary Examiner for the United States Patent and Trademark Office, he lives in CA with his wife and two boys Mohammed and Rami.

Samiah Bahhur
(Previous board position: Secretary)

Samiah Bahhur is a Regulatory and Government Affairs expert and certified PAC Manager.  She has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management and a Master’s of Business Administration in Management and Leadership.

Currently she serves in an appointed position in Loudoun as Commissioner on Aging and previously was a Consumer Protection Commissioner whereby she was awarded a certificate of appreciation for her dedicated service to the people of Fairfax County.  Samiah is a co-founder and on the board (Executive Secretary) of the Coalition of Palestinian American Organizations, she was President of the ADC Greater Washington, D.C. Chapter in 2007, and in 2004 Samiah became the first woman to be elected President of El-Bireh Palestine Society, Greater Washington, D.C.  Samiah contributed to the success of the Northern Virginia Arab American Candidate’s Night Committee for 10 years and was awarded the “Distinguished Community Leadership Award” by the New Dominion PAC for her service to the Arab American community. She also served on the AAI National Leadership Council and served as a Board member on the American Task Force on Palestine. Samiah is also a founding father of the American Palestinian Club and served on the Executive Committee.  In 1989 through 1991 she was elected Michigan State President of the American Medical Association Auxiliary.  She also was elected as the Chairman of Public Relations for the St. Clair County American Red Cross, Chairman of St. Clair County Junior Achievement, and Chairman of the YMCA Support a Child Campaign.

Abder-Rahman El-Ghouleh 

Mr. Ghouleh was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and has a Master of Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, both in Electrical Engineering.  Professionally, Mr. Ghouleh is currently an independent engineering consultant specializing in the fields of energy, power, distribution, automation and controls. Previously, he worked nearly 30 years at a municipal government agency, where he was Project Manager of multi-million dollar engineering projects. He also has been active in many professional engineering organizations.

Mr. Ghouleh is currently serving on the Executive Committee of the American Middle East Voters Alliance (AMVOTE) and is the Endorsement Committee Chair.  He previously served as Voter Empowerment Committee Chair helping promote voter registration, voter information and education.

He currently serves on a County Sheriff's Advisory Council where he assisted the Sheriff's Department in launching a "Discrimination and Hate Crime Hotline". He has previously served on the Illinois State Treasurer's Community Affairs Council.

Abder has served as the Chicago Chapter President of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) for two years and many other years as a board member.  His work there included fighting for an end to discrimination and profiling.

Mr. Ghouleh is a founding member and a Past President and Past Chairman of the Arab American Association Engineers and Architects (AAAEA) and held many other board positions within that organization, serving in some capacity since its inception in 1996. After 9 years on the Executive Board and completing two terms as President, he joined the Board of Trustees and served two years as its Chairman. He has worked on the establishment of AAAEA chapters and student chapters throughout the U.S. He currently serves as a National Director.

He is a past President of the Lifta Association-Chicago, a Palestinian social and cultural community organization in Chicago, and served on its Board for 14 years.  He also contributed as the English Editor for Al-Offok Al-Arabi Newspaper, an Arabic-English publication that reached a wide community audience.

Abder is an independent activist for Palestinian rights; an original board member of the Coalition of Palestinian American Organizations (CPAO) and currently on the Executive Board.  Abder is married with four children.

Adeeb Alzanoon

Adeeb Alzanoon served as an auditor for 17 years and three years as a Research Specialist with California Public Employees Retirement System, CalPERS. During that time, he participated in complex and sensitive public agencies audits and many special projects at CalPERS. Prior to that Mr. Alzanoon came to CalPERS with five years of experience in auditing and investment. Mr. Alzanoon was raised in Kuwait before attending California State University, Sacramento and graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Management. Currently Mr. Alzanoon is the Chair of Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights and the finance officer at Palestine American League.

Basem Hishmeh

Born in Jerusalem, Palestine, and immigrated to the US in 1957. Basem obtained his BSME from Case Institute of Technology in 1962 and obtained an MBA from Case Western Reserve University in 1969. He has served on the boards of several charitable and not-for-profit organizations and is a former President of USPC. He has worked in managerial and executive positions in the Cleveland area and in Saudi Arabia. He has owned and operated his own companies in New Jersey, S. Korea, China and Palestine.

Dr. Najat Arafat Khelil

Dr. Khelil is the chairperson of the Board of Directors of KTH (Know Thy Heritage), Chairwoman of the Board of Director of NAAWA (National Arab American Women’s Association) and is a member of UPA International Advisory Board. Formerly, Dr. Khelil served as the National president of the Palestinian American Congress, president of the Arab Women’s Council Research and Education Fund, National President of ROOTS the Palestinian Youth Organization, president of Union of Palestinian American Women and co-coordinator of the Dialogue Project between American Jewish and Palestinian Women.

Dr. Khelil received a PhD in Nuclear Physics from North Texas State University, Denton, Texas where she was the first woman to get such a degree in the state of Texas. Dr. Khelil taught at Texas A&M University, Bryan, Texas, North Texas State University, University of Algiers, Shaw U in Raleigh, North Carolina and George Washington University. She was a “Visiting Researcher” at the National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD. Dr. Khelil was involved in many NGOs that worked for peace in the Middle East; she formerly served as a board member of the following organizations: Partners for Peace, National Board of Directors of the Rainbow Coalition, Board of Directors of U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East, and member of the executive committee of the United Nations’ North American Coordinating Committee for the Non-Governmental Organizations on the Question of Palestine. Dr. Khelil participated as a speaker in many national and international conferences: she was a member of the Palestinian delegation to the first dialogue conference between Palestinian leaders and Israelis “The Road to Peace”: Co-Existence Between Israelis and Palestinians, at Columbia University 1989; “Give Peace a Chance”: Women Speak Out, Brussels Belgium, the Jerusalem Link conference: “Sharing Jerusalem: Two Capitals for Two States”, Jerusalem, also was a member of the U.S. Presidential delegation to the Taba l Peace Agreement Signing in Cairo. Dr. Khelil was twice listed in Marquis “Who’s Who of American Women” and Who’s Who in the Arab-American Community. She was the recipient of Life Time Achievement Award by the American Task Force on Palestine as well as” Honoree of the Palestinian American Community” awarded by the General Delegation of the PLO to the United States. Dr. Khelil is married with two children and seven grandchildren.