Ohoud Wafi
Ohoud holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Cairo University as well as a master’s degree in comparative politics from Saint Joseph University in Beirut. She started her career in civil society in Egypt in 2012, when she became a Lazord Fellow. She is passionate about helping vulnerable groups, and believes in the role that governmental and non-governmental entities can play by working together to enhance the welfare of vulnerable groups. She has worked for several organizations, such as Nahdet El Mahrousa, Misr el Kheir Foundation, and Handicap International-Egypt, and has experience in implementing different projects relating to R&D, innovation, education, and the preservation of arts and culture.
Ohoud is currently working on a short mission as a research consultant at AUC, in cooperation with UNICEF Egypt and the Ministry of Social Solidarity. Her main role for this mission is to conduct qualitative research about social workers. She had a similar mission with Handicap International-Egypt, where she conducted a needs assessment for primary health care units in Greater Cairo, focusing on early detection and early intervention (EDEI) services. Dedicated to research, Ohoud has conducted mapping assignments and published reports about: citizenship education in Egypt, the phenomena of co-working spaces, challenges facing civil society in Egypt, and development in Shalatin.
Israa Attia
Israa is a proposal writer on sustainable development. She coordinates the, “Introducing life skills and citizenship education program in Libya,” which is funded by UNICEF Libya. In addition to that, she is responsible for drafting the Strategic Resources Development plan for running developmental programs in the MENA region. As a Lazord Fellow, she was placed at Ashoka Arab World, where she assisted in capacity building for leading social entrepreneurs in the Arab world region to help them scale their social impact. Due to her national and international experience in various fields such as social entrepreneurship, human rights, civic engagement, and economic empowerment, she has a comprehensive understanding of the challenges in the the MENA region. Israa is also an entrepreneur, having co-founded the Mok3ab coworking space in Egypt.
Ahmed Shehata
Ahmed started his experience in the field of development at the American University in Cairo by becoming the president of the Students in Action for Refugees club and teaching English as a volunteer. After graduating with a B.S. in chemistry from the American University in Cairo, he wanted to continue growing in this field, so he joined the Lazord Fellowship, focusing on STEM fields and youth. He did his training at Misr El Kheir’s GESR incubator project, in partnership with EU research and innovation, and received a diploma in entrepreneurship from the Euro-Mediterranean University. Ahmed is currently working at AMIDEAST Egypt with the U.S.-Egypt Higher Education Initiative scholarship program for students coming from low socio-economic backgrounds. Through his work, he sends public university student scholars on short-term study abroad semesters at U.S. universities so that they can take classes relevant to their majors and be exposed to people from different cultures and backgrounds.
Aya Sabry
Aya Sabry is the regional fellowship program manager at Ashoka Arab World. Her work involves supporting and working with Civil Society Organizations across the MENA region and Ashoka Fellows, who are the leading social entrepreneurs in the region, to expand their work and scale their impact. In 2017, Aya was recognized as a Professional Fellow by the US Department of State and worked in the Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism in Washington D.C. focusing on researching potential donors as well as evaluating proposals by CSOs in DC. Her main expertise includes research, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, dialogue facilitation and graphic design. Aya has an undergraduate degree in Applied Arts and upon graduation; she was awarded the Lazord Fellowship from the American University in Cairo due to her deep passion towards perusing a career in the development field. She also has a Diploma in NGO Management and a Diploma in Liberal Arts and Sciences and a master’s degree in development studies from the Institute of Development Studies at University of Sussex, United Kingdom
Ghaith Jawish
Ghaith traveled to Egypt to get a second degree and to explore different work environments. This led him to get a degree in commerce and to work in the broadcasting industry, working specifically on refugees issues in Syria and Africa. Throughout his career, he has conducted various workshops revolving around soft skills such as communication skills, leadership skills, etc. Moreover, his business writing skills and his experience in project management have proven to be useful at his job placement. In addition to that, he has immense knowledge on institutional development work. As an avid learner, he is concurrently doing an MBA in human resources while being a Lazord Fellow. Through the Lazord Fellowship, he has the opportunity to work with Drosos Foundation whose scope of work is similar to his interests in development.
Ghaith is also interested in Cairo’s architecture and history. Whenever he gets a chance, he tries to explore this multifaceted city and enjoy the savory cuisines.
Salma Karem
Salma has a bachelor’s degree in political science, and has a passion for making a positive impact on people’s lives, especially those who are in vulnerable situations or living on the margins of their societies. This is why she focuses mainly on refugee empowerment and providing access to quality education for all.
Her passion for civic engagement and education drove her to participate in many activities during her college years, including being a student union member and leading a team to design a mini-curriculum for a series of workshops that targeted first year university students, aiming to engage them with their new environment in college. After graduation, she joined the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to work on their educational projects funded by UNHCR to help refugee children have access to education in Egypt, and was highly involved with their projects regarding child protection.
Through the Lazord Fellowship, Salma was placed at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. She is working on their Employment Promotion Project, where she is continuing her passion in creating opportunities by helping technical and vocational graduates access the labor market.
Reem Gouda
Reem is a clinical pharmacist who graduated from Tanta University. She is passionate about volunteering and changing the community. She has been working in awareness and providing medical information to people since she started college. Through all of her experiences she has proven to herself that helping people and trying to find solutions to their problems is her first priority. Reem attended the World Health Assembly in Geneva in May 2017 and from this point on she knew that she wanted to be a part of actions towards achieving healthy lives and promoting wellness for all at all ages. She has been searching for opportunities since graduation, trying to learn and engage herself more in public health fields, especially in health prevention and promotion, as these are keys towards achieving better health for all people.
Omar Mostafa
Omar is a Lazord Fellow who was placed at Yomken.com as a program coordinator. He is a veterinarian and hopes to initiate his own social enterprise in the veterinary field to further develop this sector. The aim of this enterprise would be to deal with societal and technical challenges in the daily lives of veterinarians that hinder the development of veterinary medicine, which in result has a negative effect on animal health in Egypt.
Omar has always been interested in civic engagement represented in NGOs and organizations that have a real impact on the society. In 2018 he founded the first community for Egyptian veterinary students through the International Veterinary Student Association in Upper Egypt. His interest in entrepreneurship led him to be a part of the Hult Prize as an organization community coordinator in 2017.
Noha Negm
After earning her master’s degree in political science from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Noha came back home aspiring to enrich the fields of civic education and social integration. She started her career as an assistant lecturer at Cairo University’s department of political science while volunteering for refugee educational projects funded by UNICEF and UNHCR. As her ambitions grew stronger and her passions became more diverse, she saw that the Lazord Fellowship was an exceptional-just-in-time opportunity to explore civic engagement on a deeper level, while engaging with a remarkable community with whom she can share her ambitions and from whom she will definitely learn a great deal.
Through Lazord, Noha was able to land herself a position as Venture Research Assistant at Ashoka Arab World (AAW). At AAW, she is learning about and engaging with real changemakers in the Arab world on a daily basis. She considers this to be her first concrete step towards being a true changemaker herself.
Mohamed Basher
Mohamed is a training specialist with five years of experience, having been a trainer and cultural manager in many countries like Germany, Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt. Due to his multicultural working and living experiences he has high intercultural sensitivity that he is able to apply to his work. He has extensive experience in education and the development field with national and international NGOs, with particular emphases on organizational development, building leadership models, educational startups, business/corporate development and capacity building. He constantly aspires to be part of a community that aims to develop sustainable solutions. Through civic leadership his experience has enabled him to operate social projects, empower local communities, and implement resourceful solutions for a more inclusive community. Over the past four years he has participated in many programs aiming to achieve sustainable development in Egypt through educational, environmental, and social development aspects.