Expert on Gender, Work, and Family to Head WANA Region 
Photo credit: Patrick O’Leary, © 2005 Regents of the University of Minnesota. Reprinted with permission. |
Egyptian-American Ragui Assaad is the Population Council’s new regional director for programs and research in West Asia and North Africa (WANA). He will oversee activities in Egypt and other Arab countries as well as Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. Assaad, age 46, succeeds Barbara Ibrahim, who stepped down earlier this year after nearly 14 years as regional director. In 1983, the Council awarded Assaad a Middle East Research Award, helping to launch his career in the social sciences. Over the past 14 years, he has collaborated with Council staff in Cairo and New York on projects related to youth livelihoods, child labor, women’s paid work, and the empowerment of adolescent girls. He currently is a professor at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. The holder of a B.Sc. in physics and an M.Sc. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, Assaad also earned a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from Cornell University. “We are pleased to have Dr. Assaad on board,” said Anrudh Jain, acting vice president of the Population Council’s International Programs Division. “His proven leadership capabilities, his vast research experience in Egypt and other countries in the region, and his commitment to improving capacities of regional researchers and policy analysts will be an asset to the Council and to all those who benefit from the Council’s work.” Assaad will be based in the Cairo office, beginning in July 2005. He will direct a wide range of research and programs in eight countries. (Return to issue contents)
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