Board of Trustees

The Board of the Friends School of Ramallah/el-Bireh enacts policies and procedures governing the School. The Board communicates regularly with the Director, Principals, Staff, Parents and the Department of Global Ministries of Friends United Meeting.

CONSTITUTION –BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Executive Board Members

Samer Shehadeh, the current Chairman of the BOT, is a businessman and senior manager of an insurance agency in Ramallah. Previously, he has worked for the World Health Organization in the West Bank.  He holds a B.A. degree in political science and political theory from George Washington University, an M.A. in International Relations from the David M. Kennedy Center of Brigham Young University, and an Advanced Degree in Law, Economics, and Psychology from Loughborough Technical College, England.

Joyce Ajlouny, School Director, has lived in Ramallah for most of her life. For fifteen years, she enjoyed an exciting career at the senior management level with international development and relief organizations, at the United Nations, and most recently as the Oxfam Great Britain Representative in Palestine.  She is a graduate of the Friends Boy School (1983) and mother of three boys attending the School.

Varsen Aghabekian acquired her PhD from the University of Pittsburg in Education and Administrative and Policy studies. She has spent over eighteen years in training, research, technical assistance and consultancies in the health and social sectors. She is currently the Director of Research and Planning at the Welfare Association, a grant making body that sponsors community support initiatives in education, health and environment. Prior to that appoint, Varsen served Al-Quds University as an associate professor and undertaken many consultancies for international bodies in her career. Varsen’s children are enrolled at the School

Jane Masri is a managerial and financial business executive with more than 15 years of experience in industry advocacy, strategic planning, communications and financial management, organizational structuring, and customer relations management.  Mrs. Masri holds a B.A. degree in Economics and English Literature from Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, USA.  Her appointment to the Board began in 2005/6.  She is an active parent with two daughters at the school.

Cairo Arafat is currently serving as the Director General of Aid Management and Coordination at the Ministry of Planning.  She holds a PhD in Psychology and an MA in Neuropsychology.  She has worked with various children relief organizations, included UNICEF and the Secretariat for Children and is a parent of children attending the School.

Mazen Karam is a civil engineer with over 30 years of extensive experience in engineering, construction, and management of civil, water, environmental, petrochemical and general building programs throughout the Middle East including Yemen, Gaza, West Bank, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia.  He is presently the Country Manager for Morganti Group, INC ( USA ) in Palestine , managing multi-million dollar projects.  Mr. Karam is an Alumnus of FBS and a parent at the school. His appointment as a Board member began in May 2006.

Issa Kassis is a respected banker and is currently the Manager of the HSBC Bank in Ramallah.  Mr. Kassis brings to the Board of Trustees many years of banking and finance experience from having worked in the sector in Jordan for a number of years.  His appointment as a Board member began in June 2006. 

Staff Representatives

Mahmoud Amra is a Friends School graduate. After obtaining his Masters degree in physics in Germany, he started working at the Friends Boys School as a teacher for physics and mathematics. In 1997, Mahmoud became the deputy head of the school and the International Baccalaureate Programme coordinator. He obtained his Masters degree in Education from Birzeit University in 1998. In 2000, he became the Head of the Boys School, and after a one-year sabbatical in 2005, has returned to the school to assume the position of Head of the Upper School.

Jeries Abu Etham has a Masters in Education Administration from Birzeit University and a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the same institution.  In 2000, he accepted the Deputy Principal position at the Friends Boy School.  Prior to that, he chaired the Science Department for two years, from 1998-2000, at the FBS.  He is a graduate of the Friends Boy School (1974).
 

Hendrik Taatgen, the lower school principal, is a Dutch citizen with a PHD in Anthropology from SUNY at Stony Brook. He started his career in international education administration in 2001 at an American school in Egypt.  From 2002-5, he was Middle and High School Principal at the International Programs School (IPS) in Saudi Arabia.  For the 2005-6 school years, he was Director of the American International School in Gaza (AISG), after which he returned to IPS to head the school for five years until the summer of 2011. He has also taught for many years at Indiana University and Chapman University College.  Hendrik has been appointed as the FGS principal since August 2011.

   
Frieda Dahdah Khayat is Deputy Principal at the Friends Girls School.  She received her M.A. in Peace Education from Notre Dame University (USA) and also holds a B.A. in English Literature from Birzeit University.  She has worked as a project coordinator and translator for local NGOs.  She has taught English at Al- Ahliyyah College for eleven years and held the position of deputy principal at the same school for three years. She also served as the Director of the Vocational Training Center at the YWCA in Jerusalem, Palestine from 2001-2002. She is a graduate of the Friends Girls School (1983).

Ruba Nasser, (FGS Staff Representative)

Summer Izzat, (FBS Staff Representative)