Board members
“We are deeply grateful for the support of our funders and partners, whose partnerships are vital to our ability to maintain high quality programs. Our accomplishments were also made possible by the invaluable input and hard work of our dedicated staff and remarkable Board of Directors.”
Dr. Salwa Najjab , Board Chairperson
Dr. Salwa Najjab
Board Chairperson
Dr. Najjab is the co-founder and previous director of Juzoor for Health and Social Development (2007-2019), and served as its Senior Health Advisor. She co-founded and served as the chairperson for the Middle East and North Africa Policy Forum, and now serves as its Vice President.
An obstetrician/gynecologist, and a pioneer in women’s and reproductive health, Dr. Najjab is a public health expert in the NGO sector and founder of a number of NGOs in Palestine. She recently served as a Track Advisor to the Scientific Programme Committee for the XXIII World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics. She comes with more than 40 years of experience in delivering, developing, and advocating for emergency obstetrics and maternal health of women in Palestine and the MENA region.
As a strong advocate for women in general, and for women health, in particular, and from the early days, she exhibited a strong commitment to combat Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and introduced its concept into the local health system. Dr. Najjab is notably credited for introducing the advanced life support in obstetrics methodology to the country, and for the development of a community health and specialised training programmes for doctors, nurses and midwives. She has written and adapted clinical training materials, publications and protocols on a variety of subjects including safe delivery, family planning and emergency obstetrics.
Dr. Najjab co-founded a number of influential grass roots Palestinian organisations including the Women Legal Aid and Counseling Center (WCLAC), Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC), Al-Haq (independent Palestinian non-governmental human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), and Juzoor for Health and Social Development. She also functions as the Local Senior Faculty Advisor for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).
Dr. Najjab is a member of the World Bank Civil Society Consultative Group for Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP CSO) in the West Bank. As of September 2019, Dr. Najjab has been assigned as the Commissioner for the World Health Organisation Regional Office of the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) Commission on Social Determinants of Health in the Eastern Mediterranean. Dr. Najjab was a finalist for the International Woman of Courage Award in 2010.
Dr. Saro Nakashian
Vice president of the Board
Dr. Nakashian is a management and marketing expert with over 20 years of experience in developing and managing programs that build the marketing and management capabilities of individuals and organizations to succeed. He designed several programs for entrepreneurial training for young entrepreneurs and SME owners. He's the General Director for Palestine Education for Employment (EFE). Dr. Nakashian speaks fluent English, Armenian and Arabic. He holds a B.sc. in Management, an MBA marketing concentration from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and an M.Phil in HR and Entrepreneurship from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.and PHD in Managment.
Dr. Bassam abu Hamad
Vice president of the Board in Gaza
Dr. Bassam Abu Hamad, a Public Health Specialist, he has worked in the health sector for more than 35 years. Dr.Hamad is currently the General Coordinator and Professor in the School of Public Health-Al-Quds University, Dr. Bassam has developed strategic plans, and management systems and conducted evaluations for numerous programmes and organizations, particularly in health, education, and psychosocial and social policy. He is a member of the GAGE management team, and also a GAGE Regional Director for the MENA Region.
Ms. Vera Pano,
Treasurer
Ms. Vera is a former registered nurse and Health Educational Supervisor at UNRWA who was responsible for the Health Education programme and community activities of the Health Department at health centers and refugee camps in the West Bank. She was also the Vice President of the YWCA in Palestine.
Dr. Enas Dahadha
Secretary of the Board
Dr. Dahadha is a lecturer, trainer and curriculum developer in marketing, management and entrepreneurship. She specializes in consumer behavior and international marketing courses with great emphasis on practical applications. She has worked with university students and has conducted training in Marketing and Entrepreneurship to graduates and professionals from different industries. An expert in providing training sessions on job search, resume writing, and interview skills to university graduates. She is competent in developing curriculum and conducting train of trainer’s courses, thus being a content expert and a skilled trainer.
Mr. Ragheb Budeiri
Board Member
Mr. Ragheb Budeiri currently heads the Development Project Office that oversees and manages all development projects in the PMA. Mr. Budeiri helped establish the Development Project Office (PDO) in 2010 after the successful implementation of the national Real-Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS).
Ragheb Budeiri holds a Bachelor Degree in Computer Science from Huston-Tillotson College, Austin, TX. He also completed his Master Degree in Management Information Systems from National University, La Jolla, CA. With more than thirty years of accumulated extensive experience in the Information Technology field with several multinational companies like Eli Lilly S.A, International Youth Foundation, IBM global services, USAID solidified his knowledge and know-how in various business domains.
Mr. Budeiri possesses several professional certificates such as the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MSCE), Microsoft Certified System Administrator (MSCA), Certified Cisco Network Associate (CCNA), and the Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications. The DPO currently manages a portfolio over thirty-five million US Dollars applying industry standards and best practices set by the Project Management Institute (PMI). Ragheb Budeiri also liaises and coordinates all project activities with international bodies like the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) among many donors’ community.
This coordination ensures that projects are prioritized and sequenced to maximize the benefit attained in building and enhancing the core competencies within the PMA to achieves goals and objectives.
Dr. Jumana Budieri
Board Member
Dr. Budieri is a Medical Doctor with two Masters Degrees from Harvard University; one in Public Health and one in Population. Dr. Budieri has long and rich experience in health management and assistive technology. She is currently a free-lancer and technical advisor.
Ms. Manal Warrad
Board Member
Ms. Manal is currently the Polling Unit Supervisor at Jerusalem Media & Communication Center (JMCC). She prepares budgets for surveys, participates in questionnaire designs, recruits and coordinates interviewers, conducts training workshops for interviewers, designs data entry program using SPSS-PC+, supervises data coding and entry, performs data cleaning and analysis, produces findings in table format for end users. She is a former TV Producer at CNN Jerusalem bureau and occasionally covered the Palestinian-Israeli affairs.
Ms. Nabegha Abu Shahla
Board Member-Gaza
Experienced Palestinian health professional with extensive expertise in clinical laboratory management, public health, and medical research. Overseeing labs, blood banks, and healthcare initiatives, including impactful work on PKU screening and community mental health. Contributed to regional conferences and authored research papers in renowned journals.