Trustees

Dr. Ghassan Salame, Chair
Dr. Salame is a Professor of International Relations at the Institut detrudes politiques, Paris and a senior adviser to The United Nations Secretary General.  He is also a former Minister of Culture in Lebanon.  He is currently a board member of the International Crisis Group; Bibliotheca Alexandrina; The Arab Anti Corruption Organization; The Bassel Fuleyhan Foundation; The High Level Experts Group for the Community of Democracies (2006- ); Le Haut Conseil de la Francophonie.  He is the author of many books on social and political issues including in Arabic: “The Society and the State in Arab Mashreq” and “America and the World”.

Dr. Nabil Qaddumi , Vice Chair & Treasurer
Dr. Qaddumi is Chairman of Projacs International, the leading Arab project management firm in the Arabian Gulf.   Dr. Qaddumi has been a lecturer at Kuwait University for over 12 years, including a two year lecturing post at Stanford University in California. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Welfare Association and served as Chairman of its Management Committee between1996–1999.

Dr. Suzanne Wettenschwiler, Statutory Secretary
Member of the Swiss Bar Association, Dr. Wettenschwiler is a commercial and not-for-profit attorney based in Zug, Switzerland. With a PhD from the University of Zurich Law School, she is a member of the HDV Canton of Zug (Trade and Services Association), the SRO VQF (Association of Quality Assurance in Financial Services) and the International Bar Association (IBA).  Dr. Wettenschwiler is also a member of the board of the Open Society Institute Zug and various other Swiss Charitable Foundations.

Zeina Arida, Secretary
Zeina Arida is a cultural director living and working in Beirut. After her experience of Program officer at the UNESCO and Communication manager at the French Cultural Center, Arida was involved in the setup and launching of the Arab Image Foundation in 1997. The Arab Image Foundation is a is a not-for-profit organization established in Beirut in 1997 to locate, collect, preserve, interpret and present the photographic heritage of the Middle East and North Africa. She is currently a member of the Board and the Director of the AIF.

Abbas Zuaiter
Abbas Farouq (“Eddy”) Zuaiter is the Chief Operating Officer and a member of the management committee of Soros Fund Management LLC (“SFM”), a private investment management firm founded by famed financier and philanthropist George Soros. He is also the chairman of the firm’s Valuation and Brokerage Committees and a member of its Oversight Committee.  Zuaiter is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA and the NYSSCPAs.  He is also a board member of the Arab Bankers Association of North America and a member of the Managed Funds Association (“MFA”).

Adila Laidi-Hanieh
Mrs. Laidi-Hanieh writes on arts and culture practice. She ran the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre in Ramallah from its establishment in 1996 to 2005. She received an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, a Certificat d’Etudes Politiques from the Institut d''Etudes Politiques of Paris and studied painting with Fahr el Nissa Zeid.

Basma El Husseiny
Basma El Husseiny is an arts manager and a cultural activist who has been involved in supporting independent cultural projects and organizations in the Arab region for the past 15 years.  Basma was previously the Media, Arts & Culture Program Officer for the Ford Foundation in the Middle East and North Africa, and the Arts Manager of the British Council in Egypt.   In 2003 Basma El Husseiny founded, and is currently the managing director of, Al Mawred Al Thaqafy (Culture Resource), a regional non-profit cultural organization. She is a member of the Alliance for Arab Women.

Bayan Al Barrak Kanoo
Arts and cultural activist Bayan Kanoo has long been devoted to nurturing and developing the arts and cultural milieu. Seeking to enrich Bahraini society, Bayan founded Al Riwaq Art Gallery in 1998; providing an interactive forum in which to explore the rapidly changing global artistic and cultural landscape. Born in Iraq, Bayan holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of Bahrain. She is currently in the process of evolving the gallery into a first-of –its kind centre for the visual arts in Bahrain which will have a NGO status and be a non-profit organization, which will give Bahrain a much needed impetus.

Hani Kalouti
President and founder of HBK Investments Advisory S.A. based in Geneva, Switzerland.
HBK is a multi-family investment office and an investment advisor of several Funds of Funds. Mr. Kalouti started his career with Citibank, New York in 1981 and was chief investment officer of their Swiss Private Bank in Geneva when he left in 1996 to establish HBK. He holds a B. S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from Syracuse University, New York. He is a member of the Board of Trustees and Management Committee of the Welfare Association
 
Rana Sadik
Rana Sadik is a Board of Trustees member of Al-Hoash Gallery Jerusalem and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Welfare Association. She is actively involved in the pursuit of artistic interest. Rana holds a BA in Business Administration from Boston University. She is a mother of two, who lives in Kuwait.

Dr. Amin Zaoui
Amin Zaoui is a writer and bilingual scholar (Arabic and French) and Former general-manager of the National library of Algeria and the author of five novels that have been translated into ?many languages.