Jordan: Health and Community Development

Faculty and Staff

Bayan Abdulhaq, PhD, Academic Director
Dr. Abdulhaq holds a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences from King’s College London KCL/University of London. Additionally, she has an MSc in pharmaceutical analysis and quality control from the same university and a BSc in pharmacy from the University of Jordan.

She has worked as a faculty member at the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Jordan, where she taught drug delivery systems, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and analysis. Dr. Abdulhaq has extensive experience in educational quality assurance; she acted as the quality assurance director at TAG Graduate School of Business, part of the German Jordanian University in Amman, which was accredited later by FIBAA, a Swiss accreditation agency.

In more recent years, she has served as a board member and the executive director of the Arab Organization for Quality Assurance in Education (AROQA) and worked as a consultant for higher education institutions in Bahrain. She is a certified manager for organizational excellence by the American Society for Quality (ASQ).

Dr. Abdulhaq has more than eight years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry; she has worked as a production manager and later as a medical affairs manager. She also works as a consultant in the field of Good Clinical Practice (GCP). Dr. Abdulhaq is a licensed pharmacist and a full member of the Pharmaceutical Union of Jordan. She has also served as a member of the Bioequivalence Committee at the Jordanian Food and Drug Administration (JFDA).

Dr, Ashraf Alqudah, Academic Coordinator
Dr. Ashraf Alqudah is assistant professor in the department of psychology and the department of internal medicine at the University of Jordan in Amman. He holds a PhD in clinical and medical psychology from the College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Florida, and an MA in psychology from the University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. He specializes in clinical medical psychology and the psychology of chronic pain. His area of research interest also includes psychopathology, psychological treatments and psychotherapies, and psycho-social support for refugees and displaced persons. Dr. Alqudah has worked on projects conducted by a number of health organizations that included Doctors of the World Organization, War Trauma Foundation, and the Antares Foundation. He is a member of the Higher Council of the Humanitarian Support Network of Jordan and the Jordanian Mental Health Licensing Committee. Since 2008, he has also been involved with the SIT Modernization and Social Change program in Jordan as lecturer, ISP advisor, and then as coordinator of the Research and Methods and Ethics course. Dr. Alqudah has co-authored a number of articles that appeared in refereed journals that include the Journal of Cybertherapy and Rehabilitation and the Journal of Pain Research. He is currently finishing a research project on resiliency among Iraqi refugees in Jordan.

Dema Matrouk Al Oun, Homestay Coordinator
Dema Al Oun has been working as a homestay coordinator with SIT Study Abroad since 2008. In this capacity, Dema assists with a wide range of homestay arrangements and also works with both students and host families on cross-cultural communication skills. She received her BA and MA in law from the University of Jordan. In addition to her work with SIT Study Abroad, Dema is an active volunteer with the National Center for Human Rights, the Jordan Center for Civil Education Studies, the Jordan Society for Human Rights, and the University of Jordan's Community Service Office. She is also involved in activities with the local community in northern Badia. Dema is a member of the Photographic Society of Jordan and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Center‏.

Ahmad Al Rawajfeh, Administrative Assistant to the Academic Director
Ahmad Al Rawajfeh obtained his MA in public administration from the University of Jordan in 2004. He has worked at the Badia Research & Development Centre as head of public relations and community development outreach. In past semesters, he has worked with SIT Study Abroad as a part-time logistical assistant, and since fall 2009 he has been working with SIT as full-time administrative assistant to the academic director. He also has worked part-time with the Royal Botanic Garden in Amman as a research assistant and a focus group coordinator.

Rima Al-Akramawi, Language Coordinator and Instructor
Rima Al-Akramawi holds a BA in English language and literature from Mutah University and is a certified translator and language proficiency interviews (LPI) tester. She started working with SIT in Amman as a language instructor in the summer of 2010. Rima has eight years of experience teaching Arabic as a second language. She has worked as a language coordinator with the Peace Corps, and is currently working as an Arabic language instructor at the French Cultural Center of Amman and at the Qasid Institute for Classical and Modern Standard Arabic.

Mahmoud Al-Shafie, Language Instructor
Mahmoud Al-Shafie has been a language instructor with SIT since February 2007. He received his BA in education, with a concentration in Arabic, from the University of Jordan, where he also earned a master's degree in curriculum and teaching in Arabic. He recently earned his PhD in curriculum and Arabic teaching methodology at Amman Arab University. Mahmoud worked previously as an Arabic instructor for speakers of other languages at the University of Jordan's Language Center. He has published two novels, Nuzha Fee Jahannam (Picnic in Hell) and La'natu Al-Jasad (Body Curse). His other publications include the series “Noon Wal Qalam, Teaching Arabic for Speakers of Other Languages.”

Riham Al-Naimat, Language Instructor
Riham Al-Naimat obtained a master’s degree in Arabic language and literature from Al-Albayt University in 2007. In 2009, Riham began volunteering as an SIT Jordan language instructor for intermediate high and advanced levels. In the summer of 2010, she joined SIT full time and has been teaching Modern Standard Arabic ever since. She previously worked as an Arabic instructor at the Jordanian Ministry of Education and as an Arabic instructor and language coordinator at international schools in Saudi Arabia.