Speaker Biographies
H. E. Adel Al-Jubeir, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States
His Excellency Adel A. Al-Jubeir was appointed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz as Ambassador to the United States on January 29, 2007. Ambassador Al-Jubeir presented his credentials to President George W. Bush at the White House on February 27, 2007.
Mr. Al-Jubeir was born February 1, 1962, in Majma'ah (Riyadh Province), Saudi Arabia, and attended schools in the Kingdom, Germany, Yemen, Lebanon, and the U.S. He obtained a B.A. summa cum laude in political science and economics from the University of North Texas in 1982 and an M.A. in international relations from Georgetown University in 1984.
In 1987, Mr. Al-Jubeir was appointed into the Saudi Diplomatic Service and posted to the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., where he served as Special Assistant to the Ambassador. In 1990-91, he was part of the Saudi team that established the Joint Information Bureau at Dhahran during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He was a member of the GCC delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference in October 1991, and a member of the Saudi delegation to the Multilateral Arms Control Talks in Washington, D.C. in 1992. In December 1992, he was dispatched with the Saudi Armed Forces to Somalia as part of Operation Restore Hope.
Mr. Al-Jubeir was appointed Director of the Saudi Information and Congressional Affairs Office in Washington in 2000, and was named Foreign Affairs Advisor in the Crown Prince’s Court in the fall of 2000. In August 2005, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz appointed Mr. Al-Jubeir to the position of Advisor at the Royal Court.
Mr. Al-Jubeir was Visiting Diplomatic Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York, 1994-95. He has lectured at universities and academic institutions in the U.S. and appeared frequently in the media. In 2006, he has received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of North Texas.
Mr. Al-Jubeir is fluent in Arabic, English, and German.
 Khaled Batarfi
Experience
Al-Watan daily newspaper, Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Arabnews daily newspaper, Jeddah, S.A., Columnist
Al-Madina daily newspaper, Jeddah, S.A., Managing Editor
Al-Watan daily newspaper, Abha, S.A., Director, International Offices and Correspondents, 1999-2000
National Commercial Bank (NCB), Jeddah, S.A. Acting manager, Public Relations and editor of NCB Family 1987-1994
Memberships
NAAM Group International—Intercultural dialog NGO based in Paris to build bridges of understanding and cooperation with non Muslims; AEJMC (American Educators of Journalism, Media and Communication)—Newspaper Division: International Media Division; International Relations Committee IRC, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, Saudi American Interactive Dialog SAID, Saudi Computer Society.
Education
School of Journalism, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA 1994-1999. M.A. (1996) Ph.D. (1999) in Journalism and Communications. President and co-founder of Union of Gulf Student, Oregon.
Computer Training, Jeddah, S.A. 1987-1994.
School of Library and Information Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, S.A. 1979-1994.
Bell Educational Trust, Norwich, U.K. 1991-1993
Skills Training Courses, Jeddah, S.A. 1987 - 1992 As an employee I joined many courses in the National Commercial Bank Training Center
Anglo World Schools, Oxford, UK. 1980-1991.
British Council, Jeddah, S.A. 1987-1991
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, London, UK. 1989, 1989, 1991
Boston University, Boston, USA 1990.
The Boston School of Modern Languages, Boston, USA 1990.
Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK. 1988-1989.
The Institute of Banking, Riyadh, S.A. 1993.
Speath Communications Inc, Dallas, USA, 1993
Daily Mirror Group, London, 2000..
Al-Madina Press Training Center, Jeddah, 2000-2005.
Media Coverage of Municipal Elections, London, 2005.
Emerging Leaders Fellowship, Chicago, Seattle, 2006.
NDI Journalist Study Mission, Washington DC, 2007.
Awards
Prince Bander Bin Sultan Reward for Academic Achievement, 1999. The Union of Gulf Students Academic Excellency Award, 1999. American Journalism Association award for Academic achievement, 1998. King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives' Award for Distinguished Oral Historians, 2003.
Mody Al-Khalaf
Director of Women Department, General Directorate of Scholarship Programs
Ministry of Higher Education
PhD in Applied Linguistics (Discourse Analysis) 2005.
MA in Linguistics (Psycholinguistics) 2000.
B.A.in English Language and Literature (Minor: Education).1995.
All three degrees were from: Girls' College of Education: Arts Section, University for Women, Riyadh, KSA.
Employment History:
1. At the Department of English Language and Literature; Girls' College of Education: Arts Section, Riyadh:
(1) Administrator (1996-2000)
(2) Lecturer (2000-2004)
(3) Assistant Professor (2005- present)
(4) Vice chair-person (1997-99)
(5) Academic Counselor, English Department (2007- )
2. English language teacher at the Arab Open University (2003).
3. English Linguistics teacher at Prince Sultan University, College for Women (2003-present).
4. Writer for "Arab News", a Saudi daily newspaper. (2003-present)
Member of:
1- TESOL Arabia
2. TESOL International
2- Saudi Association of Languages and Translation
3- The National Committee for Educational and Information Technology; Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia
 Michael Saba
Executive Director, Friends of Saudi Arabia
With over 30 years of experience in Middle East relations, Dr. Saba's passion for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is rooted in its people, culture and society. Saba is the former president of Saba and Associates, a company that facilitated joint ventures between health care institutions around the world, developed fund raising strategies to apply to foreign countries, and demonstrated cross cultural concerns in the U.S. and abroad. He was also the founder of GULFAMERICA, an international business services company that facilitated trade between the U.S. and the Arab Gulf. Formerly a manager of Middle East Public Affairs for Mobil Oil Corporation, Saba has been working internationally since the 1960's. Dr. Saba was the first CEO of National Association of Arab American
 Senator Wyche Fowler, Jr.
Chairman of the Board
Middle East Institute
A native Georgian, Wyche Fowler currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Governors at the Middle East Institute. Before assuming this position, he served as US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1996 to 2001.
Fowler represented the state of Georgia for sixteen years in the United States Congress. Elected to the Senate in 1986, he served as Assistant Floor Leader, where he helped to mold bipartisan consensus for major public issues. Prior to that, Fowler was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1977-1987.
Fowler was a member, and later President, of the Atlanta City Council from 1970-1977 and practiced law in Atlanta for eight years prior to his election. He received a B.A. in English from Davidson College in 1962, a J.D. from Emory University in 1969 and holds honorary degrees from Hofstra University, Davidson and Morris Brown College.
 Thomas W. Lippman
Adjunct Scholar, Public Policy Center
Thomas W. Lippman is a former Middle East correspondent and a former diplomatic and national security reporter for The Washington Post (1966-1999, 2003). He covered the war in Iraq for The Washington Post’s online edition in 2003. He appears frequently on radio and television as a commentator on Middle Eastern affairs.
He is the author of several books about the Middle East and American foreign policy, including Inside the Mirage: America’s Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia (2004), Madeleine Albright and the New American Diplomacy (2000), Egypt After Nasser (1989) and Understanding Islam (1995). He has also written on these subjects for several magazines, including Middle East Journal, SAIS Review and US News and World Report.
He is currently researching the history of US engagement in Saudi Arabia and US-Saudi relations for a book to be published in 2008. Lippman is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned a B.A. from Columbia University in 1961.
 Patrick W. Ryan
President, Ryan & Associates
Editor in Chief, Saudi-US Relations Information Service
Patrick Ryan is the President and founder of Ryan and Associates, an editorial consulting firm based in Cookeville, Tennessee, specializing in on-line global affairs information resources, especially covering developments in the Middle East and Asia. His consulting firm, established in 1999 in Washington, DC, brings together writers, researchers, web design and development specialists and other professionals to deliver customized editorial solutions to an international client list.
Among the projects developed and operated under Mr. Ryan’s direction are the Saudi-US Relations Information Service (SUSRIS), the Saudi-American Forum, GulfWire, and ArabiaLink. Ryan & Associates is currently developing projects addressing China.
Mr. Ryan was born and raised in New York City. At age 17 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served a 26-year career, first in the Persian Gulf in 1973 followed by assignments in the Submarine Service where he attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer. Mr. Ryan received a BA degree at the University of South Carolina, in 1981, majoring in International Studies followed by commissioning in the Navy as an Ensign.
Mr. Ryan served aboard numerous ships, headquarters staffs and overseas assignments before retiring in 1998 as a Lieutenant Commander. Among his assignments were the Joint Staff in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analyses, and US Central Command headquarters. He has lived and worked in Bahrain, Italy and Japan and has traveled to about 50 countries for work and leisure.
Mr. Ryan worked as a program manager at Autometric in Northern Virginia in support of several technical development projects before taking the position as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Council on US-Arab Relations, a non-profit educational organization in Washington. In 1999 he founded Ryan & Associates which moved to Tennessee in 2001.
Mr. Ryan is married to Connie Trisdale of Tennessee and they have two children, Bill and Colleen. He is active in the launch of a World Affairs Council in Tennessee and Rotary International. He is an avid photographer, writer and traveler.
Mohammad A. Aleissa
Saudi Arabian Cultural attaché to the United States
Born in 1954
Married, and has 5 children: 3 daughters and two sons.
Work Experience
- July 17th, 2007 to Present, Saudi Arabian Cultural Attaché to the U.S.
- May 2007-July 2007, Consultant at the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission.
- Consultant to Al-Andulus Private Schools with a primary role of establishing electronic learning.
- 1996-1997, Visiting Professor at George Washington University.
- 1990-1996, Director of the Center for Computer and Educational Technology.
- 1988-1990, Director of the Educational Television Center at Umm Al-Qura University.
- Assistant Professor at the College of Education at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia.
- 1978-1979, Instructor at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Academic Background
- Doctorate in Educational Technology from Indiana State University.
- Masters in Educational Technology from Indiana State University.
- BA in Educational Technology from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Researches
- Participated in numerous national and international conferences.
- Directed numerous masters papers and doctoral dissertations in Saudi Arabia and abroad, most of which were on the area of e-Learning.
- Wrote and reviewed a number of books on the use of computers in educational settings.
Professional Organizations
- A member of AECT, an American educational technology organization.
- A member of the Egyptian Educational Technology association.
- A member of the Saudi Arabian Psychological association.
 Rajaa Alsanea, B.D.S.
Saudi dentist and author
A Saudi native, Dr. Rajaa Alsanea was born in 1981 and graduated from College of Dentistry at King Saud University in Riyadh in 2005. Currently, she is a postgraduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Endodontics. She is a member of the American Dental Association, American Society of Endodontics and the Saudi Dental Society. In 2006, Dr. Rajaa Alsanea started working on her master thesis which involves the use of human pulpal stem cells for teeth repair. Apart from this stern and serious academic and professional career, Dr. Alsanea is more known as the author of (Girls of Riyadh). The book was the number one Arabic bestseller on www.neelwafurat.com, the Middle Eastern equivalent of Amazon.com. Dr. Alsanea was voted Intellectual Figure of the Year in the Arab world for 2006 by readers of the top Arabic online newspaper www.elaph.com. The novel was reprinted seven times in two years in the Arabic language and has been translated to eighteen languages so far. Considered an example of contemporary Arabic literature, the novel is being taught in many universities worldwide. Since its publication in Germany in May 2007, the novel has made it to the list of bestsellers as per Dir Spiegel magazine. The novel is being reprinted for the third time in English and for the second time in Dutch after two months of its release.
Since the debut of her book, Dr. Alsanea has made numerous public appearances on TV, in newspapers and radio stations both in Saudi Arabia and internationally.
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