May Rihani
May Rihani is presently the Director of the Gibran Chair for Values and Peace at the University of Maryland.
Her career has been in international development. She served as Senior Vice President at FHI360, the Academy for Educational Development, and Creative Associates International. Her extensive experience is in design and management of projects in around 40 countries in the fields of education, girls’ education, and women’s empowerment. She has worked with government ministries and civil societies of many African, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries to advance systems of education and girls’ education. Two of her major publications are: “Learning for the 21st Century: Girls’ Education in the Middle East and North Africa,” which was translated by UNICEF into Arabic, French, and Farsi; and “Keeping the Promise: Five Benefits of Girls’ Secondary Education.” She is also the author of “Cultures Without Borders: From Beirut to Washington, D.C.,” a memoir of her work and the major influences in her life.
As a result of her work May Rihani was elect to be the co-chair of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, (UNGEI), from 2008 to 2010.