Meet the Experts

Dr. Shuqom is the founder of GDCI and GDCI E-Gallery. She advises GDCI on continuous education; non profit management and strategy; event management; communications strategies; project management; and public diplomacy. 

With over 20 years of international experience, she has led transformative initiatives in education, tourism, public policy, and socio-economic development in the Middle East and North America.

She holds a PhD in Political Science from McMaster University, where her dissertation on tourism policy as a tool of foreign policy was nominated for the Canadian Political Science Association’s 2025 Vincent Lemieux Award. A Chevening and Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Shuqom also earned an MSc in International Development from the University of Bristol and an MA in International Studies from the University of Miami, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Beirut. She holds professional certificates in Tourism Destination Management and Marketing, and in Event Management and Marketing from the George Washington University. 

Her expertise spans educational leadership, capacity building, communications, event management and institutional development. As Country Director of AMIDEAST Jordan, she led national education, training, and workforce development programs that impacted thousands of learners annually. She has trained professionals across four continents and consulted for high-level clients including the Jordanian Royal Court, the World Bank, USAID, and the IMF. She is currently the President and Board Chair of Community Development Halton, a Canadian non profit that supports the community of the Halton region through research, social planning, advocacy, and capacity building,

Dr. Mansur advises GDCI on economic  development, quantitative research,  strategy, capacity building, art, and government relations. 

Dr. Yusuf Mansur is the chairman of the board of Trustees of TAG University College for Innovation, and the CEO of EnConsult in Jordan. He has held senior positions in the government, including Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Senior Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister of Jordan. He specializes in economic consulting in the areas of economic policy, refugees, investment, trade, antitrust, capacity building, competitiveness and strategy. He taught at the University of Oklahoma, Texas A&M University in the United States, and several universities in Jordan. He received his Master’s and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oklahoma in 1991.

https://jordantimes.com/writer/yusuf-mansur

https://tagucb.academia.edu/YusufMansur

Dr. Lana Wylie advises GDCI on tourism diplomacy, higher education, research, and youth employability strategies.

Dr. Lana Wylie is associate professor of Political Science at McMaster University. Her research focuses on Canadian and American foreign policy, Cuba, diplomacies of societal actors, tourism, and international relations and she is the author of Perceptions of Cuba: Canadian and American Polices in Comparative Perspective, and co-editor of Other Diplomacies, Other Ties: Cuba and Canada in the Shadow of the US (with Luis René Fernández Tabío and Cynthia Wright), among others. Her most recent research focuses on the connections between tourism and diplomacy.

Mr. Ketterer advises GDCI on cultural and music diplomacy, international education, higher education, youth empowerment, and continuous education.

James Ketterer is a Senior Fellow at the Bard College Center for Civic Engagement, where he is teaching graduate seminars in the Master of Arts in Global Studies program. Until recently he was dean of the School of Continuing Education at the American University in Cairo. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the arm of the University charged with public outreach and lifelong learning. Programs he oversaw included delivering educational offerings in languages and professional development, managing and presenting public programs in the performing and visual arts, working on programs supported by corporate and government sponsors and implementing lifelong learning programs for learners from all walks of life. He previously served as dean of international studies at Bard College and academic director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program and he taught in Bard’s Political Studies and Global and International Studies programs. Ketterer previously served as Egypt country director for AMIDEAST, a US educational and cultural affairs NGO. Prior to that, he was vice-chancellor for policy and planning and deputy provost at the State University of New York (SUNY). At SUNY, he also was the director of the Center for International Development and program officer at the Center for Legislative Development. In government, he served on the staff of the New York Commission on Higher Education, the National Security Council staff at the White House and as a policy analyst at the New York State Senate. He worked on elections for the United Nations, the African-American Institute and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and has carried out consultancies for USAID in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He was a Boren Fellow in Morocco, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Tunisia and a visiting lecturer at the national university in Lviv, Ukraine.

Dr. Dina Miqdadi, advises GDCI on capacity building, psychosocial support, health, youth empowerment,  emotional resilience, post traumatic growth, and civil society development.

Dr. Dina Miqdadi is a Counseling Psychologist and a chartered member of the British Psychological Society (BPS). She completed her doctoral training at City University, London, and is a certified AEDP therapist. She is Palestinian, she grew up

in Jordan, lived in the US, the UK, and Cyprus. 

In the past twenty years

she has trained and worked in various private clinics/hospitals, NGOs and

INGOs. She currently works independently and collaborates with different

organizations, by providing trainings and supervision for psychologists. She is

particularly interested in supporting the restoration of the self/health from the

lens of both western and eastern approaches with a focus on compassionate, regenerative and integrated care.

Dr. Arakelyan advises GDCI on capacity building in higher education; conflict resolution, negotiation, and qualitative research.

She has over 15 years of experience as a political scientist, lecturer, and policy analyst. She is a subject-matter expert on foreign policy, democracy, governance, sustainable development, and international security, focusing on Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus. 

Dr. Arakelyan has served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program, providing capacity building and training to faculty in higher education institutions.  

She has taught at the University of Miami, Florida International University, and East Carolina University, and as a consultant for  The World Justice Project. In 2022-2023, she was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow on the US Senate Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management. She is the author of Russian Foreign Policy in Eurasia: National Interests and Regional Integration (Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2017), as well as numerous book chapters and scholarly articles.

Dr. Vorobyeva, advises GDCI on international development, governance, and strategy. 

Dr. Yulia Vorobyeva is a Corporate Sustainability Consultant and Political Advisor passionate about driving social impact and sustainable business practices across geographies and cultures. She helps organizations weave sustainability into their identity, guiding them in marketing, branding, ESG reporting, and responsible global supply chains. With a deep understanding of policy and governance, Yulia enables businesses to navigate social and geopolitical complexities while enhancing their market positioning and long-term value.

Yulia’s work spans Latin America, Africa, Europe and Central Asia, where she has built strategic partnerships and advised global institutions, including the United Nations, USAID, and multinational corporations. Drawing on her expertise in political risk and impact-driven strategy, 

Yulia is committed to helping clients integrate sustainability and social responsibility into their operations. She holds a PhD in International Studies from the University of Miami and a graduate certificate in Strategic Management from Harvard University. She shares her knowledge as a lecturer at Florida International University, teaching graduate courses on Latin American Studies. Yulia has authored academic articles, policy-oriented research reports, and opinion pieces on topics such as rule of law, global security, and human development.

Ms. Ghalia Baggili advises GDCI on events, sports, and art. 

Ghalia Baggily is the co-founder of the Middle East Fighting Championship (MEFC). She oversees MEFC’s strategic development, including event management, media partnerships, and athlete promotion. She also leads the production of MEFC’s MMA television show, which airs on MBC Action and Shahid platform. 

With a background in politics and a lifelong passion for the arts, Ghalia has built a career that merges aesthetics, sports, and large-scale event execution. She has worked in the Jordanian and UAE Royal courts, contributing to high-profile events and design projects. Alongside her professional career, she pursued martial arts, training in jiu-jitsu until she became the first Arab woman to earn a black belt. She later broke new ground as the first Arab female international MMA judge, combining her expertise in combat sports with her commitment to fair competition.

She holds a BA in Politics from the American University of Beirut and has extensive experience in event production, sports governance, and media.

Dr. Nicolás G. Velásquez, advises GDCI on the subjects of  AI; international development; data science; data strategy; and non-profit management. 

Dr. Nicolás G. Velásquez is a social and data scientist dedicated to utilizing information technology and artificial intelligence tools in social, cultural, marketing, and geopolitical contexts. With ten years of experience consulting for governments, NGOs, and Fortune 500 companies across the Americas, he excels in translating business needs and social inquiries into data-driven analytical models that yield meaningful and actionable insights.

Currently, Nicolás works on developing Generative AI and analytical tools for market research and behavioral economics. He has been distinguished as the inaugural Knight Post-Doctoral Fellow at George Washington University’s Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics and as a Data Science Fellow at the University of Miami’s Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing. 

His teaching experience includes data science and methodology courses at the Elliott School of International Affairs and Sergio Arboleda University. Nicolás proudly serves as a Data Strategy Advisor at Linterna Verde, Latin America’s oldest digital literacy NGO, where he was the first employee and became a board member.