Nicole Abiad is the President of MENAWCA and the Writing Center Coordinator at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. She has lived in Qatar and has worked in writing and English instruction since 2011. Her research and interests revolve around integrating technology into the writing process and information literacy in the age of AI. She has been a member of the MENAWCA executive board since 2019 and is passionate about connecting with and sharing knowledge with writing centers and those working in writing and education throughout the region.

Ryan McDonald is the Vice President of MENAWCA and Sciences Coordinator at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman, where he has spent nearly a decade shaping English language and writing center programs. A passionate advocate for student support, Ryan has held multiple roles within MENAWCA, including President and Treasurer, and has contributed to conferences and curriculum development across the MENA region. Outside of academia, Ryan enjoys running ultramarathons and writing about video games, though he’s still trying to figure out how to level up both, simultaneously, without tripping over a controller.

Sahar Mari is the Past President of MENAWCA and supports faculty in enhancing their teaching methods and integrating innovative technologies into their curricula. With over 10 years of experience in higher education in Qatar, she is a dedicated learning assistance professional. Sahar excels in coaching students on document design, presentation skills, metacognition strategies, time management, and multimedia projects. Passionate about creating holistic student experiences, she helps students develop healthy learning habits as they transition to university. She received Texas A&M University’s “Outstanding Advocate for First-Year Students Award” for her significant contributions to student success.

Sahar is committed to making education accessible and is passionate about teaching and learning. As a lifelong learner, she enjoys reading and incorporating new technology into experiential learning activities. She holds an M.F.A. in Graphic Design and Visual Experience from Savannah College of Art and Design, and dual B.F.A. degrees in Graphic Design and Fashion Design from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar.

Kerry Sauer is the Secretary of MENAWCA and has been the manager of the Georgetown University in Qatar Writing Center since 2016. With a Masters in Education specializing in curriculum design, Kerry worked in several countries before settling in Qatar. Her current interests include tutor training, instructional design, and educational programming supporting academic integrity.

Shauna Loej is the Treasurer of MENAWCA. She is a Writing Specialist in the Writing Center and Adjunct Lecturer in First-Year Writing at Northwestern University in Qatar. Originally from Canada, she has lived in the Middle East for nearly 20 years. She began her career in communications before transitioning to education almost a decade ago, finding tutoring and teaching writing a natural fit for her passion for writing. She was honored as the MENAWCA Professional Tutor of the Year in 2021 and has actively contributed to MENAWCA and IWCA conferences. Additionally, she attended the EWCA Summer Institute in Armenia to deepen her knowledge of writing center practices and pedagogy. Shauna holds a CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), a BA in Political Science and an MA in Communication.

Anita Moutchoyan received her BA in English literature and her teaching diploma (2008) from Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon, and her MA in English literature (2013) from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Beirut, Lebanon. She is a Fulbright alumna and a senior instructor. Over the past decade, she has taught communication skills and cultural studies at Haigazian University. She is an English instructor at AUB Beirut and AUB Mediterraneo. She previously taught communication skills courses at the Lebanese American University as well. She has had experience working as a tutor at the AUB and LAU Writing Centers for over ten years. She established the Haigazian University Writing Center in 2018 and is now launching a Writing Center at AUB Mediterraneo. In February 2024, Moutchoyan became a board member of the Middle East North Africa Writing Center Alliance (MENAWCA).

Hala Adnan Daouk is a senior instructor at the English and Creative Arts Department; she has been an instructor at LAU since 2004. She teaches both writing and Literature courses, in addition to teaching in the Intensive English Program.

She previously tutored at the LAU Writing Center and served as the assistant director from 2017 until 2020. She finds tutoring very rewarding as it provides students with a chance to look at their writing from another perspective. She is a member of the International Writing Centers Association (IWCA) and the Middle East and North Africa Writing Centers Association (MENAWCA). She won several grants, namely one with other MENAWCA members, from the IWCA to conduct research to create a database for writing centers in the MENA region. In August 2020, she won a special grant from the American Embassy, with another LAU faculty and other colleagues, for a creative writing community initiative that aims at creating a web-memoir to commemorate the August 4 Beirut Blast.

Neelam Hanif has shifted gears and forayed into the field of Creative Writing after working as an Applied Linguist professional for more than fifteen years. She currently heads the Center for Writing at New York University Abu Dhabi, and looks after the COWs (Communities of Writing). She is invested in the inherent politics of language, ethnicity, and identity, and aspires to translate the complexities of linguistic contact, variation and change in her own writing. Her language and writing are inspired by the various geographies she inhabits, in particular her ethnic roots in Punjab, Pakistan.

Paula Abboud Habre was the director of the Writing Center at the Lebanese American University from 2012 until 2020. She is also a senior instructor in the English Department since 1992.  Habre received a B.A. in English language and a T.D. in secondary education from the American University in Beirut in 1986, and holds an M.A. in TEFL from AUB (one year was completed at Boston University).

Her fieldwork at Boston University entailed initiating a writing center for the graduate School of Management. Habre’s main interests are the teaching of writing to second language learners and the testing of language in all its skills. She is also a board member MENAWCA since 2015

Upon winning a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, she embarked on an outreach project to help high schools in Lebanon establish writing centers after offering a series of workshops with the assistance of her team to faculty and training peer tutors as well.

Timoteo Pereira Neves received his BA in English Language and his teaching diploma (2020) from Haigazian University in Beirut. Since his graduation he has been teaching ELA to middle and high school students in the Middle East. He has had experience working as a tutor at the Haigazian Writing Center for more than five years. He has contributed to Student Writing Tutors in their Own Words published by Routledge (2022).In February 2024, Neves became a board member of the Middle East North Africa Writing Center Alliance (MENAWCA). He also contributed to the “Putting the I in the AI Writing Symposium” in NYU Abu Dhabi in May 2024.

Zak Shellenberger is from Pennsylvania, USA, where he previously attended The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. He currently holds a BA in German Language and Area Studies, a BA in Russian Language and Literature, and a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics with a specialization in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). Zak’s research interests include Critical Discourse Analysis, Sociolinguistics, Sociocultural Theory, Gesture Studies, and Cognitive Linguistics, among others. Since 2016, Zak has worked as a Writing Instructor at New York University Abu Dhabi in the First-year Writing Seminar and Center for Writing and finds the work to be incredibly rewarding. He believes that language allows access to knowledge and, thus, opportunity and the power to shape society and the world for the better.