Dr. Eric Kamal Hilgendorf

Dr. Eric Kamal Hilgendorf was most recently Vice President of MENA at The Quad Initiative, where he concentrated on organizational performance and development, education entrepreneurship, leadership development and succession, and organizational advancement and diversification. Dr. Hilgendorf was also Associate Dean of Community and Education Engagement at New York University Abu Dhabi, where he created innovative programs that advanced national and institutional priorities for the university. Over his seven years, he created sustainable programming in the areas of K-16 pipeline building, teacher advancement and professional development, organization and school development, leadership and identity, resource and enterprise planning, and institutional advancement. Prior to this, Dr. Hilgendorf served as Director of Education Operations for Vanderbilt University in the UAE, where he steered several educational programs encompassing educational leadership, coaching and assessment models, trajectory planning and professional development for 20+ schools. In advance of that, he was Co-Director for Technical Support for the National Center for Performance Pay (TIF) at Vanderbilt University, where he won an Emmy for a film he co-produced (A Matter of Principals).

Nidal Abounajem

Mr. Nidal Abounajem has a proven track record in teacher training, school development, and improvement within the field of education. A certified Master Trainer from ATD in the USA, Mr. Abounajem is also adept at designing and delivering comprehensive training frameworks and programs that enhance educators’ leadership skills, instructional methodologies, and track overall professional growth and development. He demonstrated success in fostering positive school cultures and driving continuous improvement initiatives such as the Carnegie Improvement Science program, SMART school transformation initiative with Pearson.