About Marhaba™

I. Our Philosophy and Values

Partnership
All our projects will be conducted in close cooperation with local organizations or partners with
an unmet need that volunteers can effectively fulfill.

Sustainability
We will only support projects that either include sustainable mechanisms or partner with local organizations in ongoing projects.

Health
The health and safety of volunteers is paramount to our programs. Volunteers are required to have adequate health and evacuation insurance and will have access to medical care including pharmacies, clinics, and regional hospitals.

Safety
Volunteers will be fully informed about how to live in
their communities safely. This includes being aware of
State Department guidelines for travel, dressing appropriately, and avoiding unknown areas at night.

Innovation
Marhaba encourages entrepreneurial solutions to social
problems and innovative ways to develop partnerships
between Arab and American volunteers and organizations.

Non-Discrimination
We believe in a rights-based approach to development that does not discriminate based on ethnicity, race, political affiliation, religion, sexual orientation, or any other factor. This commitment applies to both service provision and staff/volunteer recruitment.


II. Our Staff

US Operations Director
Mary Beth Johnson
Mary Beth received her M.Ed in Higher Education Administration from Loyola University in Chicago where she focused her graduate work on international education and international service-learning. While at Loyola, she helped to administer and oversee the School of Education’s summer programs in Rome, and she led a winter break service trip to France. She also participated in a summer language and cultural immersion program while serving as a volunteer in Tanzania. Additional international experience includes studying abroad in Australia as an undergraduate student, and in Italy as a graduate student. Mary Beth is currently employed at Rotary International as a Group Study
Exchange Coordinator where she facilitates exchanges with outbound groups
from the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

Executive Director AND EGYPT COUNTRY COORDINATOR
Catherine Baylin
Catherine Baylin will be the Executive Director and Country Coordinator for the Egypt programs. Catherine has lived in Cairo since September 2006 and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Middle East Studies at The American University in Cairo (AUC). She formerly worked at the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at AUC. She has served as a volunteer health educator in Tanzania, trained volunteers in teaching methods and the ethics of volunteering, and twice worked as a Resident Advisor for a language learning summer program in France. In Tanzania, she lived with a host family while teaching HIV prevention courses to local school and community groups. She was graduated with Honors in Political Science from Stanford University where her research focused on the relationship between democratization and poverty.

Program I Coordinator
Laura Kasinof
Laura Kasinof graduated in 2007 from New York University with a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and Politics. During her undergraduate study, she spent four months in Cairo studying at the Arabic Language Institute at the American University in Cairo. Laura returned to Egypt in August 2007, and is
currently working as a writer/editor for ICT Business magazine in addition to volunteering as an English teacher for refugees and studying Arabic. Previous to her time spent in Egypt, Laura has worked with at-risk children through volunteer programs in Mongolia and Mexico.

Program II Coordinator
Alyssa Young
Alyssa Young received her B.A. with High Honors in Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley where her research focused on heritage language learners of Arabic. She worked previously at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory helping to coordinate the internship program for college
and university students, and is currently studying at AUC as a 2007-2008 Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) Fellow.

SPECIAL THANKS
Marhaba would like to thank Alexandra Halsema for designing the logo and Brett Burwell for developing the website.