Yossef Ben-Meir, PhD, President
 Yossef Ben-Meir has over eighteen years of experience in international development, specializing in participatory development and community planning. He served in Morocco as an Associate Peace Corps Director (1998-1999), managing the environment program, and as a Peace Corps volunteer (1993-1995), helping to establish socio-economic and environmental projects in communities that border the Toubkal National Park. In 2000, he founded the High Atlas Foundation and serves as President, overseeing an international Board of Directors of seventeen members and providing strategic vision for program development. Under his leadership the organization has grown from an all volunteer group to one with a full-time staff based in Morocco.  Yossef publishes widely on the subject of international development, with a particular focus on Middle Eastern countries, having articles published in over twenty countries. He holds a PhD in sociology from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (2009), where his research concentrated on participatory development and building its theory; a MA in International Development from Clark University (1997); and a BA in economics from New York University (1991). In 2004 he was the recipient of an International Excellence Award from the University of New Mexico, he is a former fellow of the American Institute of Maghrib Studies (2001-2002), as well as a 1999 recipient of the Meritorious Honor Award from the Department of State. 

Selected publications by Yossef Ben-Meir

Larbi Didouqen, Co-Vice President
Larbi Didouquen served as Director of Toubkal National Park - Morocco's largest national park -  for over ten years (1993-2004). During this time he worked closely with many Peace Corps Volunteers who were assigned to serve in the park and its neighboring villages. He has been actively involved with HAF since its inception in 2000, playing a key role in project implementation and partnership building. He is currently an independent consultant, and volunteers his time with numerous civil society organizations in the Marrakech Province. Larbi was trained as a forestry engineer.

Suzanne Moyer, Co-Vice President
Suzanne Moyer is an entrepreneur and non-profit leader with extensive experience working with NGOs and the private sector in Morocco and throughout Northern Africa. During her time with AIESEC United States Inc., Suzanne oversaw the launch of The Salaam Program which has provided more than 100 international internships to Arab and American university students in order to increase cultural understanding and ties among these students. Suzanne is currently a Senior Program Manager at the African Studies Association at Rutgers Unviversity.  She speaks fluent French, Arabic, and Moroccan Arabic, and is a published author on business and development in the Middle East. Suzanne was awarded a 2006 Fulbright grant to research the impact of the globalization of Moroccan economic policy on the management competencies required of Moroccan entrepreneurs and executives.

Leila Alaoui

Barbara Balaj, PhD 
Barbara Balaj is an independent consultant for the World Bank and other organizations, as well as private sector firms. She specializes in international economic development in the Middle East and North Africa and Central/Eastern Europe and Balkan regions.  She has worked extensively on international aid mobilization and donor coordination, especially with respect to large-scale, multi-sectoral post-conflict reconstruction.  She is the author of numerous World Bank and international journal publications regarding economic development issues in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, the West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.

Talal Belhriti 
Talal Belrhiti is a Director at the Washington DC think tank, Maghreb Center, where he is also the editor of the Center's publication, Maghreb Dialogue. In addition, he works with the Discovery Channel's Global Education Partnership to improve the quality of primary education in North Africa. Talal has extensive experience on issues related to the MENA region, previously serving as the Director of Economic Development Programs at the MENA Center, and as Assistant Editor of the Middle East Journal, published by the Washington DC think tank, Middle East Institute. He has worked at the Tarik Ibn Zyad Center for Research and Studies in Rabat, Morocco, at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and was an editorial assistant for the academic journal Security Studies. Talal holds an MA in Politics from the University of Virginia, where he is currently pursuing a doctorate degree. He completed his undergraduate studies in government and international politics at George Mason University. He grew up in Kenitra, Morocco.

Charles Benjamin, PhD 
Charles Benjamin is a Senior Manager with the International Resources Group, an international development consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He has over twenty years of experience in rural development and program management, with extensive experience in community development and natural resource management in Morocco and other African countries. For nearly six years (1993-1998) he was the Near East Foundation (NEF) Country Director in Morocco, based in the rural Ouarzazate Province. Charles has conducted long-term field research in Morocco and Mali. As a Fulbright scholar (1990-1992), he lived for two years in a village in the Drâa Valley of southern Morocco, where he conducted ethnographic research on the social organization of traditional canal irrigation systems. Prior to this, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Casablanca (1986-88). He holds a PhD in natural resources and environment from the University of Michigan, with a focus on decentralization and local institutional development.

Dan Cahill
Dan Cahill served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenitra, Morocco (1968-1970) teaching English. He is an award-winning filmmaker and videographer, providing services to a variety of clients, including the NYU School of Law and numerous prominent New York law firms.  Two of his screenplays were optioned by a major Hollywood studio, and he has had short pieces published in Rolling Stone and the New York Times. Dan holds a BA from Washington University (St. Louis) in English literature and an MFA from New York University in film & TV production.

Kimeo Carr
Kimeo Carr is an independent consultant, with over ten years of experience in business administration and public policy, and has consulted for the World Bank’s Resource Management Advisory and Knowledge Dissemination division.  He holds a MBA with an international marketing concentration from Richmond, The American International University in London, England, and a BS in marketing from Hampton University.  Kimeo served as a small business development Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco (2001-2003).  He is a lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) and is the Government Affairs Committee chairman for the DC Chapter.

Mohamed Chbani
Mohamed Chbani is an independent consultant in the financial industry. Previously, he was a Vice President with the Merrill Lynch Corporate and Strategy group in New York City. He specializes in quantitative equity research in the small and mid cap market segments. Mohamed earned his MBA in financial management and BBA from Iona College. He is a member of the Society of Quantitative Analysts.

Nichole Christensen
Nichole Christensen served in the Peace Corps (2003-2005) as a small business development Volunteer, working with a group of women weavers in Tawli (Middle Atlas Mountains) to create a cooperative. She also trained the weavers on how to market and sell their goods in craft fairs throughout Morocco. Nichole currently works at West Elm as the Associate Sourcing Manager, specializing in decorative accessories and tabletops.

Sir Charles Dahan
Born in Meknes, Morocco, Sir Charles Dahan earned a Masters in chemical engineering in Geneva, Switzerland.  He came to the United States in 1973 and began his company, Custom Optical, Inc.  He has also worked in conjunction with the World Bank, National Institutes of Health, and other private interests.  Charles has served as a good-will Ambassador for the Moroccan Jewish community and the Arab World.  In 1990 he received the 1000 Points of Light award from President George Bush, and in 2000 he was the recipient of the Chevalier Du Wissam Al Moukaffa At Watania (Knight of the Order of National Merit) presented by H.M. King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

Michelle Ghiselli
Michelle Ghiselli served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco (1993-1996), teaching English. She was a Crisis Corps Volunteer in Cote d'Ivoire in 1997 where she did teacher training with a program for Liberian refugee children suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Michelle previously worked with Peace Corps Response (formerly known as Crisis Corps) as a Recruitment and Placement Specialist. Before this, Michelle worked with the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) as Associate Director of Membership where she served as primary liaison for the RPCV groups among other duties.  Prior to that, she spent three years in the non-profit association field developing and managing educational programs for youth and adults. Michelle received her Master’s from Harvard’s Kennedy school of Government in June 2008.  Originally from Kansas, Michelle attended Kansas State University where she earned a BA in English and French.

Charlie Kellett
Charlie Kellet served as a Peace Corps Volunteer and trainer in Morocco (1994-1996).  As an environmental education Volunteer in the Eastern High Atlas National Park, Charlie partnered with the High Commission of Waters and Forests and civil society organizations to implement conservation, education, and health projects in rural villages.  Currently, he works at the US Department of State, East Asia and Pacific Branch.  Charlie is an avid photographer.

Nora Larhouasli Marrakchi
Nora Larhouasli Marrakchi is a business analyst at UMS Group, a New Jersey based international utilities management consulting firm. Nora has served on the boards of several North African and Middle Eastern organizations, including AMPA.  She researches and writes on issues related to Moroccan women, education, and international development and has published in the Journal of North African Studies.  She holds a BA in economics, French literature, and Middle Eastern studies from Douglass College, Rutgers University.  Nora was raised in Fes and Marrakech, Morocco.

Kendra Simonton
Kendra Simonton traveled to Morocco in May 2005 and instantly developed a connection to the country's history and culture.  She began volunteering with HAF in 2006 while interning at the United Nations.  After graduating with a Masters in Public and International Affairs in 2007, Kendra completed a year of service with AmeriCorps and the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.  She currently works for Project Impact, an HIV treatment and prevention program at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center.