Ibrahim Alaboud is a highly accomplished Syrian lawyer with a passion for humanitarian development, particularly in education. His expertise in criminal law, combined with his pursuit of an MBA at the prestigious Edinburgh Business School, has helped him excel in his career over the last five years. He first joined Paper Airplanes in 2018 as a student and quickly became an integral part of the team, volunteering to support students and assist with the organization's mission. Through his unwavering dedication and exceptional leadership, Ibrahim quickly rose through the ranks, serving as the English program manager and now the executive director. His impressive patience, communication skills, and ability to remain calm in any situation make him an invaluable asset to Paper Airplanes and the communities they serve.

Margaret Greco is an experienced director of development and fundraising with seven years of experience helping nonprofits serve their communities. Specializing in grants, donor relations, and fundraising campaigns, Margaret is determined to use these experiences to help Paper Airplanes grow and make an impact by providing opportunities to people worldwide. Margaret has been able to put the English, theater, and organizational leadership degrees she earned to good use. Over the years, Margaret has helped over ten nonprofits, and her passion for helping others makes her an invaluable asset to our cause. When she's not campaigning or writing, Margaret spends her days being a full-time mother to her daughter, volunteering with her local woman's club, impacting her community as an active community board member, horseback riding, blogging, and working on her new podcast.

My name is Karim Mikhail, and I am a first-generation Egyptian immigrant studying neuroscience and philosophy in the United States. I am currently a second year university student with aspirations of attending medical school in the future. Coming to the United States, I was fortunate to have incredible mentors that guided me while adjusting to a new country and empowered me to pursue my aspirations; without them and the privilege of education, I simply wouldn't be where I am now. I felt called to likewise make education accessible for fellow Middle Eastern migrants, especially refugees, which prompted me to join Paper Airplanes and

give back to communities in need.

Manar graduated from Damascus University with a master's degree in periodontology. She is currently pursuing an MBA degree at Nexford University, a scholarship she gained as part of her participation with Paper Airplanes. Manar has been involved with Paper Airplanes since 2018 in different capacities, starting as a student in the English program, as a student coordinator, and since 2021 as the admissions and enrollment coordinator. On top of working with Paper Airplanes, Manar works as a dentist and volunteers with different NGOs that focus on providing education and health services for marginalized communities in Syria. Her favorite hobbies are learning languages, listening to music, and watching her favorite movies and TV shows.

Muhammad is an agricultural engineer. He has been involved with Paper Airplanes since 2018 as a student, then as a tutor coordinator in 2021. He is now working as an English program facilitator with Paper Airplanes. Besides working with Paper Airplanes, he works as an executive administrator at a lubrication company. He is so grateful for being with Paper Airplanes because he wants to help raise the educational level of conflict-affected individuals.

Sarah Faron is an English program facilitator and a therapist. She first joined Paper Airplanes in 2019 as an English tutor. She is interested in voluntary and humanitarian work. In her free time, she likes to read, write, and learn new things.

Baraah is a Syrian Turkish woman in tech. She started her journey in education when she was in Syria and studied information system engineering. She had to drop out for about six years because of the war, where she was displaced several times with her husband and three children. When she arrived in Turkey, she learned Turkish, completed her university degree, joined a boot camp supported by the World Food Programme in web development, and started her career as a web developer with Turkish and international companies. She joined Paper Airplanes as the program coordinator for one year, then became the program manager in the fall 2022 semester. She would like to inspire and encourage women to learn to code and get into the tech field.

Rama is from Syria and graduated from university in 2015. However, she didn't have a chance to start working because she had to improve her English.

Joining the English program in Paper Airplanes helped develop her English skills, and from student to volunteer, she has gotten the chance to be the Women In Tech program facilitator.

As a facilitator, Rama assists the Women in Tech program manager in most of the tasks related to students' enrollment in the program. She also follows up with mentors, tutors, and students.
In her free time, Rama loves reading, practicing English conversation with her friends, and playing sports.

Sara Hawchar is a Lebanese English instructor at the Lebanese University. She holds a master’s degree in English language and literature with a focus on linguistics from the Lebanese University. Sara has helped different NGOs in many ways, including as a mentor, teacher trainer, professional skills trainer, business English teacher, and subject coordinator. Sara joined Paper Airplanes as a program manager for the Professional Development program in January 2023. With over ten years of experience as an educator, she has developed a wide range of skills that make her an effective program manager, including the ability to organize, plan, lead a team, and solve problems. When she’s not working, Sara spends her days being a full-time mother for her three kids, taking new courses, listening to music, and surfing through social media.

Aamal Alshihawi is from Syria. She is a graduate of the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh, where she studied public health and minored in psychology. She works virtually as an internship coordinator at Dr. Myatt Academy of Learning. This is Aamal’s first time working with Paper Airplanes as a Professional Development program facilitator. She likes to learn new things everyday, especially languages.

Ammar has a bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the University of Al-Baath. He has completed Masters of Building Information Modeling and Management at the Syrian Virtual University. Before joining Paper Airplanes, he worked as a volunteer at Syrian Arab Red Crescent’s Water and Rehabilitation Department.

Osama Sifo is a Syrian living in Istanbul. He is the COO of Apollo Group and has 12 years of experience working in civil society organizations in Syria and Turkey. He has worked in the field of communications building outreach strategies, managing projects, and conducting social research. He also organizes international campaigns to help those affected by the Syrian civil war. He is the director of The Portrait Project, the co-founder of the Entrepreneurship Support Center in Istanbul, and an Entrepreneurs’ International Coach and Mentor certified by ILM-UK.

Jessica Sansarran is an experienced communications specialist based in Washington D.C. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in media production with a strong emphasis on news communication from the University of Florida. Her education equipped her with the skills to effectively deliver news and information to a wide audience. Jessica's passion for humanitarian work led her to join Paper Airplanes, where she is excited to contribute as a volunteer digital content creator. As an advocate for human rights, she strives to make a positive impact on people's lives worldwide. Beyond her work, Jessica loves to spend her free time learning about space, volunteering in her local community, visiting theme parks, and learning new languages.

Joelle Mulzac has been a volunteer copyeditor with Paper Airplanes since February 2023. Joelle is responsible for copyediting Paper Airplanes’ written content, including its web pages, brochures, and social media posts.

Joelle has always been a grammar nerd. Before joining Paper Airplanes, Joelle was an ESL teacher, but is now transitioning to a career as a copyeditor and pursuing a copyediting certificate at the University of California, San Diego.

Other than copyediting, Joelle enjoys traveling, swimming, caring for animals, and learning about history and geography. Joelle also enjoys helping others, and has a lifetime of experience doing volunteer work in the US and other countries.

Seedra is a media student at Damascus University. She is passionate about everything related to media and education. She is currently a communications intern and an English tutor at Paper Airplanes.

Aya Hamzeh is a 22-year-old Palestinian who lives in Damascus, Syria. She has a bachelor’s degree in media specializing in public relations and advertising. In 2021 she started her journey in graphic design, and since then she has been active in her community as a volunteer by using her creativity and strong work ethic. She joined the organization as a student in the Women in Tech program, and after that became a graphic designer on the team. Aya feels responsible for the development of her community and devotes her time to helping others progress. She wants to have good outlets during her work with the organization to improve herself and gain new experiences.

Mahmoud graduated with a degree in informatics engineering. He works as a front-end developer and as a graphic designer. He studied English with Paper Airplanes for more than two and a half years and graduated in the spring of 2023. Currently, he is volunteering as a designer with Paper Airplanes. Mahmoud suffered from the long-term war in Syria, but he was able to continue his education and benefited from the Paper Airplanes English program.

Juyun Hwang (she/her) is the volunteer recruitment coordinator. She has been an English program tutor with Paper Airplanes since fall 2020, with teaching experience in both the Speaking Classes and the One-on-One Program. In spring 2023, Juyun also became a member of Paper Airplanes’ social media volunteer team and, more recently, assumed the position of volunteer recruitment coordinator. In this role, she supports Paper Airplanes’ outreach efforts. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in molecular, cell, and developmental biology and a global health minor. Currently, she is in her gap years preparing for medical school. While she spent most of her life in California, she originally hails from Seoul, South Korea and understands what it is like mastering English as a second language. She realizes that wonderful mentors have supported her to where she is today, so she joined Paper Airplanes to help her peers achieve their own goals and more!