The ACW Board of Directors

Board Members of the Arab Center of Washington

The ACW would not be what it is today without the hard work and dedication of its board members. Now as the ACW looks forward to entering its 15 year anniversary, we would like to say a loud "Shukran" to all the dedicated people below:

2008 Board Members

Abed Kouttainay, Board Director

Abed Kouttainay was born and raised in Jerusalem, Palestine until leaving Jerusalem at a more mature age of 25 to pursue his higher education in the US. Abed and his family experienced first hand the 1948 “Nakba”. In spite of their refugee status, they were able to send him back to his old French school from which he graduated the first in his class, enabling him to obtain a full scholarship from the French government to study statistics in Beirut, Lebanon. Returning to Jerusalem, Abed worked for the British Bank of the Middle East, a job which allowed him , in a period of 7 years, to save barely enough funds to continue his university studies in the U.S. Abed graduated with a degree in economics from Pacific Lutheran University; then obtained a second degree in International business from the U.W. Later, while fully employed by Seattle First National Bank (now Bank of America) Abed received his M.B.A. in organization and Finance from Seattle University, also acquiring advanced certificates in banking from the American Bankers Association. He was later elected to be the treasurer, then president of the Seattle chapter of the ABA. Abed started his sojourn back to the Arab world, and in 1976, was employed by one of the largest oil companies in Abu Dhabi, UAE, as a contract manager for its drilling and production operations, handling contracts up to $12 million. Abed and his wife returned to the US in 1994. While his wife works for Bank of America, Abed is busy dividing his time between giving talks in the community about Islam and Middle East affairs and volunteering to do translation work at different venues in the area. Abed goes back to join the Board of Directors of the Arab Center as treasurer, a post he previously held, later followed by the post of Director.

Rhenda Meiser, Secretary

Rhenda Meiser is proud of her Palestinian heritage. Her mother is originally from Jerusalem and her extended family lives throughout the world. She is married to Tomas Rezanka and they have two children. Rhenda has a Master’s degree in Public Communication from American University in Washington, DC, and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia. She freelances as a writer and public relations consultant. Rhenda’s interests include literature and social justice. She has served on or chaired the Arab Festival’s Publicity Committee since 1999, watching the festival grow in stature each year.

Ziyad Zaitoun, Treasurer

Ziyad Zaitoun was born in 1954 in the occupied city of Hebron (El-Khalil), raised in Amman, Jordan. Post high school, attending the Arab University of Beirut until the civil unrest in Lebanon in 1975, he decided to start his new adventure in the USA. Attended and graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering. In 1984, Ziyad and his wife and daughter packed their suitcases and move to Jordan. After working and living in Amman for three years, The family decided to move back to Seattle. Few adventures and career changes, Ziyad had the opportunity to work for Washington State Department of Transportation, where he is currently. Married to Cindi since 1977 with two daughters; Nisreen and Areej and a son Layth. Ziyad is a founding member of the Arab American Community Coalition(AACC), a civil and human right local organization with a global reach.

Oraib Khalifeh, Member at Large

Oraib Khalifeh Kabbani was born in Nablus, Palestine and educated in both Amman, Jordan and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She arned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from the University of Jordan and moved to the United States in 1988 to join her husband, Nader Kabbani. She is a proud mother of four daughters. Oraib is well travelled. She lived with her husband in Montreal, Canada for 1 year; Dallas, Texas for 10 years; Zurich, Switzerland for 3 years; and Austin, Texas for 3 years. She moved to Bellevue, Washington in summer of 2005. Oraib has been an active member of the Arab Heritage Society for over 10 years. She successfully hosted over 15 Eid parties for the Arab Communities around the world. Oraib enjoys reading historical novels and is a member of the masters swim team. Her hobbies include painting, knitting, biking, skiing, hiking, and outdoor sports.

Su Nelson, Member at Large

Su Nelson has been interested in the many cultures of the Middle East since seeing a production of Kismet in 1976. Since then she has studied the folk dances and Raks Sharqi of the Levant, North Africa, Egypt and the Gulf States, while simultaneously developing a life-long love of classical Arab music. Su has worked in workforce education in the local community and technical college system for the past 10 years, following the earning of a Master’s Degree in Education – Student Development Administration, from Seattle University. Prior to that, Su studied classical Arabic language for one year at Portland State University and completed her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Portland. Su has traveled to Egypt and Jordan and has been a member of ACW since 1996. Su is part of Shahrazad Middle Eastern Ensemble, which has performed folk dances from the Arab world at all of the Arab Festivals to date.

Lara Simone, Member at Large

Lara's father is originally from Bethlehem, Palestine and he immigrated to Jordan in the 1967 war. She was born and raised in Amman, Jordan and came to the United States in 1990 to Los Angeles, where she lived for 9 years before moving to Seattle. After her divorce she went back to the University of WA and graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. Lara is currently working on her Masters Degree in Education and has a beautiful daughter who is almost 12. Lara loves drawing and have a passion for interior design.

Laila Taji, Member at Large

Laila Taji is of Palestinian descent, was born in the UK and was raised here in Seattle. She has a biochemistry degree from Smith College and a second bachelor’s degree in nursing from Johns Hopkins University. She currently works at Harborview Medical Center as a nurse supervisor in the Burn and Plastic Surgery Clinic. Her past work experience includes coordinating a volunteer-based tutoring program at a local elementary school and four years of pediatric nursing. This year, she helped coordinate the children’s activities at the Arab Festival. She is excited to serve on the board and hopes to encourage younger generations to join and become active in the Arab Center.

Past ACW Board of Directors Members

Today's Arab Center of Washington is the result of years of hard work of dozens of board members many of whose names are listed on this page. (please be patient with us as we work to fill in the missing names)