Dina Sherif

I was referred to THNK by Reem Khouri.

I am a Founding Partner of Ahead of the Curve, which is a social enterprise dedicated to building sustainable societies by creating more sustainable business models and enterprises. I have also been the Senior Advisor for Civic Engagement to Silatech, a regional non-profit organization working on youth economic empowerment in the Middle East, since October 2012. Prior to that I was the Associate Director of the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement based at the American University in Cairo since the time of its establishment in 2006 until 2011. I have several years of experience in working with the private sector with regards to developing more responsible management practices and in developing strategic social investment programs. I have also worked very closely with civil society organizations, in particular foundations, to create more effective programs that will lead to social change. During my time as the Deputy Director of Projects at Financial Technical Consulting Services - a consultancy firm that specializes in rural development in sub-Saharan Africa - I traveled extensively throughout Africa, gaining widespread experience in rural and community development.

My overall experience has led me to be qualified in sustainability management (including economic, environmental and social performance of organizations), strategic philanthropy, project management, strategic planning, the design of public awareness campaigns, monitoring and evaluation, program design, and organizational capacity building and socio-economic research. Over my fifteen years of experience, my work has been applied to the following areas: environment, education, women’s empowerment, youth development, socially responsible business, food security, agricultural development, public health, service learning and strategic philanthropy.

Further to the above, I am currently the Chair of the board of the Arab Foundations Forum, based in Amman, Jordan; the Alashanek ya Baladi Association (For You My Country) in Egypt, and a member of the Advisory board of Nakhweh based in Jordan.

I am co–editor and contributing author of the book: From Charity to Social Change: Trends in Arab Philanthropy and have further contributed to a number of key publications in the area of civic engagement and responsible business.

I hold a BA in Political Science and a MA in Development Studies, both acquired from the American University in Cairo and am currently working on a PhD in Philanthropy Studies at Indiana University Purdue in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was recently named one of Trust America’s top 100 thought leaders on responsible business practice in Europe and the Middle East, and am currently a Fellow with the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC.