OUR TEAM

Mohammed Aleem, Operations

Aleem is the Executive Director and the co-founder of HADI. He oversees the operations of CLASSRoad. He has extensive experience in Information Technology and has worked with Fortune 100 companies in the area of Management Information Systems. He holds an MBA with a specialization in Management Information Systems from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Dany Doueiri, Academics

Dr. Doueiri is the Academic Director at CLASSRoad and is the co-founder of HADI. He is the Arabic Language Program Director of the Department of World Languages and Literatures at California State University in San Bernardino (CSUSB) since 2001. He earned his doctorate degree in Islamic Studies from (UCLA) in 1995. From 1991 to 2001, he worked in consulting and nonprofit institutions and has several publications. Under Dr. Doueiri’s guidance, the CSUSB Arabic program has expanded to become the first and only California State University to offer a B.A. in Arabic in the entire 23-campus CSU system, the largest higher education system in the U.S. The program also offers a minor and a certificate and encompasses more than 28 different Arabic courses related to language, literacy, culture, literature, and contemporary issues of the Arab world. Dr. Doueiri is active in the community where he is frequently invited as a guest lecturer and expert commentator for media organizations. He has been a lead investigator in the STARTALK grant from HADI (Human Assistance & Development International) and has served as a STARTALK site visitor. He is a member of several language based professional organizations.

Munir Shaikh, Online Education

Munir is a HADI Board Member and advisor for development and implementation of all aspects of CLASSRoad’s online courses and resources. He holds a masters degree in Islamic Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is Director of Academic Affairs & Planning at Bayan Claremont, Claremont School of Theology.  He has over 20 years of experience in public education and the non-profit world and has taught courses on Middle Eastern history, Islam, and world history at several universities. He serves as the Executive Director of the Institute on Religion and Civic Values, an organization that provides academic resources, textbook reviews, and teacher training for U.S. K-12 social studies, and engages international educators and policymakers on curriculum development. Munir has been involved in national conversations about the need for religious literacy and constitutionally appropriate “teaching about religion.” He is a frequent commentator, textbook reviewer, consultant and technical advisor on issues pertaining to Islam’s place in world history, the practice of Islam and the Muslim community experience in contemporary America.

Amr Saemaldahr, Technology

Amr serves as the Chief Technology Officer at HADI. He has a wide range of experience in information technology. He served as MIS Director for AuctionX, one of the first online auction sites and Tredex, a wholesale computer re-seller. Earlier, he held positions with a commercial bank. He holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Lyon, France (ICPI). Amr also serves as the Technology Director for the HADI online education program.

Mustafa Haluk Karamate, Software

Haluk is a passionate software developer. He has a BS in Geophysics from Istanbul Technical University and a MS in Computer Science from California State University Long Beach. He has been a member of the HADI team since 1995. He developed the first CLASSRoad in-house LMS in 2007.

Jawahar Khwaja, eCommerce & eBooks

Jawahar manages the eCommerce operations at HADI. Jawahar has an inherent desire to use various mediums to promote knowledge whether it is through art or developing a line of multi-touch interactive eBooks for children. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Aligarh University in India.

Adji Sudarmadji, Computer Systems

Adji manages the organization’s computer systems, which includes keeping the network up to date and running smoothly. He has a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Diponegoro University, Indonesia.

Rami Doueiri, Projects

Dr. Doueiri is responsible for the AlDaad project aiming to improve Arabic reading. He received his Masters degrees in cancer biology, then his PhD in virology and did a postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest biomedical research center in the world, working on HIV vaccines. He recently switched to educational management with the purpose to transfer and commercialize educational technologies. In addition, he is interested in creating online classes to facilitate understanding science and reduce scientific misconception with the public.

Azhar Moeen, Accounting

Azhar Moeen takes care of the the financial operations at HADI in order to help it run efficiently. He has a Bachelor’s in Accounting from the University of Karachi, Pakistan. He has also obtained a Certificate in Computer Science.

Nabeeha Aleem, eBooks

Nabeeha supports the organization’s efforts to develop a comprehensive repository of digital resources and educational content for eBooks and other online products. Nabeeha has a BS in Psychology from University of California, Irvine.

Letha Kay Goger, Grants & Program Development

Letha has twenty years experience in K-20 education and experience in program design and evaluation, open education practice, open educational resources (OER), and the development of digital libraries for teaching and learning. Letha focuses on program development and is CLASSRoad’s STARTALK Summer Teacher Program project director. Most recently, Letha was Communications Librarian at the University of California, Merced, and she is currently adjunct faculty at Fresno Pacific University, School of Education where she teaches courses in curriculum development, learning & instruction, and assessing student learning in the teacher credential program. Previously, Letha worked to develop high-value digital libraries, such as OER Commons, the National Science Digital Library, Al-Masdar, and CaliforniaStreaming. She also directed library and media services for Mariposa County Office of Education. Letha holds an M.A. from the University of California, Merced, in World Cultures, with a focus on libraries and learning, and an M.L.I.S. from California State University, San Jose, with a focus on instructional design and digital libraries.

Mahbuba Hammad, Education

Professor Mahbuba Hammad has been part of the CLASSRoad staff since 2011, working on many aspects of  the teacher training program. She also led the research team in vetting, abstracting, categorizing and evaluating  more than 2,000 institutional and online resources to assist Arabic Language teachers in the Almasdar site, a  special program funded by Qatar Foundation International. She is also an instructional faculty member teaching Arabic language and content-based courses in the World Languages and Literatures Department at California  State University, San Bernardino. She has extensive experience in Summer Language Programs under many  capacities in instruction, teacher and tutor training and program administration.

David Briggs, Program Specialist

David is CLASSRoad Program Specialist and engaged in the development and deployment of projects that support the growth of world language teachers and learners. He earned an M.A. in Teaching International Languages from California State University, Chico in 2016, and B.A.s in Arabic and Social Sciences from California State University, San Bernardino in 2014.  David began working with Arabic as a linguist in the U.S. Army in 2004. Since leaving the military David has worked at intensive Arabic programs in California State University, San Bernardino, and Patterson Joint Unified School District.

Maria Costea, Logistics & Technology

Maria Costea has a BS in Computer Science from University of Maryland Baltimore County. For the past four years she has supported language teachers and staff in STARTALK  Arabic and Chinese Teacher Training Programs. She Manages the LMS for CLASSRoad and provides technology set-up and testing support to our asynchronous and synchronous participants via email, chat, screen sharing and other online tools, as well as  by phone as needed. She also assists participants to ensure they can complete their assignments in a timely  fashion. She serves as a back-channel support person for our Master Teachers and Instructional Associates. She has also served as the Logistics Coordinator and Technology Instructor of the Center for Human Services / McDaniel College.

Pei-ni Lin Causarano, Chinese Language

Pei-ni Lin Causarano has a Ph.D in Educational Linguistics from University of New Mexico. Her dissertation focuses on Developing Thinking in L2 Speaking: Evidence from Spatial-temporal System in Chinese and  English Learners.” Her research interests are in Language pedagogy, first and second language acquisition,  sociolinguistics, discourse analysis and online language learning. Pei-ni has been supporting CLASSRoad online language training workshops since 2012.

Muneeb A. Malik, Planning

Muneeb is a board member and co-founder of HADI. He has a broad range of experience with information, communications and software technologies working with Fortune 100 companies. He has a BS in Computer Science from University of California at Los Angeles.

ASSOCIATES

Barbara Lindsey and Dr. Bobby Hobgood are lead instructors for CLASSRoad workshops. They pioneered the first fully online language teacher training program for CLASSRoad STARTALK workshop in 2014. CLASSRoad training programs are considered leading and exemplary online online language teacher workshops.

Barbara Lindsey

Barbara Lindsey teaches for the ACTFL/UMUC Online Graduate Certificate in Instructional Technology Integration Program and consults on two Startalk programs. She retired from the University of Connecticut, where she directed the Multimedia Language Center in the Department of Literatures, Cultures & Languages and designed and taught an open access, graduate-level course on the use of social networking environments for language, culture and civilization courses. A former German teacher, Barbara is a past president of the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers (2004-2006) and served on the NECTFL board from 2012 to 2015.

Bobby Hobgood

Dr. Bobby Hobgood is the Director of the Language Resource Center in the Department of Languages and Culture Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  He is also an adjunct professor in the College of Education where he teaches advanced methods for foreign languages and advanced pedagogy for TESOL, both in online format.  His work in online learning dates back to the mid nineties  when he created one of the first online professional development courses for North Carolina K-12 educators.   Bobby has also led the development of online course programs including an adolescent literacy series and a series of language learning courses in Mandarin, Arabic, and Japanese for the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS.org).  He taught high school French, and also speaks Spanish.  Since 1993, he has consistently presented workshops and concurrent sessions on technology integration for world languages at the annual conference of the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina (flanc.org).   Bobby’s dissertation focused on high school students’ perceptions of motivation, learning, and enjoyment in online discussions.

Bobby earned an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.A.T. from the School for International Training, and a B.A. in Education (French) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.