Here is your Candidate Guide for this year's election of executive board positions of President, Member at Large-Practice/Applied, and Member at Large student. Depending on your membership status you will be voting on one or two of these positions. Full members are eligible to vote on President and Member at Large-Practice/Applied. Graduate Student members may vote on President and Member at Large-Student, while Undergraduate Students may only vote on Member at Large-Student.
Please review the following biographies and statements from each candidate as you make your decision about how you will cast your vote. Additional information about each of these positions can be found under the "About Us" tab, by following the link for "Leadership" at www.amenapsy.org.
In order to vote, please follow the link to the ballot that was sent to you by email.
Candidate for President
Germine "Gigi" Awad
Biography: Germine Awad, Ph.D., is an associate professor and area chair of the Human Development, Culture and Learning Sciences Program in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also affiliated with the Counseling Psychology Program.
She conducts research on the process of acculturation and ethnic identity formation for Arab-Americans residing in the United States. Her findings show that Arab Americans construct their ethnic identity in complex and sophisticated ways. More recently, she has collected data testing an experimental streamlined version of a Census race/ethnicity question with Middle Eastern/Arab Americans. Germine also studies the effect of discrimination on the Arab and African American community as well as predictors of prejudice toward Arab Americans, individuals of Middle Eastern descent, and other minority groups. She has published in the areas of racial and ethnic identity, affirmative action attitudes, and multicultural research methodology.
She is one of the co-founders of AMENA-Psy and currently serves as the Treasurer for the organization. Dr. Awad has also served as the inaugural MENA/Arab Member-at-Large for APA Division 45 (Division of Culture, Race, & Ethnicity). She has published over 40 articles and book chapters and is the co-editor (with Mona Amer) of The Handbook of Arab American Psychology. She has taught courses in research methodology, statistics, psychology of women, and psychology of race and racism. Dr. Awad is associate editor of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, and served on the editorial boards of The Journal of Black Psychology, Psychology of Women Quarterly, Women and Therapy, and the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. She received her B.S. in psychology from John Carroll University in Cleveland and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Elections Statement: I would be honored to serve as President-Elect (and then President) of AMENA-Psy. This organization is very close to my heart. I am one of three co-founders of this organization along with Mona Amer and Nabil El-Ghoroury. I also served on the steering committee that formed the organization and currently serve as Treasurer. In addition, I fought for and served as the inaugural MENA/Arab Member-at-Large for APA Division 45. I have dedicated my entire career to help grow the field of Arab/MENA psychology and continue to fight for recognition of our people in the federal government as well as APA and other organizations. I have worked with the Census to try to add a separate “Middle Eastern and North African” race/ethnicity category. My goal as president would be to continue to build our infrastructure as an organization to ensure our longevity. I will continue to fight for recognition of our organization and our people within the field of psychology.
Candidates for Member at Large-Practice/Applied
Serene Habayeb
Biography: Serene Habayeb, PhD, is a clinical psychology postdoctoral fellow at Children’s National Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Washington, D.C. Dr. Habayeb is Palestinian and Lebanese and grew up in Dubai. She completed her undergraduate training in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester and subsequently completed a post-baccalaureate fellowship in developmental social neuroscience at Emory University/ Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Habayeb received her Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America in child clinical psychology with a focus on children, families, and cultures. She then completed her clinical internship at Children's National Hospital. Her dissertation research focused on the experiences of Arab American families raising children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), specifically highlighting the experiences of stress, coping, stigma and acculturation. She was awarded the AMENA-Psy Dissertation Award in the summer of 2019 and subsequently published this research in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The project served as the first ever exploration of parental experiences in raising a child with ASD in the Arab American community. Her clinical and research work focuses on improving systems of care for individuals with ASD in US and in the Middle East.
Elections Statement: I would be honored to serve as the Practice/Applied Member-at-Large on the AMENA-Psy executive board. As an Arab raised in the Gulf and trained and practicing in the US, I am passionate about serving as an ambassador for my culture and profession. As Member-at-Large I hope to support both AMENA communities as well as Arab professionals in the field of psychology. Currently, representatives on the executive board primarily work with adults. As a child psychologist, I would provide a unique contribution to the board, providing my specialized knowledge in supporting children and families. Further, I would be able to share my expertise in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities. As I began my practice in the US, I became aware of the limited research and clinical resources available to support AMENA families raising children with developmental disabilities. That awareness led me to spend some time working with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the UAE and then develop my dissertation research to better understand the needs of parents raising children with ASD in the US. I subsequently collaborated and published research assessing an intervention for Syrian refugee families raising children with autism in Turkey. I am currently working with WISH of Qatar Foundation to better understand the needs of young adults with ASD and their families in Qatar. My range of clinical and research experiences working within the field of child psychology and supporting AMENA communities make me a fitting candidate to serve as a member of the AMENA-psy executive board. I appreciate AMENA-Psy members considering me for this position. I hope to have this platform to continue participating in the important work of advocacy and policy to improve the psychological well-being of AMENA communities.
Engin Ege Ontiveros
Biography: Dr. Engin Ege Ontiveros is a staff psychologist and international student specialist at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. She is a member of the AMENA-Psy practice and advocacy ad-hoc committee. She is the founder of the interdisciplinary International Focus Committee at Georgetown University. She also has a counseling practice in Washington D.C. where she focuses on populations of AMENA descent. She has spent much of her professional career facilitating AMENA support groups, delivering workshops on resilience and mindfulness and educating other mental health professionals on the interactions of mental health, experiences of racism and Islamophobia in the AMENA community. Dr. Ontiveros has presented at several professional conferences on her clinical experience and research focus of AMENA and Muslim mental health. Dr. Ontiveros holds a doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Florida and completed her predoctoral internship at the University of Maryland Counseling Center.
Elections Statement: I believe my professional experiences to date, in addition to my passion and dedication to improving the lives of American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African people through mental health advocacy, policy and programming make me an excellent candidate for the Member at Large-Practice/Applied position. Over my professional career thus far, I have served the AMENA community needs through public education about mental health, creating and supporting platforms for AMENA identified individuals to address their barriers to help-seeking in community settings. Specifically, through my involvement in the Social Justice Advocacy Taskforce at the University of Florida, and Muslim Advocacy Taskforce at Virginia Commonwealth University, and the creation of the International Focus Committee at Georgetown University, I worked to identify the mental health needs and barriers for AMENA-identified individuals and advocate for policy and programming changes at an institutional level.
As a counseling psychologist, I strive to not only be an ally to my clients in the therapy office, but view it as my professional responsibility to use my social location to lower barriers to mental health treatment for those who may not identify the therapy office as a space for them. Therefore, I view outreach initiatives for the AMENA community, both online and in-person, as vital in encouraging helping-seeking, providing a space to process oppressive experiences, and increase opportunities for building trust in the counseling process. To this end, I have been an active member of AMENA-Psy’s Practice and Advocacy Committee since its creation, working alongside my colleagues to a create an online directory of psychology practitioners who provide culturally sensitive and culturally responsive clinical and assessment services to MENA Americans. My social justice values and rewarding professional experiences serving the AMENA community have prepared me well to lead efforts in furthering the AMENA Psy, “Advocacy and Policy” and “Practice and Psychological Well-Being of AMENA Communities” objectives through the Member at Large-Practice/Applied position.
Candidates for Member at Large-Student
Mohamed Abdallah
Biography: My name is Mohamed Abdallah. I am a 24 year old Egyptian American civil rights activist and community organizer. Born in Port Said, Egypt, I immigrated to the United States at the age of 6 years old. I earned my bachelors degree in Psychology as well as Leadership and Global Understanding from La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA. I am currently pursuing my Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego. I am also currently working as a bilingual clinician at Heartland Wellness Recovery Center in El Cajon, CA., an outpatient community mental health clinic that serves primarily Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish immigrants and refugees.
Elections Statement: I am passionate about serving as the student Member-at-Large on the AMENA-Psy Executive Board. I am passionate about brining social awareness to issues that impact the mental wellbeing of our communities. I have spent time advocating for legislation on a state and national level to raise awareness about issues such as the unconstitutional travel ban and how it continues to affect immigrants and refugees of all communities. I have also been instrumental in bringing awareness about the inhumane treatment of migrant communities that are seeking asylum at the San Ysidro board of entry, especially while in detention. As a student Member-at-Large, I will dedicate my time and passion to being an active participant in the executive board and doing all that I can do to advocate for the wellbeing of Arab/MENA communities in North America through research, education, advocacy, and the advancement of ethical practice.
Bahaur Amini
Biography: Salam! I am Bahaur Amini, a third-year Counseling Psychology Ph.D. student at the University of Kansas. I received my M.S. in Clinical/Counseling Psychology at Cal State San Bernardino and my B.A. in Psychology from Cal State Long Beach. Throughout my professional career, I have committed my efforts in contributing to psychological research and practice with AMENA populations. I believe my research and clinical interests, along with my experience in leadership provides a context for me to succeed as AMENA-Psy's next Student Member at Large.
My professional interests and goals resulted from my own cultural identity and journey as a Middle Eastern graduate student. As a first-generation born Iranian-American raised in an Islamic household in the US, I learned to navigate the intersectionality of worlds with colliding cultural expectations and beliefs. Awareness for the multiplicity of my social contexts - and others' lack thereof - has shaped my interests and goals for the advancement of multicultural counseling and social justice with an emphasis on AMENA populations.
My research interests broadly capture the impact of childhood/adolescent trauma on mental health functioning and relationships in adulthood with a special focus on Middle Eastern populations. I am also interested in cultural and social identity development, experiences of perceived discrimination, and resiliency. My clinical interests include working with adult children of trauma, identity development with minority populations, and working with families and couples.
In my three years as a Counseling Psychology Ph.D. student, I have had the honor of serving many leadership roles. As the Doctoral Student Representative for my program, I was provided a platform to advocate for my peers and work with faculty to address areas of growth in our multicultural training. I am also a Student Liaison for Division 45's Student Committee and the student representative of Division 17, in which, I was awarded the 2018 Student Affiliates of Seventeen Representative of the Year. I am also very active in our own AMENA-Psy student committee working with other dedicated AMENA graduate students.
Elections Statement: I grew up, along-side family and friends, in an environment fueled by islamophobia, but also an environment that moved me to create change. My motivation for change strengthened when I arrived at graduate school and found that even in the psychology community, feelings of invisibility and isolation were still ever-present. That is why to serve as the AMENA-Psy student-member-at-large would realize a dream I have been chasing since entering the field of psychology - to support the professional scholarship and practice of the AMENA psychology student community. I envisioned a group of resilient, intellectual, and motivated AMENA students who shared a common goal; to create change through education and leadership. I got my first sight of this vision as a member of the AMENA-Psy's student committee. While in this role, I have supported the development of a mentorship manual for AMENA-Psy student members and collaborated on APA presentations with AMENA students across universities to bring visibility to our community. I am now ready to assume a larger role in fostering the change that Samija Jallouqa has first championed. My vision for this role is to inspire, empower, and support AMENA psychology graduate students for generations to come. If elected, I aim to realize this vision through five initiatives:
Sustain. Sustain the integrity of the student committee.
Execute. Execute new and active projects from the previous administration.
Develop. Develop new projects to engage AMENA psychology students and to promote their academic and professional goals.
Collaborate. Collaborate with other APA student divisions such as Student Affiliates of Seventeen and Division 45 to promote awareness of and partnerships with AMENA-Psy students.
Advocate & Share. Advocate for and share resources, training, and opportunities that support the professional growth of AMENA psychology students.
It would be an honor and privilege to be AMENA-Psy's Student Member at Large and support our community of AMENA psychology students.
Zeina Soued
Biography: My name is Zeina Soued and I am a fourth-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I have always known that I had wanted to pursue a career in mental health services. I majored in psychology at Rhodes College where I practiced crisis management as a Peer Advocate. I earned my Masters in Mental Health Counseling at Boston College in 2016. During my internship training at Natick High School, I realized that my personality and skill set allow me to make a real impact on adolescents and emerging adults. I find this age group’s complex mix of bravado and vulnerability fascinating.
As a Muslim and a Syrian American, I am particularly passionate about working on identity development with young people who have diverse racial and ethnic identities. They desperately need mental health providers who understand racial, sexual, religious, and cultural differentiations. Currently, I am examining the impact of acculturative stress on ethnic identity development among Arab Americans for my doctoral dissertation. I am excited to do research on Arab American identity development in order to construct a model that future clinicians can utilize in treatment.
Elections Statement: As AMENA-Psy’s student member-at-large I will identify areas of strengths and growth that will help advance the professional development of student members. Additionally, I will help facilitate opportunities for students that have an interest in studying Arab/MENA mental health and build partnerships with other organizations that can help provide resources for research. Living in the Chicago area has provided me with the opportunity to experience the wide variety of Arab/MENA organizations and allowed me to build relationships with community mental health leaders and practitioners. I would also collaborate with student members to explore interests in advocacy and work together to establish goals of how AMENA-Psy can support the well-being of Arab/MENA Americans. I hope to create a community within AMENA-PSY that gives students a platform to share their research interests and network together to contribute to the visibility of Arab/MENA mental health.