Sarah Al-Aqeel PhD ‘15 has been appointed the 2017 Saudi Arabian Alumni Chapter President. Sarah will oversee a new governance structure of the Executive and Board, with support from her deputy and President Elect (2018) Noura Shehab PhD ’14.
Manager, Alumni Affairs, Lea Sublett, said the eight executive appointees were selected from over 30 exceptional nominations from KAUST’s Saudi Arabian alumni community. “Alumni were selected following a rigorous recruitment process by a selection committee.”
Dr Al-Aqeel has actively served KAUST as a volunteer since graduating with her PhD in 2015, and works as a scientist with Saudi Aramco in Dhahran. “It is my great honor and pleasure to serve the Saudi Arabian Alumni Chapter in 2017 as President,” she said.
The 2017 appointees to the Executive and Board represent a cross-section of alumni in industry, research, innovation and academia:
Executive –
President – Sarah Al-Aqeel, PhD ‘15
President Elect 2018 – Noura Shehab, PhD ‘14
Treasurer – Hassan Al-Ismail, MS ‘14
Representative of Postdoctoral Fellow Alumni – Manuel Aranda Lastra
VP Communications – Nadia Siddiqui, MS ‘10
Deputy VP Communications – Zesheng Dong, MS ‘11
VP Programs – Syed Abrar Ahmed, MS ‘11
Deputy VP Programs – Muna Khushaim, PhD ‘15
Board –
Communications Committee –
1. Shaikhah Laradhi, MS ‘12
2. Mona Alsomali, PhD ‘16
3. Fatemah AlZayer, MS ‘15
Programs Committee –
1. Abdullah Khamis, PhD ‘16
2. Umesh Patil
3. Abdullah AlShuaibi, MS ‘16
The Chapter’s agenda of increasing engagement in the Saudi Arabia is soon to be aided with a new networking portal plus volunteer-based activities covering various topics from innovation to careers.
The Chapter Executive and Board’s first meeting is on March 1, 2017.