2012 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree
May Rihani
May Rihani served as Senior Vice President at AED, FHI360, and Creative Associates where she designed and managed gender and girls’ education projects in Afghanistan, Benin, Congo, Egypt,Ghana, Guinea, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Yemen.
Ms. Rihani’s extensive work in girls’ education includes policy assessments, innovative design, and systems’ analysis. Ms. Rihani is a leading voice on the relationship between girls’ education, reproductive health, and economic productivity.
Her expertise in education and gender programming attracted the attention of donor organizations that sought her input to support their missions. In just a few years, she expanded the donor base of AED’s Center on Gender beyond traditional donors — such as USAID and the World Bank – to include DFID, UNICEF, UNFPA, GE Foundation, Johnson and Johnson Foundation, Kenora Foundation, Exxon Mobil, and others.
One of Ms. Rihani’s major research is entitled, “Learning for the 21st Century: Girls’ Education in the Middle East and North Africa.” Her most recent publication is, “Keeping the Promise: Five Benefits of Girls’ Secondary Education.”
Due to her global experience, Ms. Rihani was elected Co-Chair of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative from 2008 to 2010.