The role reported directly to the Head of Political Affairs at the UAE Embassy.

Conducting research and analysis on global economic and political developments that impact our clients, preparing our senior leaders for engagement on behalf of clients, and assisting the team in executing work plans for clients in various sectors, including aerospace and defense.

Research assistant to Dr. Azar Nafisi, author of the bestselling novel 'Reading Lolita in Tehran.'

• Building and leading the Department of Internal Communications from the ground up, and overseeing the development of SOPs and policies to support organizational and business needs • Devising and executing strategic communications plans for programs supporting nearly 5,000 Caregivers and contributing to increased Caregiver engagement• Leading the CEO Executive Communications Program• Leading the quarterly CEO Town Hall from message conception to execution (though the Events team handled the Event logistics side of things). The address brings together the entire organization• Meeting with the CEO on a weekly basis to pen/co-pen his CEO blog, which covers topics that range from the organization’s mission to health and patient care trends • Working closely with the Executive Team and department leads to help communicate departmental and functional milestones and updates• Advising on and executing media relations strategy in the lead-up to the hospital’s opening and beyond• Working closely with local and regional media to tell the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi story and position the hospital as a world-class healthcare facility, replicating Cleveland Clinic’s model of care in AD• Co-leading media training sessions for the executive team and physicians• Working closely with the digital team to launch the Intranet and website, as well as managing the web administrator• Onboarding and training non-clinical translators and overseeing quality assurance for all external Arabic content, including social media

• Working with clients' Corporate Communications & Marketing teams to develop their media strategy, master messaging and stakeholder engagement programs • Working with clients' digital teams to execute digital strategy to align with clients' business objectives• Leading and executing Arabic and English media relations strategy on corporate accounts – secured placements in the Wall Street Journal and CNN Arabia, among others • Developing content to support internal and external client communications (press releases, social media content, fact sheets, backgrounders, features, Q&As, newsletters, message house, talking points, proposals and other press office materials) • Conducting market and industry research to underpin PR proposals • Managing Assistant Account Executives and interns’ time and tasks • Handling translations when needed from and to English, Arabic and French • Providing on-site support during press conferences, town halls and other client events

• Developing the company’s digital PR strategy and launching social media outreach • Working with department leads to identity their key stakeholders and develop a strategy to engage them • Working with the copywriters to develop content to support the digital PR strategy, in line with the company’s messaging

• Lobbying US Congress to maintain USAID funding allocated to support the work of the alliance and its member organizations • Developing external communications to raise public awareness of the alliance’s vision and mission through media outreach • Developing the internal communications strategy to engage member organizations and drafting Arabic and English newsletters to keep them apprised of the latest legislative updates • Planning and leading lobby days on Capitol Hill and other public affairs events and developing talking points to all participants, aligning with the alliance’s legislative agenda • Networking and identifying funding opportunities for the alliance• Developing social media and website content • Managing interns’ time and workload

• Researching constituents’ cases and following up with the relevant governmental entities to address them • Monitoring the legislative process and working directly with Senator Zarelli to discuss possible amendments to bills relevant to the state constituency • Coordinating constituent communications through emails and snail mail • Attending the International Affairs Committee hearings and drafting briefs for the senator • Drafting memoranda following constituent meetings handled on behalf of the senator • Attending floor sessions to stay abreast the latest bills (During this time period, I was an intern first, then Senator Zarelli took me on as a Session aide)

• Conducting interviews and writing articles for the Red Cross newsletter • Monitoring the online conversation for topics relevant to the Red Cross and its beneficiaries • Drafting communications for Red Cross events