F. Gregory Gause III is Professor of International Affairs and John H.

Mr. Jonathan McKay currently serves as the Head of Growth at OpenAI, where he is responsible for driving user and revenue growth for ChatGPT. His responsibilities also extend to the strategic allocation of the GPU fleet and developing product infrastructure to support GPU allocation, internationalization, and comprehensive A/B testing initiatives across ChatGPT platforms.

Ms. Dena H. Elkhatib is the general counsel for Riyadh Air. She is a transactional lawyer with over 20 years of experience and a specialty in high-value transactions in various sectors, including banking and aviation. Her experiences include aircraft portfolio acquisition/sales, finance/operating leases, debt financing, and restructuring transactions.

Dr. Mondher Ben Ayed is a Tunisian entrepreneur, engineer, and academic. He is the president and CEO of TMI, a leading company in the field of information and communication technologies, and Oradist, a distributor of Oracle products and services in Tunisia. He is also a former professor of computer engineering at the University of Rochester, where he obtained his PhD in 1990. He holds an MS and a BS in electrical engineering from the same institution.

Mr. Antoine N. Frem is the co-founder and vice chairman of INDEVCO, a group of manufacturing enterprises that produce paperboard, corrugated cartons, plastics, and sanitary products. He is also the chairman of the board of UNIPAK, a subsidiary of INDEVCO that specializes in packaging solutions. He has more than 45 years of experience in the packaging and paperboard industry and has worked in the US and international markets.

Ambassador (ret.) Deborah K. Jones​ retired from the U.S. Department of State in November 2016 with the rank of Career Minister​ following 34 years of service. Her last assignment was as Deputy Commandant/International Affairs Advisor​ at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy​ (formerly ICAF) of the National Defense University​ from October 2015 to November 2016, following her appointment as U.S. Ambassador to Libya​ from June 2013 until September 2015. She served as Scholar-in-Residence at the Middle East Institute​ from August 2012 to March 2013.

Ambassador (ret.) William A. Rugh was the president of Amideast from 1995 to 2003, following a distinguished diplomatic career that included service as U.S. ambassador to Yemen (1984-86) and to the UAE (1992-95). He was a foreign service officer with the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) from 1964 to 1995 and served at six posts, all in the MENA region: Cairo (twice), Jidda, Riyadh, Damascus, Sanaa, and Abu Dhabi. In Washington, he served in USIA’s Near East/South Asia Bureau three times. He retired in 1995 as a career minister.  

Dr. Mary Gray is the author of books and papers in the fields of mathematics, mathematics education, computer science, applied statistics, economic equity, discrimination law, and academic freedom. She has lectured throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Her current research interests include applications of statistics in litigation, ethical issues in statistics, intellectual property and academic freedom, and language and gender issues in mathematics. Her work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P.

Ms. Mona Oswald is a retired Financial Marketing Executive with experience in broad-based strategic sales planning, market expansion, and relationship management. As a Vice President of Investments with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney she advised high-net-worth individuals, family offices, law firms, and other corporate clients concerning investment opportunities, retirement, and pension planning.

Mr. Hussam Abu Issa has distinguished himself in a variety of fields, including entrepreneurship, business, finance, philanthropy, and intercultural relations. His interests lie in promoting higher education, research on health issues, and inter-Arab trade and investment. He is a regular attendee of various international forums and council meetings.