Doha, Qatar
I've been honored to work with Doha Forum since 2018 as it has grown as a major hub for diplomacy and dialogue in the global affairs community. The work of the forum includes the flagship conference, developing partnerships with top institutions in global affairs, hosting high-level roundtable discussions, and supporting the development of thought leadership across a variety of platforms.
* Led institutional partnerships between the university and leading industry and policymaking organizations. This entailed representing and authentically communicating the mission of the American university in an international context, finding common goals and opportunities for collaboration. * Served as senior advisor to the dean and CEO of Northwestern University’s school in Qatar’s Education City, working on a wide range of strategic issues including staffing and management, institutional research, and public relations with both American and international stakeholders and audiences * General management and co-authorship of Media Use in the Middle East, the largest cross-sector survey research initiative of its kind. Led research partnerships and the collaborative workflow between the university as an institution, individual leading academics, and private sector organizations such as Nielsen, World Internet Project, and technical vendors. Also led communications efforts around the initiative, regularly speaking and presenting the project and its findings * Developed and led NU-Q’s Strategy Workshop program, an initiative that provides senior executives of major media-related initiatives with intensive consultation on critical strategic issues. Participants included Al Jazeera’s AJ+ and Libya’s National Transitional Council * Co-authorship and project management of Media Industries in the Middle East, an analysis of 11 major sectors of the media industry in MENA. Oversaw the daily collaboration between university leadership, American and international scholars, and Monitor Deloitte strategy team * Recruited and mentored undergraduate students as research assistants and interns on institutional research initiatives * Led Northwestern University in Qatar’s Speaker Series program
Held several leadership positions through startup period, as the institution grew from a festival (Doha Tribeca Film Festival) to Doha Film Institute * Directed 20+ person internal production and communications teams, running daily editorial meetings, assigning and overseeing newsroom-style multimedia output * Directed and managed external PR/communications agencies * Represented the institution and its mission to government and industry leaders during its establishment and growth phases
* Contributing correspondent for IFC (Independent Film Channel) primetime media criticism show "The Media Project with Gideon Yago” * Field producer and Middle East consultant to wide-release Universal Pictures film
* Advised AJE’s first director of programming during the establishment of the channel’s presence in the United States and the development of its entire programming lineup, starting from scratch * Produced test pilots for AJE on-screen talent * Covered diplomatic/political developments from the United Nations bureau * Produced long and short-form documentary content, live hits and studio interviews with guests including Richard Branson, the Dalai Lama, Walter Cronkite, and Ted Turner