New President at the Book Project
Zena Soudah was intrigued by the US after her first visit to family friends in Washington DC. What started out as a summer holiday there, soon led to a decision to return and remain in the area ever since.
Born and raised in Cyprus, Zena is of Palestinian descent. She and her family resided on the island until 1974 when they were forced to evacuate as a result of the Turkish invasion. Being that her father worked for the US government at the time, the family, plus other government employees, were transported to Beirut, Lebanon. Sadly, the family was forced to evacuate again less than a year later with the outbreak of the civil war. Their next destination was Reading, England.
Three years later, after her first visit to the US, Zena enrolled at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. After graduating, she was employed for several years by Freddie Mac and Unisys in Tysons Corner, VA.
Upon joining the World Bank in 1993, Zena felt she had found her niche. Starting out in the CTAPP program, she joined the Community Relations program in External Affairs a year later. With a budget of $36,000, she and her manager at the time, Yossi Hadar, accomplished much. Most notable were the hugely popular World Bank Happy Hour monthly fundraisers, which were organized to support local and international charities.
The program grew exponentially to become the Community Outreach Program in 1998. Zena took on the role of Grants Administrator of the newly created grant awards facility dedicated to supporting DC nonprofits. Furthermore, she was instrumental in developing the E-give tool and designing the Community Connections Campaign. In particular, she enjoyed the annual high school summer internship program as it was an opportunity to foster relations between DC students and Bank staff.
After retiring from the Bank in May, 2009, Zena spent 5 months in Damascus, Syria, to learn Arabic and continued her studies upon returning to DC. Most recently she became President of WBFN Book Project.
Thank You, Hilary!
On behalf of the Book Project volunteers, we wish to thank Hilary Welch for her commitment to the organization’s mission over the last two and a half years. Right from the start, the newly appointed President of the Book Project immersed herself into her role, and learned the ropes very quickly. She improved the program’s effectiveness by revising the method for book distribution. Previously, it would take an average of 1-2 years before a shipment would be sent to a country as it was contingent upon receiving a minimum number of requests for textbooks from schools in that country. Taking a different perspective, Hilary determined that the distributor or local NGO taking responsibility for transportation would be required to identify approximately 45 to 50 schools in that country. This more proactive approach reduced the time before a shipment would be sent.
Hilary, a personable and adept manager, led her team of volunteers with great humor and vivacity. “She always gave us a lot of freedom whenever an idea or initiative was proposed and encouraged us to take the lead in pursuing it,” according to Pushpa Pherwani, Book Donation Coordinator. Hilary’s presence will be solely missed as, in a way, no one at the Book Project is replaceable.
Nevertheless, the Book Project looks forward as a new chapter commences. Effective this month, the Book Project welcomes Zena Soudah who will be taking over the position. A Bank retiree, Zena formerly worked with the Community Outreach Program. She hopes to continue the progress made by Hilary, and looks forward to working with a great team who have been loyal to the Book Project for many years. Furthermore, her goal is to increase the program’s visibility within the World Bank Group, to ensure continued volunteer support and identify additional sources of book donations.
More than anything, she would like to see the country offices play a more active role by visiting the schools and students who have received the books.