I founded The Pathway Project as an expression of my love for coaching and my belief in its power to transform people’s lives. TPP was started with the mission of supporting individuals and organizations in the Middle East on their pathways to reaching their full potential. TPP was born to facilitate transformation. Nothing excites me more!
I am Palestinian and, like most Palestinians, I have lived my life in different parts of the world. I call Dubai home, but my journey has taken me through Germany, Palestine, Egypt, Kuwait and Canada. I have lived, studied and worked amongst people with different languages, cultures and ideologies. I appreciate the differences but am even more attuned to the vast similarities that we often fail to acknowledge.
At university, I studied Human Resource Management and was immediately hooked by its core message of the “human” element being at the heart of an organization. I became passionate about working with people and supporting both their personal and professional development. After graduation, I decided to return to my roots in the Middle East and pursue a career in HR, where I worked in the banking and building material industries for several years. Then when I was 25, I became a partner in my family’s business and played an instrumental role in growing its operations.
I had achieved my “success story” but as the years went on, I started to feel that something was missing.
Looking to explore new directions, I hired a professional coach! I began to see coaching as a vessel that linked my professional and educational experience with my innate desire to guide, inspire and be a change-agent for others. By then, I had lived in Dubai for a number of years and recognized the limitless possibility of this fast-growing city and its people. It was clear that there were many talented individuals in the Middle East who had tremendous potential but also needed support to harness and focus their energy. I saw opportunities to cultivate leadership coaching and executive coaching in Dubai. I decided to take action and make a difference in my community by becoming a professional certified coach and facilitator of transformation.
My work as an Executive Coach and Facilitator of Transformation draws on 15 years of extensive experience as a Human Resources professional, entrepreneur, coach, and facilitator. I have coached hundreds of professionals, teams, and groups across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, ranging from C-Suite executives to mid-level managers. I have worked with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and leading organizations in the region.
Nothing fulfills me more than seeing my clients become inspired and connect to their power within. We all face moments in our lives when we aspire for more and seek change but are not sure how to move forward. This almost always requires a leap of faith!
However, what often stops us is not a lack of courage, but the lack of a roadmap to give us the inspiration to follow through with our goals.
I act as a catalyst for self-reflection and help people create these roadmaps. My clients often cite my “fierce courage” in creating a safe space for them to navigate their roller-coaster of emotions, break their own boundaries and facilitate the discovery of their inner leader. I watch them free themselves from self-limiting beliefs, take more risks and reach their full potential. I design programs and interventions for organizations to develop and support leaders in channeling their energy towards creating transformational change on an individual and collective level while moving towards a common vision that creates a positive impact on the wider organization.
I am a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) from the International Coach Federation (ICF) and a Certified Professional Co-active Coach (CPCC) from the prestigious industry leader, Coaching Training Institute (CTI). In 2013, I became the first female Arab faculty member at CTI, where I train and supervise future generations of coaches. I am also a Faculty Member at the Majid Al Futtaim Leadership Institute, where I deliver leadership development programs and executive coaching to top talent across the organization.
I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources Management & Industrial Relations and Marketing from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada. I previously worked in HR for one of the leading banks in the Middle East, the National Bank of Kuwait, as well as the world’s largest building materials supplier and cement producer, CEMEX in Dubai.
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