: لمتحدثون الرئيسون في المؤتمر
Santiago Sedaca
Executive Vice President for Strategy and Development: IREX
Santiago Sedaca is IREX’s Executive Vice President for Strategy and Development. In this role, he leads the teams that foster organizational growth and impactful partnerships, drive learning and innovation, and engage audiences globally.
With more than 25 years of experience in global development, Santiago has worked in more than 40 countries and developed a reputation for growth, innovation, and impact. Throughout his career, he has led and operationalized growth strategies; secured more than $700 million in new awards; led more than a thousand professionals; and implemented complex, diverse, and innovative projects that positively impacted hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Santiago has worked with local communities, governments, and institutions to change systems in enduring ways.
Prior to joining IREX, Santiago was President of CARANA Corporation, and after the organization’s merger with Palladium, he served as Managing Partner. At Palladium, Santiago partnered with foundations and corporations, led a multi-million commercial consulting business, and served on the investment committee of Palladium’s first impact investment fund.
As Chief Investment Officer at DT Global, he led the process of acquiring top-ten United Kingdom aid implementing partner, IMC Worldwide, and Australia’s largest development implementing partner, Cardno International Development. Santiago also worked with Wise Responder, a data analytics company incubated at the University of Oxford, where he sought to introduce multidimensional poverty indicators into social impact bonds. Further, Santiago held positions at various global nongovernmental organizations, foundations, and consulting firms, advising on corporate development and programmatic strategies.
Santiago is a recognized leader in development and policy circles, having served on the U.S. government-appointed Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid, the Society for International Development’s International Finance Committee, the boards of the Council of International Development Companies and the Private Sector Contractors Association, and as a non-resident Senior Adviser on the Project for Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
His deep knowledge of topics in programmatic and global development management makes him a sought-after advisor on both technical topics, such as public-private partnerships and the importance of investing in workforce development, and system-level issues, such as pay-for-performance awards and localization strategies.
Santiago is a native of Argentina and a graduate of Gordon College, where he received degrees in political science and economics and now serves on the Board of Trustees. He also earned a Master of Science degree with an international business concentration from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and is a graduate of the International Career Advancement Program co-sponsored by the Aspen Institute and the University of Denver. He has taught international development at Universidad de San Francisco de Quito.
Cameron Mirza
Chief of Party IREX
Cameron is the Chief of the Party for Early Grades Education Activity in Jordan (ASAS)
Cameron works with the Government of Jordan and the university sector to increase the quantity and improve the quality of schoolteachers countrywide through a systems approach that integrates pre-service and in-service reforms for early grades education. Through a holistic child-centred approach that encompasses social and emotional learning, universal design for learning, inclusive education, play-based learning, climate-smart education, and technology, the ASAS program aims to reach 1 million children and support over 23,000 teachers.
Previously, Cameron was the Chief of the Party for the Pre-Service Teacher Education In Jordan program (PRESTIJ), which successfully introduced and scaled up a post-graduate teaching diploma. This diploma has significantly reduced teacher shortages and increased the quality of teaching through a high-quality, intensive, and accredited teaching diploma delivered by public universities.
Prior to joining IREX, Cameron spent several years reforming the higher education sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain. First, as Head of Strategy at the Ministry of Higher Education, he co-authored the first national strategy for higher education and authored the first employers-led graduate skills guide in 2014. Then, as Director of Strategy for the University of Bahrain, he authored the transformation plan and established several high-profile employer and research collaborations, and led the university to its highest ever global ranking.
In the UK, Cameron was responsible for delivering such programs as the Respect Action Plan, the Youth Action Plan, young apprenticeships, the family intervention program, the review of diversity in the curriculum, and the review of child poverty while at the Department for Education and Skills. Cameron was also an advisor to the Ministry of Higher Education for Egypt, supporting the improvement of over 40 Universities in Partnership with the Egyptian Knowledge Bank
Cameron is a board member of Global Impact Initiative, an NGO that supports refugees in gaining valuable employment skills upon resettlement. He recently co-authored the book ‘Higher Education and Skills Development in Industry 4.0’. He holds a postgraduate certificate in change management from Birkbeck College, University of London, and an MSc in public policy from SOAS, University of London.
Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah
Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah received his Ph.D. in 1984 in Biochemistry from the University of Houston, USA. Prior to taking up the role as President of the Royal University for Women in 2024, Prof. Hamzah served as the President of the University of Bahrain, the national university of the Kingdom of Bahrain (2016-2021). He began his academic career at the Arabian Gulf University (1985-2011), where he served in numerous leading positions, including Vice-President (1994-2005), Dean of the College of Applied Sciences, Director General of Finance and Administration, and Professor of Biotechnology. He served as the Secretary General of the Higher Education Council (2011-2016) in the Ministry of Education where he worked to establish the National Strategy of Higher Education, the National Strategy for Scientific Research, and the National Accreditation System for universities.
Prof. Hamzah received several awards and honours for his contribution to the Kingdom of Bahrain, including his selection as one of the Pioneers of the Twentieth Century, honouring him as a pioneer of national action in support of the community and nation-building in the 20th century, and the national Medal of Highest Distinction, awarded to him by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, in 2011.
Osama Obeidat, Ph.D
Chief Executive Officer-Queen Rania Teacher Academy
Dr. Osama is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA). He has been leading this unique and prestigious organization since March 2019.
Before Joining QRTA, Osama worked for 6 years as the Director of the school inspection/evaluation at Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge.
Before moving to Abu Dhabi, Osama worked as an education specialist, and head of monitoring and evaluation with several NGOs, and worked as an Associate Professor of education at the Hashemite University in Jordan.
Dr. Obeidat also consulted and was a resource person for several local, regional, and international organizations such as the World Bank, UNICEF, EDT, Ministries of Education in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Rwanda, and Iraq.
He brings more than 25 years of experience in education quality, policy, evaluation, and reform, among other areas.
Osama received his Ph.D. in International and Development Education from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003 and a Certificate in Evaluation Practices from George Washington University as well as an Executive Leadership Certificate from INSEAD Business School