Advisory Board Jordan

Mary is a barrister, political and social justice activist, and Founder of Landmark Hotels Company. She is also a partner and Jordan Country Head for 17 Asset Management which was created to drive capital towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Mary has been chosen as one of Forbes “Most Powerful Arab Women” for consecutive years. She is also a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. Mary has positioned Landmark as a model of private sector engagement with the SDGs related to gender equality, decent work and economic growth, inclusion, and sustainable agriculture. She is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and the International Women’s Forum (IWF). She is a partner and brand ambassador for the Social Enterprise Project (SEP) in the Gaza/Jerash camp. Nazzal-Batayneh completed a BA in political science from Columbia University, and law degrees from SOAS, University of London, the College of Law London and the Inns of Court School of Law London. Mary advises GreenfieldCities on private sector engagement with SDGS, blended finance, social impact, hospitality, hotels and creating gender-sensitive environments.

Mahmud is a freelance consultant and very much engaged in the development of Jordan. He has served Jordan as the Minister of Agriculture, has been the head of the Plant Production and Protection Division of FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) in Rome and Director General of the NARC (National Agricultural Research Center) in Jordan. The academic passion and skills of Al-Duwayri brought him a PhD in agriculture from the University of Wisconsin (US), the Presidency, Deanship and grades of Professor at several Jordanian universities (University of Jordan, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Ajloun National University) and the United Arab Emirates University. He has in-depth knowledge in barley and wheat production and processing and the establishment of value chains. Mahmud advises GreenfieldCities on the agri-business and water business cases, farmer cooperatives, leadership, and strategic communication and is a strong link to Jordanian universities and public sector stakeholders.

Ruba has received certificates in Agricultural Technology (BSc) and Water & Environmental Engineering (MSc) from JUST and senior-level training on Sustainable Development, environmental policy, leadership, change management and institutional development. During her 18 years of professional experience, she strived to position Jordan as a model in cascaded and shared public-private responsibility for sustainability management and succeeded to pursue environmental reform, institutional strengthening and engaging the private sector in environmental management. Ruba was the first female Director at the Ministry of Environment, co-founded the Jordan Green Building Council and functioned as CEO for EDAMA, the first leading Jordanian business association that seeks innovative solutions for green economic growth. She is currently leading the applied scientific research and innovation portfolio at Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation. Next to her regular job, she is engaged through several roles with youth development and social and green entrepreneurship. She recently became a Plus Social Good Advisor with the United Nations Foundation where she provides awareness and training sessions to CBOs and NGOs across Jordan on the SDGs and initiated #InspireMENA as a storytelling platform for innovation in the MENA region. Ruba advises GreenfieldCities on strategic stakeholder engagement, public- and private sector as well as NGO partnerships, policy, legal and institutional frameworks, strategic communication, the environmental dimension and the link to local economic development.

Abdelnabi holds a PhD from Washington State University in Water Management and Environmental Biophysics. He has worked as Director General for The National Center for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer (NCARTT) for 8 years (now the NARC), he has chaired the Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa for 4 years and he has worked as a representative for FAO in Sierra Leone. Abdelnabi was furthermore in charge for the UNCC program in Jordan for 5 years in which he developed four major national documents including research and technology strategies, water strategy, and strategic community action plan for the Badia region. Finally, he has published many scientific papers and studies. He is currently working part-time as a consultant for FAO in Jordan. Abdelnabi advises GreenfieldCities on the Energy, Food, Water Nexus, strategic planning and the regional public sector.

Laila is Professor in Physics at the Physics Department of the University of Jordan in Amman. During her academic career, Laila obtained a PhD in Physics from the University of Sussex-United Kingdom, MSc from the American University of Beirut-Lebanon and BSc from the University of Jordan, all in the fields of Physics. She is one of the pioneers in the field of nanotechnology and its applications and has been involved in the popularization of this technology at national and regional level. Besides her publications, she has three International Patents shared by the University of Jordan and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She served as the Chairperson of the Physics Department and a Member of several Councils and Committees such as the University & Faculty Councils and University Board of Trustees and Conference Organization Committees. In addition, Laila is a former Senator (2011-2013) and former Member of the Council for Higher Education (2015-2018). Laila has been active in women empowerment as a Member of the L’Oreal- UNESCO ‘Women in Science’ expert panel and has been awarded the ‘Women in Science Hall of Fame’ for the Middle East and North Africa in 2014 and the University of Jordan Distinguished Researcher Award in 2009/2010. Laila advises GreenfieldCities on women empowerment, scientific education, political affairs and strategic communication.

Ahmed holds a PhD from Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany. As an expert in the fields of renewable energy and energy regulations, he coordinates several Erasmus+ projects in the fields of renewable energy, environment and climate change. Ahmed is the founder and director of several new MSc programs at the University of Jordan including MSc Renewable Energy and the MSc Environmental Technology and Climate Change. Previously he was the director of the Water, Energy and Environment Center at the University of Jordan. He is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and Certified Carbon Reduction Manager (CRM) and helps GreenfieldCities with the design of the PhotoVoltaic system for the business campus.