Welcome to Our Unique Program on Leadership!

Exclusive Program for an Executive Certificate in Leadership

 

Nada Salem:
Nada Michel Salem is the Founder of the American Foundation for Educational Excellence (AFEE) and its subsidiaries, the International Society for Educational Excellence (ISEE), the International Foundation for Women’s Empowerment (IFWE), and the “Center for Excellence in Languages: Teaching, Editing, Translating, and Interpreting.” 

Nada Salem was selected in September 2019 as a WOMAN LEADER by the University of Maryland‘s Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace; “The 97 women leaders featured in the HUB push limits and forge paths for all women so that women, societies, and future generations, can reach new heights.”

Ms. Salem was just added as a member of WHO’S WHO® list of prominent business professionals in America (2021-2022). This list is “limited to individuals who possess professional integrity, demonstrate outstanding achievement in their respective fields and have made innumerable contributions to society as a whole.”

From 2006 to 2014, Ms. Salem was, first, the administrative director of the Master of Science in Finance Program at the George Washington University School of Business, then she became their Assessment of Learning Coordinator for AACSB Accreditation. She worked, with professors at the graduate level at GW School of Business, on course goals, objectives, and assessment rubrics to make sure they fulfilled AACSB accreditation requirements.

Ms. Salem taught for more than 20 years both in school and university settings. She co-created and co-taught at the George Washington University Graduate School of Education an online Methods Course for Teachers of Foreign Languages. Nada is the Co-Editor in Chief of “Teaching World Languages: A Practical Guide- Arabic Edition” (The National Capital Language Resource Center, Washington, DC).

Ms. Salem holds a bachelor’s degree in languages (Arabic, French, English), a teaching diploma, and two master’s degrees, one in Translation (Attestation de Maîtrise, from Saint Joseph University, USJ- ETIB at Faculté de Langues et de Traduction, where she currently serves on the Advisory Board) and another in Education (from the American University of Beirut, AUB). Nada just earned an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She also successfully completed almost all coursework towards an Education Doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction and Educational Technology Leadership at The George Washington University in Washington, DC.

 

Sharon Birkman:

Sharon Birkman began her role as Birkman International’s President and CEO in 2002, becoming Chairman & CEO in 2019. As the daughter of company founder and influential industrial-organizational psychologist, Dr. Roger W. Birkman, Ms. Birkman cultivated her deep expertise in human perception and organizational behavior through her lifelong interest in The Birkman Method. Before succeeding Dr. Birkman as CEO, Ms. Birkman served in several roles, including Vice President of Corporate Relations, Training, and Career Coaching.

Ms. Birkman’s leadership has been instrumental in ushering into a new era of product development, technology, and training initiatives during a time of unprecedented growth. In this period, Ms. Birkman and the business have been recognized with a multitude of awards. These include EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016, the Women President’s Organization’s Mary Lehman MacLachlan Award for Economic Empowerment in 2017, Houston’s Best and Brightest Places to Work For from 2014-2019, National Best and Brightest Places to Work For (2014-2019), the Houston Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award in 2017 and 2018, and as a Houston Power 50 Woman Leader in 2018.

In addition to her responsibilities at Birkman, Ms. Birkman volunteers her services as a Board Member of Houston Public Media (NPR and PBS), Goodwill Industries of Houston, and as a lay-leader for Chapelwood United Methodist Church. She also served as a long-time Board member for ESCAPE Family Resource Center.

Ms. Birkman has an M.A. from the University of Texas and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s OPM (Owner/President Management) program. She co-authored the book “The Birkman Method: Your Personality at Work” (2013) and authored the book “Creatures of Contact” (2020) by ForbesBooks.

In her personal life, Sharon confesses to collecting “too many” books and loves to recharge with long walks, classical music, NPR and theater. She is the mother of three grown daughters and, along with husband, Richard, treasures time with their grandchildren Morgan, Declan, and Emerson.

Introduction & the Birkman Method for the Leadership of the Future (Nada Salem, President/CEO of AFEE/IFWE, & Sharon Birkman, Chairman/CEO of Birkman International, USA, 2 hrs.)

This webinar will serve as a threefold introduction:

  • For AFEE, 3ELM, and all the webinars in the program;
  • For all the participants, so that they get to know a little bit about each other as they will be spending quite some time together in breakout rooms over three weeks;
  • For the Birkman Method.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Participants will be able to quickly explore AFEE, 3ELM, and the 9 remaining webinars;
  • Participants will be able to learn about and connect with each other to set a good pace for the remaining 18 hours together;
  • Participants will be able to learn more about themselves through the Birkman Assessment Test and explore the Birkman Method and its importance in the leadership of the future.