Forum Agenda and Participant Biographies - Brookings Institution

planning for the company throughout the Middle
East. Ambassador Ginsberg serves as a special adviser
to the Department of Defence Special Operations
Command and an adviser to the White House on
outreach initiatives to the Muslim world. He is a
Middle East media affairs analyst for major U.S. and
international media outlets, including CNN, MSN-
BC, BBC, and Al Arabiya. He also manages Layalina
Arab Television Productions, a private, nonprofit
Arab television production company headquartered
in Washington, DC, and Dubai, UAE. Ginsberg
served as a legislative assistant to Senator Edward
Kennedy, a special assistant to the secretary of state,
a deputy senior adviser to the president for Middle
East policy, the U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, and
Special U.S. Coordinator for Mediterranean trade,
investment, and security affairs. He is an adjunct lecturer
at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign
Service and serves on several distinguished boards of
directors, including the Rand Corporation and the
AARP Foundation.
amr Gohar
eGypt
Amr Gohar is Chairman of ECCO
Outsourcing, a company with offices
in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and
Qatar that offers contact centers
and business outsourcing services
across various international markets
and industry sectors. Previously, Gohar held senior
information and communication technology (ICT) regional
management responsibilities at Philips, Siemens,
and finally at Lucent Technologies where he served as
Regional Director of Marketing and Sales. He is interested
in initiatives that foster entrepreneurship, education,
and innovation as key drivers of prosperity and
competitiveness for Egyptian youth. He is President of
the Middle Eastern affiliate of the International Council
for Small Business (MCSBE) and Vice-Chairman
of the Egyptian Junior Business Association. Gohar
received a B.Sc. in Telecom Engineering from Egypt’s
Ain Shams University, an M.B.A. from Netherland’s
Maastricht School of Management, and completed
an executive education program on private equity and
venture capital at Harvard Business School.
2011 U.S.-ISLAMIC WORLD FORUM
Y e A R OF ChAnge
37
Stephen R. Grand
UnIted StateS
Stephen R. Grand is Director of
the Project on U.S. Re lations with
the Islamic World at the Saban
Center and a Fellow at Brookings.
Before coming to Brookings, he
was Director of the Middle East
Strategy Group at the Aspen In stitute. Prior to that,
Grand served as adjunct Professor at Syracuse University’s
Max well School and was a scholar-in-residence
at American University in Washington, DC.
From 2002 to 2003, he was an International Affairs
Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has
also served as the Direc tor of Programs at the German
Marshall Fund, and a Professional Staff Member
for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Grand
received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a
Ph.D. from Har vard University.
david Gregory
UnIted StateS
David Gregory was named Moderator
of NBC News’ Meet the
Press on December 7, 2008. He is
also a regular contributor for Today
and serves as a back-up anchor for
the broadcast. Gregory first joined
NBC News in 1995. He served as White House Correspondent
during the presidency of George W. Bush,
reporting extensively on the 9-11 attacks as well as
the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Washingtonian
magazine named Gregory one of Washington’s 50
best and most influential journalists, labeling him the
“firebrand in the front row.” On the campaign trail in
2004 and during his years covering the White House,
Gregory was among the most heavily utilized network
correspondent on television, according to the Tyndall
Report. Beyond politics, he has covered nearly every
major story for the network: from the O.J. Simpson
trials, to the trial of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy
McVeigh, to the impeachment of President Clinton,
and the death of Pope John Paul II. Gregory graduated
from American University in Washington, DC
with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies. In
2005, Gregory was named the School of International
Service’s alumnus of the year and now sits on the
Dean’s advisory council.