Khawla is a leading program director in JDC-ELKA’s Mawared initiative, working with newly re-cruited “integrators” for economic and social development and Arab local authorities to max-imize efforts to access resources for local authorities and promote their economic development.
Khawla Rihani came to JDC in 2016 with extensive professional experience in economic em-powerment and social development within Israel’s Arab sector, working for both civil society organizations and public agencies. For nine years, including four years as director, she worked at Economic Empowerment for Women, a Haifa-based NGO dedicated to improving women’s lives through economic empowerment.
Other professional experience spans work as an evaluator for the Karev Program for Educa-tional Involvement; an independent consultant to non- profits and local authorities; a project coordinator for the Ministry of Industry’s Small Business authority; an organizational consultant for Shatil – New Israel Fund’s Initiative for Social Change; and Educational Director of the Ailut Local Council in Israel’s Galilee region.
From 2009 to 2012, Khawla was a member of the Steering Committee for the Authority on Ar-ab Development at the Prime Minister’s office. She has also served on steering committees for a number of public and non- profit organizations.
Khawla was a participant in the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program on “Women and Entrepreneurship.”
Khawla holds a BA in psychology and general studies from the University of Haifa, and an MSc in human resource management and labor relations from the Technion.