Founders’ Message

Greetings!

We are delighted you are considering the INTERLINK International Institute at Al Y​amamah University, one of the leading English-medium universities in the Kingdom and the region.​

Since its establishment at Al Yamamah University in 2004, INTERLINK’s unique program has enabled students to perform with distinction. Some of their achievements include employment with leading corporations in the Kingdom; superior performance in their academic studies; first- and second-place prizes in international debate competitions; successful participation in youth forums in Europe; and successful attendance at US, Canadian, Australian, European, and some Asian universities.

Since its inception in the United States in 1980, INTERLINK has helped thousands of students and professionals to achieve their academic and professional goals. Some have attended major U.S. universities, including Berkeley, Cornell, Duke, MIT, and The University of Pennsylvania among many others. Now as alumni, they are using their skills to serve their communities as professors, researchers, and executives at major international corporations, universities, and governmental agencies.

We hope you, too, will be able to take advantage of our unique learning environment and its motivating and enriching academic opportunities in KSA and abroad..

With good wishes,

Ahad Shahbaz President & CEO, INTERLINK International Institutes                                                                                       

Khalid Al Khudair Board Chairman, Al Yamamah University

Ahad Shahbaz, President & CEO

Ahad Shahbaz has directed and overseen over 30 programs on various university campuses in the U.S. and abroad. Inspired by John F. Kennedy’s global message of helping and learning from the world through the Peace Corps program, he began his career in teaching and learning with the Peace Corps in Afghanistan and subsequently continued with coordinating the Teacher Corps/Peace Corps language and cross-cultural project at SUNY/College at Buffalo. Having completed his tenure at SUNY/College, he taught English as a second language at SUNY/Buffalo followed by directing the Office of International Student Affairs at Snead State College in Alabama. His incurable addiction to language and culture subsequently took him to Saudi Arabia to set up the Ohio University intensive English program in Taif, Saudi Arabia. An active participant in multiple organizations, he served EnglishUSA (formerly American Association of Intensive English Programs) as its first elected Vice President for Standards; Carolina TESOL as president; the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation as a task force member; and NAFSA: Association of International Educators as a multi-year presenter on leadership, management, and cross-cultural training. He obtained his BA in Liberal Arts/Linguistics from SUNY/College at Buffalo and his MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from SUNY/Buffalo. Committed to transformative education through project-based curricula, he currently oversees U.S. and international programs focusing on academic preparation, language learning, and cross-cultural training.

David Parsons, Senior Executive Director

David Parsons has had extensive experience in teaching, research, and administration. Prior to joining INTERLINK, David directed a Kellogg Foundation-sponsored program on agriculture in the liberal arts: “Food, Peace, & International Development” at Wilmington College of Ohio. He has taught ESL and conducted cross-cultural research in Algeria. Since 1986, he has worked with INTERLINK as teacher, assistant director and director of two different campus programs. As former president of Carolina TESOL, he has been active in the region promoting standards in ESL programs. David holds a B.A. in History and Math from Guilford College; an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Northwestern University; and a MAT in English as a Second Language from the School for International Training. He speaks fluent French and is familiar with Arabic and Russian.

In Memoriam: Bob Steiner, Founder & Chairman

Founder and Chairman, Robert Steiner had extensive experience in the field of cross-cultural training and international education. He  held key posts in leadership, management and training in the U.S. and abroad; was Director of Cross-Cultural Training and Research at the University of Hawaii; served as Director of the Fulbright Commission in Iran; at the request of Sargent Shriver, President John F. Kennedy’s brother-in-law, started and directed the Peace Corps programs in Afghanistan and Iran, and was later promoted to Peace Corps Regional Director for North Africa, Near East, and South Asia; worked as Executive Director of New Jersey Education Consortium; and was a consultant at the United Nations. As a chief executive officer of government agencies and private institutions, Robert managed and promoted world-wide educational and training projects. He held an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University and a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics from the College of Wooster. He was listed in Who’s Who in America. Robert spoke Farsi and French fluently.

Valley Peters, Executive Director

Growing up in rural Nebraska and Montana, Valley Peters acquired wanderlust at a young age as she dreamt of far-flung places. A study abroad program in college to New Zealand ignited her plan to pursue a lifetime of traveling and learning about other cultures. A stint as an Americorps volunteer ESL instructor opened the door for combining travel and culture with her love for learning. Outside the classroom, you’ll find her dabbling in artistic pursuits, hiking, hanging out with her daughter, and listening to Tedtalks.Valley has taught in Japan, Mexico, and in the United States in a variety of settings. Her love for the outdoors led her to Jackson, Wyoming where she spent 10 years at a non-profit developing literacy programming for adults, training ESL tutors and teachers, and eventually acting as the executive director. Her professional interests include learning-to-learn strategies, reading development, reflective practice, learner efficacy, and intercultural competence. She has presented at conferences in Japan, Wyoming, and Washington on “constructive chaos” in the classroom, group discussion skills, reflective practice, participatory pedagogy, training ESL tutors, and advanced reading strategies.

Ana Valdivia, Admissions Director

Ana Valdivia is originally from Lima, Peru. She graduated with a degree in architecture before moving to Bozeman, Montana where she has lived for over 15 years. She is now used to the long and cold winters. Her interest in learning about different cultures began in 2000 when she began working on the Montana State University campus. Being herself a non-native English speaker, she felt she had found the perfect place to help foreign students in Bozeman. Over the years, Ana has taken different roles and assumed increasing responsibilities. As admissions director, she now oversees the student application process and provides academic advising, ensuring the INTERLINK student experience is smooth and fruitful from the point of application, through graduation, and into their academic and professional transitions. Ana enjoys meeting and assisting students from different countries and backgrounds, and seeing them succeed at INTERLINK.

Allison Kerr, Marketing Consultant

Allison Kerr has been working in international higher education since 2015. Prior to INTERLINK, she started as a work study in the Office of International Education at St. Ambrose University, graduating in 2017, then served with the City of Davenport AmeriCorps Program as an Elementary Program Specialist at a local non profit. Allison joined INTERLINK in 2018 as a Student Services Coordinator before moving to the Home Office team as a project manager and, soon after, a marketing manager. Allison enjoys helping INTERLINK share students’ stories, and communicating the organization’s programs on the website. She values working at INTERLINK and the opportunity to connect with people from around the world. Outside of work hours, you might find Allison listening to a podcast, spending time in the sun, or starting a crochet project. She loves learning new things about the world and thinking creatively to find solutions.

Monique Cooper, Controller

Monique Cooper has been in the accounting field for over 25 years.  As a child, her family immigrated to the Denver area from the Netherlands. English is her second language.  She earned her accounting certificate at Barnes Business College.  While living in Southern California for 18 years she did the accounting for a personal injury attorney, cost accounting for a manufacturing company that produced nutritional supplements, and also in the auto repair industry.  She returned to Denver in 2005 and worked as comptroller and office manager/overseas liaison for a clothing designer whose goods were manufactured in China and New Zealand. By joining the INTERLINK team she is able to continue to embrace the cultural diversity she experienced within her own family and in other accounting positions.

Bu-Madyan Kahtan, General Director

Dr. Bu-Madyan Kahtan oversees the INTERLINK International Institutes on all Al Yamamah University campuses in Riyadh and Khobar as well as the outreach programs offered by INTERLINK. Bu-Madyan is a passionate English language teaching professional who has been working in the field of English language teaching, program administration, teacher training, and curriculum review and design for over 22 years. After earning his BA in TEFL from the College of Education, he earned a TESOL Certificate and was appointed as teaching assistant in Sanaa University, Yemen. After five years of teaching EAP and ESP at Sanaa University and EFL at Yemen’s most prestigious language center, YALI, he received a Fulbright Scholarship and earned his MA in TESOL/Applied Linguistics at the University of Northern Iowa, USA. He then served as a teacher trainer for in-service and pre-service teachers in the UAE. His training included an introduction to portfolios and continuous assessment.  From there, he joined the INTERLINK team and within two years was promoted to Instructional Coordinator and then Assistant Director. After 13 years in the position supporting and supervising multiple teachers and administrators, Bu-Madyan was promoted to General Director. Bu-Madyan’s strengths include quality assurance, program and curriculum review and design, assessment, teacher training, counseling, and comparative linguistics. He speaks Arabic fluently. He enjoys cross-cultural interaction and is a lifelong learner.

Mohamed Haroun, Assistant Director

Mohamed graduated from Hunter College, City University of New York, with a BA in English literature and political science with a special honors in curriculum. Mohamed holds an MA in British and American literature. He also studied abroad at the American University in Cairo, which helped him to brush up on his Arabic and gave him his first taste of education in the Middle East. While attending college, Mohamed worked in higher education administration for ten years as the Assistant to the President of Hunter College. He developed his love for teaching when he was given the opportunity to teach expository writing in the Department of English. He completed a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults from the University of Cambridge and continued to refine his pedagogical outlook, both in theory and practice, while teaching both English and Arabic to adult learners at a language center in New York City. Mohamed is interested in research on second language acquisition in an EFL context.

Aaron Abdow, Instructional Coordinator

Aaron earned a B.S. in Organizational Management from Colorado State University and a M.A.T (TESOL) from SIT Graduate Institute. Prior to his role as instructional coordinator at INTERLINK Al Yamamah, Aaron was an English instructor and teacher trainer. He began his teaching career as an English teacher with the Peace Corps in Mozambique and later worked with Peace Corps Liberia teaching English and mentoring administrators at a rural teacher training institute.

Ms. LaNesha Hammett, Instructional Coordinator

LaNesha Hammett was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and after graduating high school, she attended Hunter College in Queens, NY where she studied world history and English literature. She began her teaching journey shortly after graduating college. She taught at a local school in her newly adopted state where she discovered her passion for teaching the English language. She earned her CELTA certificate and made a decision to move abroad to teach in Saudi Arabia. In 2013, she joined the INTERLINK team at Al Yamamah University. While teaching, she earned her MA in TESOL from Marlboro College. In 2020, she became an Instructional Coordinator at YU Riyadh. Two short years later was asked to help establish the INTERLINK program at the new Al Yamamah University campus in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Throughout her teaching career, LaNesha has presented at international conferences and has led professional development workshops at Al Yamamah University as well as online language platforms in the Gulf region. Her passion, dedication, and commitment to teaching and teacher training continue to evolve and develop as she continues to grow in her various roles.