Wafaa is an international & local sustainable development expert with 20+ years of project design and management experience in sustainable tourism, economic development, and community wellbeing initiatives. She has experience working in the fields of responsible tourism, hospitality, agribusiness, destination and rural development with NGOs, associations, government programs and international development organizations. Her portfolio of projects includes applied academic and investment research with Canadian and multinational institutions like the World Bank, implemented projects funded by the USAID and Canadian international development and settlement agencies. She is a builder of viable connections.

Wafaa enjoys building meaningful relationships with partners and stakeholders through applying diplomatic, participatory approaches, and innovative methodologies. She has also demonstrated gender and cultural sensitivity and supports Indigenous and community-based enterprises in creating responsible tourism products, business model design and market outreach strategies. Wafaa is an advocate of women and marginalized communities’ empowerment. She is multilingual with advanced reading and writing skills in English, French, and Arabic; basic Spanish.