MESALI Professors

Michael L. Chyet is a cataloger of Middle Eastern languages at the Library of

Congress. He has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in Folklore and

Middle Eastern Languages. Before coming to the Library of Congress in 2001, Mr.

Chyet was the senior editor of the Kurdish Service at the Voice of America. His

specialty is Kurdish, and he has published a Kurdish-English dictionary, as well as

several articles on the Kurdish language, and on Middle Eastern folklore. Arabic,

Hebrew, Turkish and Persian are also languages that he is fluent in, and will be

teaching at MESALI.

Ross Kaplan is Professor of Arabic and Hebrew at MESALI and has taught Arabic

in the Greater Washington DC area for ten years.  Professor Kaplan has a Masters from

the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Internationals Studies (SAIS) with a focus in

Middle East Affairs. He conducted his Fulbright Scholarship in Morocco on the Political

Economy of Water Policy. He is fluent in Classical Arabic, Moroccan, Hebrew, French

and has conversational Chinese. Professor Kaplan plays drums in his own jazz band and

performs stand up comedy in Washington DC and New York City.     

Susan Somers, adjunct instructor of French at MESALI, was a Senior Prosecuting

Trial Attorney at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former

Yugoslavia in The Hague. She has consulted for The World Bank and was a Public

Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She is adjunct

instructor of French Language at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership in

Washington, DC. Ms. Somers is fluent in French and Russian. Other languages include

Serbo Croatian, Dutch, Spanish and Hebrew. Ms. Somers holds a Juris Doctor Degree

from Cleveland Marshall College of Law and a Master in Public Administration from

the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University. Ms. Somers

attended Middlebury College’s Summer Language Institute and earned a certificate

from the Alliance Française in The Hague for “Séminaires de français juridique.” Ms.

Somers earned a certificate for “Cours de Droit International Humanitaire” sponsored

by Le Comité International de la Croix-Rouge, Croix-Rouge suisse, in Sion,

Switzerland.

Salim Mandokhil is the Adjunct Professor of Pashto and Urdu at MESALI. He is a

native speaker of both Pashto and Dari and is fluent in English and Urdu. Salim

currently works at Voice of America and is primarily responsible for writing and editing

news stories,  conducting interviews, and translating English news items into

Pashto/Dari. He was a Language Trainer in Kabul, Afghanistan for the Aina Media and

Culture Center, a Producer and Anchor for Afghanistan National Radio and Television,

and has held many additional positions involving the Pashto Language and Media

outlets.

Krystle Veda Kaul is the Adjunct Professor of Hindi at MESALI.  She received her

M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International

Studies (SAIS) and her B.A. in International Studies from American University’s

School of International Service.  Professor Kaul has taught Hindi and Urdu to

SAIS’ Summer Language students.  Additionally, she has privately tutored students in

Hindi, Urdu and Spanish at a variety of levels in the greater DC area.  As a

multilinguist, Professor Kaul is fluent in Hindi, Urdu and Spanish; Advanced Arabic and

Italian and Intermediate Punjabi.  Her interests include national security, conflict

management and women’s rights in South Asia and the Near East.

Michael ABd-Elmessih is the Adjunct Professor of Arabic at MESALI. He received

his Masters Degree in International Relations from Southern Connecticut State

University, with a specialization in American and Middle Eastern Foreign

policy. Michael currently works as a professor at both American University and

Montgomery College, and as an Arabic Instructor at the World Bank.   He is a native

Arabic speaker, is fluent in English and has an understanding of Spanish and German.

Michael is a singer and song writer who enjoys Soccer, Basketball, Football, Tennis,

Ping Pong and Volleyball.

Saida Benomar is an Adjunct Professor of French and Arabic at MESALI. She is a

native of Morocco and holds a degree in teaching from Morocco. She speaks French,

Middle East.  Saida currently works at the International Language Institute and has

more than 29 years of experience as a teacher, tutor, counselor, and academic advisor

including teaching positions at Berlitz. She enjoys travel, cultural events, cooking, sport

and music.

Reza Akbari is a native speaker of Farsi. He has been a private tutor of Farsi for the

past 3 years and has tutored students from all walks of life including; government

employees, graduate students in International Relations, second generation Iranians

and Afghans, and more. Reza has completed a double major in Political Science and

International Studies at the State University of New York, and has moved on

to conduct research on U.S. foreign policy on Iran and the Middle East. During his

career, Reza has focused on Iranian domestic politics and how it affects the broader

Middle East region vis-a-vis U.S. Iran relations. He has previously researched at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. His editorials have appeared in the

Gulf News.