2008

We have a highly talented, experienced, and enthusiastic team of teachers -- all specialists in various fields, with several senior counselors to assist them -- who are working to create a fun, thematically integrated experience for everyone. Let us introduce them to you. . .

Leila Buck: Storytelling/Drama

Leila, a Lebanese-American, is a storyteller, performer and teaching artist based in New York City.  She is the Artistic Director of Nisaa Arab American Women’s Collective, member/former Education Director of Nibras Arab American Theater Collective, an artist with NY Theatre Workshop, and a writer and performer for the NY Arab-American Comedy Festival.  She has performed her award-winning show, ISite, and her recent show, In the Crossing, at various universities, high schools and cultural centers in the US and abroad.  Leila has a B.A. in Theater from Wesleyan University and a  M.A from NYU in drama for education about the Arab world.  Leila was a teaching artist with Creative Arts Team for five years in NYC, where she also led workshops and summer programs at several Arab American community centers.  In spring 2007, Leila taught Al-Bustan’s dramatic storytelling weekend workshops, and is returning for second year of teaching storytelling and drama to children and teenagers at Al-Bustan Camp.

Joseph Tayoun: Music

Joseph, a Lebanese-American, is a music teacher, an accomplished Middle Eastern percussionist, and a certified elementary education teacher in New Jersey. He has taught music at a number of secondary schools in Philadelphia and New Jersey. His MidEast Ensemble offers a series of educational and performance programs for schools, universities and cultural centers. He has participated in several residencies with Zakir Hussain and with Simon Shaheen at Swarthmore University and at The Painted Bride Art Center. He collaborates with various Philadelphia musicians, incorporating a wide range of styles and techniques of Middle Eastern music. He leads Al-Bustan’s music instruction program including Al-Bustan Percussion Ensemble, weekend apprenticeship group, and at several public schools:  Moffet, Feltonville, and Penn Alexander.  Joe has been teaching at Al-Bustan Camp since its launch in 2002.

Rachel Bliss: Art

Rachel is a visual artist whose work has been exhibited in twelve solo shows and numerous group shows in galleries and museums, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Society of Illustrators’ Museum in New York, Rider University, Coombs Contemporary Gallery in London, and Alternative Museum in New York.  Her work has been reproduced in publications such as The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Village Voice, and Penguin Books.  Rachel has taught/lectured at the Philadelphia College of the Arts, Moore College of Art and Design, and Village of Arts and Humanities.  She was artist-in-residence for three years at Greenfield Elementary Public School working with students in grades K-8.  In fall 2006 she co-taught Al-Bustan's art and story writing workshops, and in spring 2008 taught a series of after-school workshops at Moffet Elementary School.  This is her second year teaching at Al-Bustan Camp.

Nora Hildenbrand: Nature

Nora is a teacher in the School District of Philadelphia.  After receiving a B.A. in art history from Boston University, she worked as an assistant second grade teacher in New Orleans, Louisiana and then as an after-school program supervisor for a K-6 program in Syracuse, New York.  She received her M.S. Ed. and state certification in elementary education from the University of Pennsylvania and also became certified to teach middle school science.  Nora spent twelve summers as a camper and then counselor at a nature camp in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.

Dahna Abourahme: Video

Dahna is a filmmaker who grew up in Abu Dhabi and Amman and now works between Beirut and New York City.  She received her MA in Media Studies at the New School of Social Research in New York.  She teaches video to youth and has been involved in several community art projects in the U.S. and in the Middle East.  Her credits include sound recording for 500 Dunam on the Moon and like twenty impossibles.  Her first feature documentary, until when... follows four Palestinian families living in a refugee camp near Bethlehem, Palestine.  She is returning for the fourth year this summer to work with Al-Bustan Camp teenagers, teaching video-making skills and using video as a medium to explore culture and identity.

Sally Bonet: Camp Manager and Poetry/Identity

Sally, an Egyptian-American, is an educator with several years of experience teaching young children in both Egypt and the U.S.  She grew up in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the U.S., but she considers Cairo her hometown. She obtained her Bachelors degree in Psychology from UCLA and completed her Masters of Science in Education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.  She was an elementary teacher at the Great Valley School District the past two years. She also has experience singing in Arabic and is working with her musical band on recording their fourth CD release.  Sally is a native Arabic speaker in both the Sudanese and Egyptian dialects. She taught Arabic at Al-Bustan Camp in 2006 and is returning this summer as Camp Manager. She will also be working with the young campers exploring aspects of their identity through poetry.

Thea Abu El-Haj: Education Research & Evaluation/Video

Thea, a Palestinian-American, is an educational researcher and teacher educator, and currently a faculty member at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University.  She grew up in Iran and Lebanon, lived in Egypt and has spent extensive time with her family in Palestine. She began her career in the field of education developing cross-cultural curriculum and then working as an elementary school teacher for many years. Since receiving her doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania in the anthropology of education, she has been researching, writing and teaching about socio-cultural processes and education.   One of her current areas of research is the ethnography of Arab-American youth focusing on the needs of the Arab American community and the importance of educational programs in developing youth leadership.  She is an advisor to Al-Bustan’s Board of Directors, and has co-taught the camp video program the past two years.  This summer she is advising on thematic discussions in the teen program.

Hazami Sayed: Camp Director/Architecture

Hazami, an Arab-American and graduate of the Master of Architecture program at Columbia University, has worked in the fields of architecture and urban development in Philadelphia and New York City. Her recent area of research is affordable urban housing in which she was a consultant and taught a seminar at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also a photographer and has exhibited her work in Philadelphia. She is the founder and President/Executive Director of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture.

Senior Counselors:

Nahid Elgadi, a Sudanese-American, graduated this year from Temple University where she obtained her B.A. in theater with a concentration in community arts.  She was a participant for five years at New World Theater Companies “Project 2050” youth retreat held in Amherst, MA, during which she developed her skills in theater/performing arts, combined with her passion for social justice.  Ms. Elgadi began working with Al-Bustan in May 2007 after completing a class-project involving Al-Bustan students and families.  This year she is working with Al-Bustan as an Americorps Volunteer through a program administered by the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in Dearborn, Michigan.  She is returning for a second year as a counselor at Al-Bustan Camp.

Nadia Elokdah, an Egyptian-American, is a senior studying architecture at Temple University, Tyler School of Art.  She has traveled a number of times to visit family in Egypt, where she engulfed herself in the Egyptian culture, from souks to masjids. Her interests include art, design, community service, and assistant-student teaching.  She worked over four years with elementary schools in her school district as a foreign language, math, reading, and writing tutor.  During the past two years she has worked part-time with Al-Bustan providing program/administrative assistance.  This is her fourth summer working as a counselor at Al-Bustan Camp.

Laurel Harig, received her B.A. this year in Cross-Cultural Relations from Bard College at Simon’s Rock in western Massachusetts.  Her interests include painting, collage-making, poetry, dance and storytelling.  She grew up in the Philadelphia area and recently traveled to Morocco and India.  Since graduating, she has been cooking, reading and trying to publish her poems, essays and short stories in a variety of magazines.  A scholar, artist and activist, she is excited to explore her own multi-faceted identity at Al- Bustan and to practice her conversational Arabic, which she has studied over the past four years.