Jade Al-YahyaJade Al-Yahya, a native of France by way of Palestine, was the Assistant to the Director and the Spring 2012 Bana Hilal Bridgebuilder Scholar, on loan from her campus in Toulouse.

Born in Rennes, France, in 2009 Jade graduated with a Franco-British baccalaureate that allowed her first to travel to the U.S and U.K and then to become familiar with the Anglo-Saxon culture. She is currently completing her undergraduate degree at the Institute of Political Science of Toulouse, and hopes to specialize in international public affairs. In June-July 2010, she interned at the Palestinian Embassy in Paris where she assisted the Vice Ambassador and helped organize the official visit of the Palestinian government in France. In 2011-2012, she spent five months studying in Beirut, Lebanon at Saint-Joseph University where she took advantage of the stay to improve her knowledge about Lebanon's history and Arabic language. Very interested in Middle Eastern issues and especially in this region's culture, she is planning to work with and for the Arab world in the future.