My time with AMIDEAST from 2009-2021 represented both my career pinnacle and profound personal transformation. After years working in the field, I transitioned to Washington D.C. leadership, then to a regionally-based assignment, and finally to remote work after relocating to Thailand. For many years, I nurtured an interest in educational technology and had managed programs using e-learning, but it wasn't until this job that I had the opportunity to become directly involved in developing and applying it myself. My personal life also underwent equally significant changes—an amicable end to my first marriage coincided with the deepening of my relationship with Alisa, which brought both profound heartbreak and, shortly after, unexpected joy.
During my three years at headquarters, I focused on developing technical components for funding proposals, ensuring quality assurance for training programs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and launching educational technology initiatives. In 2012, after Alisa completed her master's degree at George Washington University and finished a one-year internship, she returned to a new job opportunity in Thailand. This prompted my relocation to Jordan, where I served as an AMIDEAST regional director for the next three years. The remaining five years with AMIDEAST brought unexpected joys: I became AMIDEAST's first remote employee, Alisa and I bought a home in a suburb near Bangkok, celebrated our beachside wedding, and welcomed visits from family and friends from Thailand and the U.S.
My self-taught passion for educational technology led me to design an e-learning portal from scratch. I single-handedly managed and maintained it, and it soon became my professional identity. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, this platform became AMIDEAST's lifeline. Starting that March, I transitioned over ten thousand students from physical classrooms across 12 country offices to the platform's online courses, while also training hundreds of teachers to use the new technology. Once the platform was running smoothly, I became the go-to expert for all things educational technology.
Amid these professional challenges, my personal life was transformed by profound changes. In 2019, we were devastated by the sudden passing of Alisa's mother. Not long after that loss, we learned Alisa was pregnant. Our daughter Anya was born in June 2020, making me a father again at 68—right at the height of the pandemic lockdown. It was an incredibly tough time, but also deeply meaningful. We had to care for our newborn entirely on our own, with no help from family or friends because of the lockdown, all while I was working 18-hour days to transition AMIDEAST's programs to online learning.
By the end of 2021, the timing felt right to enter my golden retirement years at age 69, deeply grateful for a rewarding professional journey. My 45-year career had come full circle—beginning with my first teaching job in Thailand and culminating in helping guide an organization through a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. What began as a random opportunity became my life's path, bringing career achievements I'm proud of, a wonderful partner in Alisa, the joy of becoming a father again later in life, and the deep satisfaction of knowing my work helped thousands of people access better education across many countries and cultures.