APP Staff

Rachel Gresk, Director of the Academic Preparatory Program

Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln (In progress)
M.A. American University
B.A. St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Rachel Laribee Gresk joined APP in the Fall 2009 as a teacher in the Level 1 pilot program. She has previously served as deputy director of APP and assumed the position of director in September 2013. She is a 2009 graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a master’s degree in international development; she has a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese from St. Mary’s College in Maryland.  Rachel is currently earning a Ph.D in Higher Education Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

Rachel Ramey, Deputy Director of APP

M.A. The American University in Cairo
B.S. Virginia Commonwealth University

Email: rachel.ramey@auis.edu.krd

Rachel Ramey joined AUIS in 2012. She was an APP instructor for five years before taking on the role of deputy director in Summer 2017. She holds a master's degree in TEFL from the American University in Cairo, and a bachelor's degree in Anthropology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to joining the APP team, she worked as a teacher in the U.S.
 
PUBLICATIONS
 
Russell, Barbara, and Rachel Ramey. 'Exploring Grammar Across Disciplines For Sustained Success'. The Proceedings Of The 20th TESOL Arabia Conference: Methods And Means In ELT. Peter McLaren. 1st ed. Dubai: TESOL Arabia, 2015.
 

Lana Khalid, APP Student Record Coordinator

Lana Khalid graduated from the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani in 2016, obtaining her BA in English Journalism. She has received the Dean’s Award twice and the President’s Award once for her high GPA in the semesters.  She has taught the English language at different English institutes, in Sulaimani city. In 2015, she worked with Ms. Alana Marie Labrosse on Jamil Siddqi al-Zahawi and chose 7 poems out of about 700 pages of his collection of poems to be translated. She has also worked with a PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins on interviewing cancer patients on how they seek cancer treatment despite the ongoing conflict and wars in Iraq. She also translated and transcribed Arabic interviews, surveys, and documents for him. She worked as a translation officer at SREO Consulting, translating as well as transcribing interviews and documents from Arabic and Kurdish to English.

Danaz Mohammed Hamma-Sidiq, APP Intern 

Danaz Mohammed Hamma-Sidiq is a student at AUIS from Sulaimani. In his free time, he enjoys volunteering as well as reading, especially non-fiction, books on his major of study IT, and on psychology and human behavior. He is  currently undertaking self study to learn the basics of web design and believes independent learners develop creative ways to find solutions to problems, which can translate to beneficial skills in the workplace.  In his capacity as APP Intern, Danaz assits in managing events and APP-related programming.