The former Director General of Jordan River Foundation (JRF), a Jordanian NGO Chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Valantina Qussisiya received her BSc in Computer Science from the University of Jordan (UJ) in 1993, and Masters of Management Studies (MMS) from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, in 1996.
Throughout her career, Qussisiya has held many positions and accumulated over 20 years of proven technical knowledge and experience in cultural and social development, focusing on scientific research, cultural management, poverty alleviation, local governance, child protection, economic development, and women and youth empowerment.
After graduation from UJ, Valantina worked as Information System Coordinator at the Save the Children Organization – Bani Hamida Women Weaving Project, where she designed computer systems, and provided training and support on all IT related issues.
After she earned her Master’s degree, Qussisiya worked for a short period at the Management Consultant Group International, Jordan, as Researcher and Management Consultant, where she was part of the research team in addition to being responsible for preparing the company’s annual business plans, outsourcing new IT companies and products, performing Letters of Credit (L/Cs) and bank guarantees and handling all products procurement and logistics, in addition to managing general administration issues.
From November 1997 till April 2000, Qussisiya worked as Technical Assistant to the General Manager of the International Resources for Computers and Communications Ltd (previously known as Al-Ghanem Computer Systems and Solutions) in Amman, Jordan.
In April 2000, Valantina joined the prominent Jordan River Foundation (JRF), where she progressed from Technical Assistant to the Director General of the Foundation.
During her work as JRF’s Director General, Valantina became deeply involved in child protection and community empowerment. She has managed to expand the work of JRF to included youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and voluntarism and to cover the entire 12 governorates of Jordan.
Qussisiya directed JRF towards becoming a regional resource for community and child abuse preventions, providing consultations and capacity building programs to NGOs across the region, she also brought the Foundation to be recognized as the first Arab NGO to report on sustainability management, and lobbied and advocated for better policies pertaining to child protection that resulted in the establishment of a national tracking system for child protection and drafting of the child law.
In her capacity as Director General of JRF, Valantina supported the creation of the Jordanian Network of Professionals to Protect Children from Abuse and housed the network under JRF’s umbrella, developed the institutional capacity of over 200 community-based organizations across Jordan, and supported the establishment of over 300 income-generating projects and social enterprises.
She orchestrated the creations of organic farming policies and regulations and institutionalized it under the Ministry of Agriculture, established the volunteer management system at JRF that led to the involvement of thousands of volunteers in JRF’s programs, and participated in the establishment of Queen Rania’s Madrasati Initiative (schools enhancement initiative).
In Jan 2013, Valantina was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation (AHSF), a cultural non-profit organization established by the Arab Bank in 1978 in Jordan, where she is leading efforts to invest in cultural and social innovation to positively impact the communities through three pillars; leadership, arts and literature, and employment and innovation.
She currently serves as board member on the boards of a number of academic and community institutions, including Al Balqa Applied University, Scientific Research Support Fund (SRSF), Eisenhower Fellows Association – Jordan, and Jordanian Network of Professionals to Protect Children from Violence.
Qussisiya attended, presented and participated in a number of conferences including the Knowledge Summit, Middle East Investment Conference, the University of Jordan Alumni conference, Global Philanthropy Forum, the UNHCR Annual Consultations with NGOs, the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), the World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children And Adolescents, The Arab Conferences on Family Protection, the Jordanian Conference for the Prevention of Violence Against Children and Women, the Global Reporting Initiative, Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Work Development, Youth Employability, Social Development, the Arab Women Conference – Women in the Concepts and Issues of Human Security, Local Economy Development, and Child and Youth Finance.