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CAORC LEADERSHIP and STAFF
Anne H. Betteridge
Chair of the Board of Directors
Anne H. Betteridge was elected Chair of the Board of CAORC in November 2023. She is Professor Emerita in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona, where she directed the Center for Middle Eastern Studies from Fall 2001 through 2023. She currently serves as President of the American Institute of Iranian Studies and was Executive Director of MESA (the Middle East Studies Association) from 1990-2002. She is co-chair of the Council of National Resource Centers for International and Area Studies, and has worked closely with the Coalition for International Education. Professor Betteridge has been active on the boards of numerous academic and scholarly organizations, including the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Council of Area Studies Associations, and the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies.
Heidi Wiederkehr
Executive Director
Heidi Wiederkehr has worked with CAORC since 1997 and was appointed Executive Director in 2023. She is responsible for the overall operation of CAORC and its programs. She oversees CAORC's administrative, programmatic, and financial management, including: managing day-to-day operations of CAORC; providing strategic direction and operational and fiscal guidance to the Overseas Research Centers; managing staff; and overseeing all grants and sub-grants.
Heidi also works to expand research opportunities for American and host-country scholars, develop collaborative programming among institutions, and establish centers in areas of the world where infrastructure to support research exchange is lacking. She has worked with American and host-country scholars and officials to establish new overseas research centers in Sri Lanka, Mexico, Cambodia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Nepal, the South Caucasus, and Burma.
Heidi came to CAORC from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, with a focus on Non-Western history and diplomacy, and eight years of experience in non-profit grants management.
Katie Jost
Senior Program Director
Katie Jost joined CAORC in 2016. As Senior Program Director, she oversees and administers CAORC programs including the Multi-Country Research Fellowship, the CAORC-NEH Research Fellowship, and the West African Acquisitions Project.
Katie also works with CAORC’s network of Overseas Research Centers on a variety of initiatives and collaborative programs. She offers guidance on fellowship activities and reporting to funders for the centers. She also manages the fellowship alumni initiative and manages CAORC’s social media including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Prior to CAORC, Katie worked at the British Academy where she managed fellowship programs and worked with the Academy’s network of international research institutes. She also worked at the Institute of International Education in Washington D.C. Katie received an M.Sc. in European Political Economy from the London School of Economics and a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish from Oglethorpe University.
Jeff Badger
Program Director
Jeff Badger is the Program Director at the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC), where he oversees the Overseas Faculty Development Seminars. In this role, he supports faculty from community colleges in gaining firsthand experience to enhance and develop international curricula at their home institutions.
Before joining CAORC, Jeff served as a Professor and Department Chair of Fine Arts at Southern Maine Community College (SMCC), where he worked since 2008. During his tenure at SMCC, he established the Global Studies Center, spearheaded internationalization initiatives on campus, and developed the Global Classroom, a study abroad program for students and faculty. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member at the Maine College of Art, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Lesley University, and University of Southern Maine.
In addition to his academic work, Jeff serves on the board of the Maine-Aomori Sister State Advisory Council, which fosters the sister state relationship between Maine, USA, and Aomori, Japan. As an artist and curator, he has organized art exhibitions in the United States, Japan, Spain, and Greece.
Jeff earned a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art and English from Skidmore College and an M.F.A. from Lesley University College of Art & Design.
Zaydoon Zaid
Senior Cultural Heritage Advisor
Zaydoon Zaid has assisted with CAORC’s cultural heritage work for several years, and joined CAORC officially in 2023 as Senior Cultural Heritage Advisor. He oversees all of CAORC’s cultural heritage programs, including the current small grants program “Preservation of At-Risk Cultural Heritage in Yemen” co-funded by the J.M Kaplan Fund and the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH). In addition to his work with CAORC, Zaydoon is the Director and president of the American Foundation for Cultural Research, a non-profit organization that began work in Oman and Yemen in 1952 as the American Foundation for the Study of Man (AFSM).
Since 1987 Zaydoon has conducted archaeological work in Jordan, Syria, and Yemen. His main focus of research has been the ancient kingdom of the Sabaeans and their capital city of Marib, where he has worked on the excavation of the Awam Temple complex (Mahram Bilqis) since 2004.
Zaydoon received a PhD in History of Architecture from the Technical University of Aachen, Germany, and a BSc/MA in both Architecture and Classical Archaeology.
Jullienne Kay
Program Coordinator
Jullienne Kay joined CAORC in 2021. As Program Coordinator, she provides programmatic support to the Multi-Country Research Fellowship, the CAORC-NEH Research Fellowship, the Faculty Development Seminars, and numerous other CAORC programs and initiatives. She manages the CAORC/ORC online grants administration portal, CAORC’s Instagram, and assists with preparing program reports.
Additionally, Jullienne manages the administration of several activities for one of CAORC's Overseas Research Centers, the American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS), including the AIYS US Scholars Research Fellowship and the AIYS Twitter and Instagram.
Prior to joining CAORC, Jullienne received a B.A. in Political Science from McDaniel College, specializing in International Studies and Comparative Governments, with a minor in Arabic. Previously she worked for McDaniel College and the law firm Womble Bond Dickinson, and came to CAORC with over four years of office experience.
Angie Quinn
Accounting Consultant
Angie Quinn began working with CAORC in 2016 and brings 20 years of experience in accounting, auditing, bookkeeping, and tax work for non-profit organizations. She is a certified public accountant and spent 13 years as a Senior Accountant and Auditor at a Washington DC accounting firm, working exclusively with non-profits. For the last eight years, Angie has been running her own consulting and accounting company, specializing in accounting and bookkeeping services.
Angie lives in Arlington, VA with her husband, Brian; daughter, Aubrey; and their dog, Tank. In her free time, she loves reading, running, and cooking.
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