Arabic classes in San Francisco - Pacific Arabic language school

Who We Are

Faculty

Jamal Mavrikios

An avid linguaphile since childhood, Jamal's love for the Arabic language began at Hofstra University under the tutelage of Dr. Henry Chaim Toledano. Jamal continued his Arabic studies at New York University and the United Nations Language Training Institute, and studied translation theory at the University of California, Berkeley.

Jamal has worked in diverse international environments in industry and the United Nations. With Mary Ardagna, he coauthored "For Every Child," the official campaign song of UNICEF's 1990 World Summit for Children. Jamal has a keen interest in African languages and cultures, and in sustainable development. He is founder and executive director of Pacific Arabic Resources.

Roni Abusaad, PhD.
	Born in Palestine, Roni has done graduate work at Gent University in Belgium and the Univerity of Malta, receiving his PhD from U.C. Berkeley. An experienced Arabic teacher, he has taught summer intensive Arabic for two years at U.C. Berkeley, and has also taught at City College of San Francisco. Roni teaches Standard Arabic and Levantine Arabic at Pacific Arabic Resources.

Noureddine Amari
	Noureddine hails from the historic city of Kasserine, Tunisia. He graduated from Sousse Univeristy (Tunisia) and has worked as a French / Arabic translator and interpreter. Outside of his passion for languages, Noureddine is also a calligrapher and an artist. Noureddine teaches Tunisian and Standard Arabic at Pacific Arabic Resources.

Nasser Riyadh

An editor by profession, Nasser (a.k.a. Nicholas Cheonis) attended the Juilliard School and graduated from Columbia University. The Bay Area native began learning Arabic in New York, with further studies in Beirut and Cairo after many courses in MSA, Levantine dialect, and calligraphy at PAR. He is also familiar with Turkish, Japanese, and several European languages. Nasser teaches Standard Arabic at Pacific Arabic Resources.

Maher Sabry

An accomplished language teacher, Mr. Sabry is also a published author and poet. His volume Maaryuniit met with critical acclaim, and his work was anthologized in Angry Voices: An Anthology of the Off-Beat New Egyptian Poets (University of Arkansas Press). Maher was also a cartoonist and illustrator for Egyptian periodicals, including the "Cairo Times". In addition, he founded the Egyptian independent theater company Maraia and co-founded the Shrapnel Theater Troupe. In May 2002 he was the recipient of the Felipa de Souza Human Rights Award. Maher teaches Standard Arabic and Egyptian Arabic at Pacific Arabic Resources.

Hashim Salih

Hashim has been teaching Standard and Sudanese Arabic to English speakers since 1981. A linguist by nature, he has conducted language surveys in the Darfur and Nuba mountain regions in western Sudan. He received his masters degree in Linguistics from the Institute of African and Asian Studies, University of Khartoum and holds another masters degree (in TESOL) from California State University - East Bay. Hashim teaches Sudanese and Standard Arabic at Pacific Arabic Resources.

Jamye Ford, Qiq.

Jamye is our Director of Operations. He graduated from Columbia University and comes to us after several years of running a UCSF research study and programs focused on homeless youth. He discovered his love of languages at a young age and is fluent in Mvskoke (spoken by the Creek Nation and Seminole Indians of Florida and Oklahoma). He has also studied French, Mandarin, and Ancient Greek, and was a PAR student of MSA and Moroccan dialect at our former Bush Street location. Jamye returned to his Arabic studies by completing our 2008 Beginner Summer Intensive program. Welcome to PAR, Jamye!

Justin Shilad

Originally from Rhode Island, Justin came out to the Bay Area in October 2008 and has been studying at PAR ever since. Justin started studying Arabic at American University in Washington DC and also participated in the Arabic Language Institute at the American University in Cairo. In addition to Arabic, Justin has also been studying Hindi and Urdu. Justin now works as our registrar here at PAR, and he also does research, writing and copyediting here in the Bay Area.