Salyne El Samarany

Salyne El Samarany is the Vice President at the Special Olympics Global Center for Inclusion in Education. A key aspect of her role involves connecting inclusive education practices to research and policy and leading the center’s development strategy. Prior to joining Special Olympics, Salyne enjoyed a 13-year journey in education, direct assistance, service delivery and relief work in Lebanon, holding various roles with Teach for Lebanon (TFL). She began her journey with TFL in 2009 as a fellow teacher in a rural community in north Lebanon. Over the years, she assumed increasing responsibilities within the organization, ultimately becoming its Chief Executive Officer in 2013. During her tenure, she designed and led the execution of various education programs that impacted the lives of thousands of less privileged Lebanese and refugee children by enhancing educational quality in emergency settings and offering avenues for youth empowerment. Salyne is an alumna of Teach for Lebanon and a MEPI Georgetown University student leader. She was selected as the Lebanese Youth Ambassador for the Arab Thought Foundation (ATF) and has received the 2014 UN Special Envoy for Global Education’s Youth Courage Award and the 2016 Arab Creativity Award. In 2018, she was chosen as one of Facebook’s inaugural global “Community Leaders.” Salyne’s background as an educator is complemented by her training and Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition and diet therapy, as well as an MBA with advanced courses in management, consultancy, communications, marketing, and MEAL. She is a mother of three young children and the youngest sibling in a family of eight.