Our Team
AUAF President
David Edwards
“At present, AUAF is a fully virtual campus. We strive to keep alive what has always made the university special: the interactive spaces it provides that allow our students to be together with each other and their professors. It’s the people that make AUAF unique." [...] "Together we keep AUAF a strong and potent force for good.”
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Leadership Team
Tracy Patton
Dean of Students
Joanne Giesbreicht
Dean of Faculty
Bernaba Ghanim
Chief Operating Officer
Vinh Nguyen
Chief Financial Officer
Nitin Madhav
Executive Vice President
Board of Trustees
Our Board of Trustees brings together former ambassadors, higher-education leaders, development experts, business executives, and public-health scholars with deep experience in Afghanistan and the region – uniting governance rigor with real-world insight. Chaired by Debra Zumwalt, our Board includes senior voices from U.S. diplomacy, Stanford University, the MacArthur Foundation, and Loma Linda University – ensuring oversight that balances academic excellence, operational know-how, and student well-being. From policy to practice, our trustees have led embassies, universities, foundations, and major programs in Afghanistan. Their collective experience guides AUAF’s mission and safeguards our students’ pathways to learning.
Debra Zumwalt
Chair
Mr. William Hammink
Treasurer
Mr. Emal Dusst
Vice Chair
Mr. Harvey Schochet
Secretary
Dr. David Edwards
President
Dr. John H. Alexander
Amb. Said Jawad
Mr. Farhad Azima
Mr. Arsalan Lutfi
Mr. Christopher Cox
Amb. Maureen Quinn
Mr. Christian Destremau
Amb. Paula Dobriansky
Ms. Leslie M. Schweitzer
Ms. Christine Drinan
Mr. David Sedney
Dr. Ayesha Sherzai
Ms. Hanaa Soltan
Dr. Jonathan F. Fanton
Mr. Sear Yagana