H.E. Dr. Jihad Alsawair

Deputy Secretary General for Technical Affairs

Director of Waste Management and Hazardous Substances – Ministry of Environment

Dr. Jihad Alsawair is a senior environmental expert, with more than 25 years of professional experience in protecting the environment and advancing the green growth, with extensive experience with international development actors, civil society and government institutions.

Previously, Dr. Alsawair worked for Royal Scientific Society as a senior environmental researcher, worked for Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, as Director of Environment and Director of Ben Hayyan Laboratories, and for the EU as a technical expert for the establishment of Aqaba Air Quality Monitoring Network. 

Currently, Dr. Alsawair is the Deputy Secretary General, and the Director of Waste Management and Hazardous Substances at the Ministry of Environment.

Dr. Alsawair has a PhD in Environmental Science and Health from the University of Nevada-Reno, USA.

H.E. Eng. Ahmad Malkawi

City Manager of Amman

Ahmad joined the Municipality of Greater Amman staff in 1994 to serve as a civil engineer.

Since that time, Ahmad helped in directing different departments at the Municipality, which encompasses all functions related to road construction, implementation and maintenance, emergency centers, environmental services, solid waste management projects, parks, and the transportation project “BRT”. As well as the infrastructure projects financed by AFD, EBRD, WB, DFID,…ect.

He was appointed to the position of Deputy City Manager for Public Work in 2013, where later he got promoted to the position of City Manager of Amman in March 2019; focusing on strategic planning, capital improvements, process and decision transparency, community engagement and departmental accountability. He supports Amman’s efforts on climate change, smart city, resilience, green infrastructure, etc.

He is the Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Strategic Planning and Performance Management and  Chairman of the Awards and Institutional Excellence Committee

Mr. Christopher N. Steel

Deputy Mission Director

Christopher joined USAID/Jordan in August 2023 from the

USAID/Washington Bureau for Asia, where he was the Senior Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific. He previously served in leadership positions at U.S. Missions in Kenya, Afghanistan, Guatemala, and Pakistan and on the National Security Council Staff at the White House. Prior to joining the foreign service, Chris managed various social development programs throughout Latin America and the United States.  He holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a Fulbright Research Fellow, a master’s degree from Harvard University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton.