Dr. Wafa Al-Daily is a senior urban planner and an international development expert with a demonstrated working history in academia, government agencies, NGOs, and the private sector. She is experienced in urbanization, metropolitan planning and governance, urban recovery/reconstruction, sustainable development, and slums and informal settlements. She also has extensive management experience in international education and program administration and partnership development, capacity building, grant and contract administration, grant writing, project management, strategic planning, financial oversight, and continuous quality assessment. She is an advocate for inclusive planning and has worked with underprivileged and minority populations in the United States and abroad.
Dr. Al-Daily is the Associate Director for Global Initiatives for the Virginia Tech Center of International Research, Education and Development (CIRED). Prior to taking this role, she was the Associate Director for Global Initiatives and Partnerships of the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute and the Coordinator of Middle East and North Africa Initiatives of CIRED. Dr. Al-Daily is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of EHAAR International, LLC. (a consultancy firm that focuses on development and urban and urban recovery issues). She is the Lead of the International Metropolitan Fellowship Arabia Chapter (IMFARC) and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Metropolitan Fellowship (IMF). She has held the position of Assistant Professor within the College of Engineering at Sana’a University since 1997. She has worked in a consulting capacity with a number of organizations, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), URBAConsulting/World Bank Group (WBG), Social Fund for Development (SFD), and Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).
Dr. Al-Daily is an affiliated member, fellow and researcher of a number of centers and institutes, including the Center for Cooperative Problem Solving (CCPS) and Institute for Policy and Governance (IPG) at Virginia Tech University, International Metropolitan Fellowship (IMF), American Planning Association (APA), International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), and Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA). She is a NAFSA Academy fellow/alumna (Academy for International Education, Class 19). Dr. Al-Daily was a recipient of prestigious awards and fellowships, including the American Association of University Women International Fellowship and Who’s Who Among Students in the American Universities and Colleges. She was honored with her nomination for the President’s Award for Excellence and the Alumni Award for International Outreach at Virginia Tech University in 2020 for her significant contributions to Virginia Tech’s internationalization mission.
Dr. Al-Daily is a certified practitioner of Kirton Adoption-Innovation (KAI) Inventory Problem Solving and Cognitive Style, and a facilitator of intergroup dialogue and human relations. She earned a Ph.D. in Planning, Governance and Globalization (PGG) from Virginia Tech, a Master of City and Regional Studies (CRS) from Rutgers University, a Non-degree Diploma in Urban Planning and Community Development from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from Sana’a University.