January 2026
The Board of Directors of The Jerusalem Fund for Education & Community Development is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Said Salih Kaymakci as Executive Director of The Jerusalem Fund and its educational program, the Palestine Center. His appointment became official on January 9, 2026.
Dr. Kaymakci is a Turkish American researcher, educator, and nonprofit leader whose work sits at the intersection of history, political economy, technology, and public life. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in History from Georgetown University, an M.A. in Modern Turkish History with a specialization in economic history from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, and a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Economics from the University of London and Istanbul Bilgi University. Over the past sixteen years, he has worked across research, teaching, higher education administration, nonprofits, and think tanks in Turkey and the United States.
Dr. Said’s earlier scholarship focused on the political, legal, and economic transformations of the early modern and late Ottoman Empire, especially how states, merchants, and ordinary people negotiated reform, constitutional limits, and shifting international pressures. His doctoral work traced how Ottoman thinkers and officials wrestled with the rule of law, legitimacy, and the permissible bounds of power in the face of the early modern Military Revolution and the far-reaching reform projects it set in motion—a technological shock that reshaped institutions, laws, and hierarchies across Eurasia and ultimately helped enable European imperial expansion in the Middle East. That long-view perspective on justice, constraint, and uneven adaptation to technology and its consequences for configurations of power continues to inform his work today.
In recent years, Dr. Kaymakci has extended this lens to the age of artificial intelligence, writing and speaking on AI governance, the political economy of emerging technologies, workforce development, and the future of work. His public-facing essays and commentary examine how institutions and individuals respond under pressure and how new technologies reorganize authority and vulnerability, while probing what it means to defend human dignity and meaningful human agency—to remain genuinely human in how we relate, work, remember, and tell our stories—in an era of rapid automation and data-driven decision-making.
Before joining The Jerusalem Fund, Dr. Kaymakci advised and coached students and professionals in Washington, D.C. and across the United States, helping them design resilient careers and educational pathways in a rapidly shifting global landscape. He also provided organizational and program consulting to mission-driven institutions. As a Turkish American, he is deeply committed to drawing on the best traditions of American civic life—free inquiry, pluralism, and a concern for justice—to support Palestinian rights, self-determination, and historical memory through education, policy analysis, and community work.
“I am honored to join The Jerusalem Fund at such a pivotal moment for Palestine and for global conversations about justice, technology, and power,” Dr. Kaymakci said. “The Fund’s commitment to rigorous, accessible analysis; humanitarian relief grounded in dignity; and vibrant cultural preservation makes it a rare institution. I look forward to working with the Board, staff, and our wider community to strengthen and expand this work for Palestinians in Palestine and in the diaspora, and to deepen understanding here in the United States.”
In his free time, Dr. Kaymakci enjoys hiking and exploring new trails, watching and identifying birds—especially the Northern cardinal, whose bright presence in the grayest D.C. winters reminds him that beauty and resilience can persist even in harsh conditions—and cooking, often on his well-seasoned cast-iron skillet.
Established in 1977, The Jerusalem Fund for Education & Community Development is an independent non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. The Fund provides humanitarian relief to the Palestinian people, educational outreach to the American public through the Palestine Center, and showcases the vibrant, rich culture of Palestine and the Arab world through its Gallery Al-Quds. For more information, please visit www.thejerusalemfund.org.
Dr. Said Salih Kaymakci can be reached at The Jerusalem Fund’s main office at (202) 338-1958 or by email at skaymakci@thejerusalemfund.org.
Dr. Subhi D. Ali, Chairman of the Board
Dr. Mohayya H. Kilfeh, Secretary of the Board
Dr. Eid B. Mustafa, Vice Chairman and Treasurer of the Board
