Elza Maalouf, Center for Human – Emergence Middle East

Biographical Sketch

Elza S. Maalouf is an Arab‐American futurist and cultural development specialist whose work is focused on cultural, business and political reform in the Arab world. She lectures widely in the West on the complexities of the Muslim world and widens the horizon of understanding of Western cultures in the East.

Elza is a former attorney and corporate executive. Her innovative approaches to leadership and organizational development draw on more than two decades of experience in the areas of depth psychology, world philosophies, business management, political science and consciousness studies and practices. Elza integrates these disciplines to inform her micro and macro‐design solutions.

As one of the foremost futurists and expert in Memetics—the study of societal paradigms—of the Middle East, Elza is recognized as one of today’s brightest minds in the field of Mid‐East development. She is co‐founder of the Center for Human Emergence Middle East, a think tank that emphasizes the scientific understanding of cultures through the prism of the "bio‐psycho‐social systems" framework of Drs. Clare W. Graves & Don E. Beck. She is a pioneer in the implementation of Integral and Spiral Dynamics methodologies in the Middle East. To this rich body of work, Elza is now adding her original concept of Innovations in Memetic Technologies™ which includes depth psycho‐spiritual understandings and indigenous‐designed applications.

In her iPolitics blog, Elza examines Memetic patterns of emergence in the Mid‐East region and offers analyses of the anatomy of conflicts in the Muslim World.

Her firm Integral Insights Consulting (IIC) advises business leaders in the West as well as in the Middle East. She offers unique, culturally informed integral concepts for business in the post‐oil era. As the Middle East transitions from oil wealth based economies to fully integrated sustainable economies, IIC stands on the forefront of advisory services to facilitate the transition with a focus on the Mid‐East’s most precious resource, their Gen Y.

Elza speaks with a rare authority about what it takes to evolve structures of society in ways that support women. Her work with women and girls in the Palestinian Territories, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait and Dubai has earned her wide respect and affection. She is among the few whose life journey has taken her from a tribal culture to a truly integral/global perspective.

She has worked extensively with women and girls in Syria, Palestine, Kuwait and many parts of the Arab world to help them realize their fullest potential and become agents for change in the region.

PDF Version of Elza S. Maalouf's biography.