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Karen Koning AbuZayd was appointed Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in 2005. Since 2000, Mrs. AbuZayd helped oversee UNRWA social service, health, education and micro-enterprise programs that reach 4.6 million Palestinian refugees. Before joining UNRWA, Mrs. AbuZayd worked in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Sudan, Namibia, Sierra Leone and as Chef de Cabinet to High Commissioner Sadako Ogata. Prior to her 19 years of service at UNHCR, Mrs, AbuZayd lectured in Political Science and Islamic Studies at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Juba University in southern Sudan. Mrs. AbuZayd earned her B.Sc. from DePauw University in Indiana and her M.A. in Islamic Studies from McGill University in Canada.