Deni Béchard is academic director and a professor for SOLA. He has taught for fifteen years. He did his undergraduate degree in writing and literature, and holds an MA in English language studies and an MA in French literature. In 2006, he published his first novel, Vandal Love, which won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. His articles and translations have appeared in numerous magazines.

Dr. Louise Pascale is a volunteer teacher at SOLA. Associate Professor in the Creative Arts in Learning Division at Lesley University, she has worked for over 25 years in the field of arts and education. She has focused her research on investigating the ways in which singing and music making impact cultural reference, community building and education. Motivated by a long-held passion and concern for preserving traditional music, Louise has spent the last six years republishing a songbook, Qu Qu Qu Barg-e-Chinaar: Children’s Songs from Afghanistan, initially created while in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan from 1966-68. Due to over twenty years of war and oppression in Afghanistan, these children’s songs were almost completely eradicated from Afghan culture. As a result of this project, 14,000 copies of the songbook have been distributed to elementary schools, orphanages and family centers across Afghanistan and embraced not only as a music text but a support for basic literacy. The English edition of the songbook, recently published by National Geographic Society, will be part of a year-long exhibition on Afghanistan, Hidden Treasures of Afghanistan which opened at the National Gallery in Washington, DC May 25, 2008 and will travel to San Francisco, Houston, New York, Toronto and several major cities in Europe.

Mohammad is a volunteer TOEFL/ESL instructor at SOLA. He is a public outreach officer at the Afghan Government Media and Information Center. Before working for the Afghan Government, he worked for six years with civil society institutions involved with education, child development, mental health and child protection in the provinces of Herat and Kabul. Mohammad is a freelance researcher and writer. He is an undergraduate student at the American University of Afghanistan. 

Husnia works with SOLA’s Solace for the Children program, and previously worked as a librarian and school administrator for SOLA. She was born in Kabul and began learning English when she was 10 years old from VOA (Voice of America). English became her academic priority, and she was a member of the YES program in 2006-2007, having been selected from a group of 4,000 students from throughout Afghanistan. She did her 10th grade in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and returned to Kabul to finish her 11th and 12th grades. Her current goal is to get a scholarship to study medicine abroad so that she can return and better serve her people.

Fatemeh was born in Herat. When she was in the 11th grade, she took the YES tests and, of 3,000 participants, was among the ten finalists. She then studied in Austin, TX. She returned to finish her 12th grade year in Herat. She then became a counselor for the YES Program and went to India for a short time. Afterwards, she took a job with SOLA as the personal assistant to the director. Her goal is to get a scholarship to an American university. 

Meena was one of the first Afghan YES Alumni (2004-2005) to work for SOLA. Born in Kabul, she grew up in Islamabad where her family were refugees for 11 years. When she was in 10th grade, she and 3 other students were chosen from all of the high schools in Kabul to study in Japan through the Ministry of Education. In the 11th grade, she was one of 40 students chosen for a one-year scholarship program called YES (Youth Exchange and Study) in the US. She lived in Fort Wayne, IN, and while in high school, learned and taught about the history and cultural traditions of both countries. After her return, she graduated in 2005 and volunteered for ACIE (American Councils for International Education). She was promoted to higher positions, from office assistant to accountant assistant to accountant and then to the finance officer. After 2 years with ACIE, she volunteered for SOLA and Solace. She later became the chief accountant and assistant finance officer at the newly opened Afshar Hospital. She is still SOLA’s finance officer, managing the budgets and payroll. Her goal is to continue her education abroad in the liberal arts and to return Afghanistan so that she can provide service for her country.

Rauf was born in Kunduz and graduated at the top of his class from Shir khan High School. In 2007, when in 12th grade, he received the LINC (Linking individual Knowledge and Culture) scholarship supported by the American Councils and funded by the US Department of State. The purpose of this scholarship was to help him become familiar with American culture; the trip lasted three weeks. Throughout high school, he helped his family by working in his father's pharmacy. After graduation, he worked full-time in the pharmacy as a manager for a year and a half. He also managed an internet café in order to improve his technical skills. He then decided that he wanted to work for foreign organizations, so he found a job as an office administrator at SOLA. He has volunteered in the service of Solace for the Children, a medical non-profit program that transports Afghan children to the U.S, and he has also helped raise money for Kunduz farmers to buy fertilizer. He speaks English, Dari, Pashto and Urdu. His goal is to complete his higher education abroad so that he can return to Afghanistan and be a leader in his community.

Fatima is currently SOLA’s Education Director, Librarian, and the head of SOLA’s girls’ dormitory, and she plans on being the head of the first women’s internet café through SOLA. She was born in Kunduz and graduated high school in 2008. She then studied in the US through the YES program from 2008 to 2009. She intends to earn the best education possible and to study political science.