Minerva Qassis-Jarayseh

Minerva Qassis-Jarayseh, from Bethlehem, Palestine, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work with a minor in Psychology from Bethlehem University (1996) and a Master’s degree in Gender, Law, and Development from Birzeit University (2006). Currently she is a PhD candidate, specializing in Psycho-Educational Counseling at al-Quds open university.

Minerva has been a lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences at Bethlehem University since 2007 and served as the Chairperson of the department from 2014 to 2017. Her academic and professional contributions extend beyond teaching to mentorship and leadership in various capacities.

From 2007 to 2010, Minerva worked as a supervisor and counselor at Terra Sancta College for Boys in Bethlehem, where she provided counseling for students, training for parents, and served as a member of the college’s administrative council. She worked with the Palestinian Working Women Society for Development (PWWSD) from 1997 to 2008, focusing on women and family counseling programs as well as serving as a professional supervisor for the social workers’ team and she also supervised PWWSD’s social workers between 2020 and 2022. From 1996 to 1997 she worked at the Ministry of Health’s Mental Health Hospital in Bethlehem as a social worker.

Also, Minerva is the head of Sant Finniest Society, which serves poor families in the Beit Sahour area.