Team

Nadia Murad

President & Chairwoman of the Board

Human rights activist and recipient of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, Nadia Murad is a leading advocate for survivors of genocide and sexual violence. Nadia’s peaceful life was brutally disrupted in 2014 when ISIS attacked her homeland in Sinjar with the goal of ethnically cleansing all Yazidis from Iraq. Like many minority groups, the Yazidis have carried the weight of historical persecution. Women, in particular, have suffered greatly as victims of sexual violence. After escaping captivity, Nadia began speaking out on behalf of her community and survivors of sexual violence worldwide.

Much of Nadia’s advocacy work is focused on meeting with global leaders to raise awareness of the genocide against the Yazidi people and the systemic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Nadia is the President and Chairwoman of Nadia’s Initiative.

Alison Anderson

Chief Operating Officer

Alison Anderson is an agile, highly-skilled nonprofit sector consultant with over ten years of experience working in the management of nonprofit organizations. She helps nonprofit organizations thrive internally, so that they can deliver on mission. She holds a Master of Arts Management degree from Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School of Public Policy and a B.A. from Davidson College. At Nadia's Initiative, Alison oversees the organization’s financial management and internal operations, including human resources.

Faisel Ghanem

Projects Manager

As Projects Manager, Faisal Ghanem works on the ground in Sinjar, Iraq with Nadia's Initiative's implementing partners and the local community to oversee projects and engage the local community in project implementation. A Yazidi born and raised in the Sinjar region, Faisal has a thorough knowledge of the local community members' needs. For the past five years, he has worked with various NGOs in the Ninewa region of Iraq as projects coordinator, social researcher, and team leader. His work has focused primarily on the social cohesion of the Yazidi community and peacebuilding in the region. Faisal holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

Salah Hassan Qasim

Sr. Community Outreach Officer

Born and raised in the Sinjar region, Salah began his professional career as a journalist working for Mahdar Newspaper. Salah survived ISIS’ genocide against his people and has now made it his mission to raise awareness of the plight of the Yazidis and use his voice to demand change. He has worked as a news reporter for the TV channel Nuça where he covered many stories related to the situation of Yazidis in Iraq and interviewed hundreds of people. Salah also worked for REGA TV channel and BBC Arabic TV channel as a news reporter. Salah utilizes his communications background to manage the Initiative’s community outreach work and engagement with local news agencies.

Jamal Saido

Documentation & Protection Officer

Jamal Saido was born and raised in Sinjar, Iraq. Jamal is passionate about translation, literature, and philosophy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English language from the University of Zakho. For the past six years, he has worked with several international NGOs in Iraq, including Médecins Sans Frontières, Norwegian Refugee Council, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Jamal has experience in project management, translation, and education. At Nadia’s Initiative, Jamal manages the organization’s database of missing Yazidis, as well as their search and rescue work.

Aomer Ali Murad

Sr. Logistics Officer

Aomer is from Sinjar, Iraq and holds a degree in accounting from the Technical University of Duhok. Aomer has worked in the region for the past twelve years with organizations like the Norwegian Refugee Council, Welthungerhilfe, Medair, Doctors Without Borders, and Doctors for the World. His past work experience includes human resources and financial management, data entry, project management, survey enumeration, and community outreach. At Nadia’s Initiative, Aomer manages the logistics team to oversee the organization’s procurement and project management.

Nadia Hassan Khalo

Protection Manager

Nadia is a passionate advocate for women's rights and a survivor of ISIS captivity. She was born and raised in Sinjar, Iraq, and holds a bachelor's degree in education. Nadia has extensive experience working with vulnerable populations, particularly children, and has collaborated with several civil society organizations. Her work as a case manager has equipped her with skills in assessing needs, developing service plans, and coordinating services. Currently, Nadia manages the protection team and works on women and survivor projects in Sinjar. She strives to develop and implement initiatives that address the specific needs of women and survivors in the region.

Faiza Saido Hassan

Case Manager

Faiza was born and raised in Sinjar, Iraq. Her academic background is in reproductive health, preventing and addressing gender-based violence (GBV), and UN guidelines on humanitarian aid. She has worked in Iraq with several NGOs, including Joint Help for Kurdistan, Premiere Urgence Internationale, Caritas, and Brazilian One Bridge, focusing on mental health and psychosocial support and prevention of GBV. Faiza has extensive experience working with survivors of sexual violence and applies a trauma-informed, protection-based approach to her work with Nadia’s Initiative’s protection team in Sinjar, Iraq.

Yasser Ezden Salih

Community Outreach Coordinator

Yasser was born and raised in Sinjar, Iraq. He holds a bachelor’s degree in languages and translation from the University of Duhok. Yasser has used his excellent communication skills to work as an interpreter and translator for many NGOs operating in the Sinjar region. Through his nonprofit work, he has gained knowledge and experience working with vulnerable populations. As Community Outreach Coordinator, Yasser is responsible for conducting comprehensive and extensive community outreach to assess ongoing needs and gaps in provision of services. Yasser’s regular engagement with the community helps inform the development of Nadia’s Initiative’s projects in Iraq.

Ilyas Barakat Naif

Protection Officier and Psychologist

Ilyas is a clinical psychologist from Sinjar, Iraq who holds a degree from the University of Duhok. He has extensive experience working as a psychologist and psychosocial support officer at several NGOs and INGOs in Iraq, including Springs of Hope Foundation, Mission East, Medair, Mercy Hands, and Jesuit Refugee Service. At Nadia’s Initaitive, Ilyas supports the protection team’s mental health and psychosocial support work with survivors, women, and children in Sinjar.

Dakheel Khalaf Findi

Engineering Officer

Dakheel is from the Sinjar region of Iraq and holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in business administration. He has over five years of experience working with international and national humanitarian and development organizations in northern Iraq. Dakheel has worked as an engineer, trainer, field coordinator and project manager with organizations such as Dorcas Aid International, Handicap International, GIZ, and Mission East. At Nadia’s Initiative, Dakheel oversees the organization’s construction projects, developing BOQs and coordinating with implementing partners and contractors.

Dakheel Hamow Rashko

Communications Officer

Born and raised in Sinjar, Iraq, Dakheel has over eight years of experience working with international NGOs and news agencies. Previously, Dakheel worked as a cameraman and photographer for Al-Aaan TV, Kani Foundation, Humanity NGO, and Mousalya TV. He holds a degree in fine arts from Salah Alden University in Erbil. At Nadia’s Initiative, Dakheel works on digitally capturing the organization’s wide array of projects to communicate success stories and program developments to beneficiaries and international supporters.

Ahmed Hassan Qasim

Finance and HR Officer, Iraq

Ahmed is from Sinjar, Iraq and holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Nursing at the University of Mosul. He also worked as a research assistant in the Department of Psychology at the University of Tampere in Finland, conducting research on infant development in war zones. Ahmed has several years of experience working with organizations, such as Médecins Sans Frontières, Mission East, Joint Help for Kurdistan, Médecins du Monde, and the International Medical Corps. He has worked as a finance officer, MHPSS officer, psychologist, and project manager. At Nadia’s Initiative, he supports the organization’s financial management.

Coralyn Maguigad

Special Assistant to the President

Coralyn is a graduate of American University, where she completed her bachelor's degree in international studies and Arabic language. During her degree, she took advantage of several opportunities to explore conflict, human rights, and culture in the Middle East. Coralyn previously worked as a communications assistant at EMILY's List. At Nadia’s Initiative, she provides support to the president, executive director, and general operations of the organization.

Kerry Propper

Strategic Advisor & Vice Chairman of the Board

Kerry Propper is the co-founder and Managing Partner of ATW Partners and co-founder and Chairman of Chardan Capital Markets. He was the producer of the award winning film Watchers of the Sky - a documentary chronicling the life of Raphael Lemkin, the man who believed law could protect the world from mass atrocities. Kerry was also part of the original team that initiated the campaign to bring ISIS before the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. He co-founded Yazda’s Genocide Documentation Project, which has been collecting evidence of human rights violations committed against the Yazidis.

Elizabeth Bohart

Strategic Advisor & Board Member

Elizabeth Bohart is a social impact strategist and founder of the Antelope Foundation. Bohart works internationally with start-up organizations and organizations in transition to build community driven initiatives, which address the critical needs of highly vulnerable communities. In her capacity as a strategic advisor for Nadia’s Initiative, she is working on SAR projects, specifically the Global Fund for Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and the Murad Code. Bohart connected with the Yazidi community through her work on the award winning film, Watchers of the Sky, where she served as the Director of Outreach - developing genocide education, community engagement, and advocacy programs for high school students. Bohart was a 2016 Nantucket Project Scholar. She also serves on the boards of Komera and Maloto.

Grégoire Théry

Board Member

Grégoire Théry is the co-founder and executive director of CAP international, a coalition of 28 frontline NGOs providing direct assistance to victims of prostitution and trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation in 21 countries. In 2013, he was appointed as member of the French High Council for Equality between Women and Men (HCEFH), an advisory body working under the authority of the Prime Minister. He is a permanent member of its “violence against women” committee. Prior to this, Grégoire worked six years as Permanent Representative to the European Union of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). Grégoire Théry is also a former Secretary general of the frontline service provider Mouvement du Nid.