As founding CEO of ISD, Sasha has led the organisation’s pioneering programmes and campaigns, advising governments at the highest levels and working with the private and civil society sectors to deliver real-world solutions to inter-communal conflict, extremism and terrorism.   She has spearheaded the largest global network of former extremists (AVE) in partnership with Google’s Jigsaw; the Strong Cities Network, the first global counter-extremism cities network; and the Innovation Hub, a partnership with Facebook, Google and Twitter to counter extremists’ online efforts. Most recently she launched The Online Civil Courage Initiative designed to amplify efforts to counter hate speech online, with Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg.   Sasha chairs the 11-country Policy Planners’ Network on Countering Radicalisation and she co-chaired the EU’s Internet Radicalisation working group from 2012-2015. Sasha previously served as Senior Director at the EastWest (EWI) Institute where she led conflict resolution programming.   Sasha previously served as Senior Director at the US think-tank, the EastWest Institute (EWI), where she headed the organisation’s conflict resolution and transition work, rolling-out unique cross-border field operations across the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Russia. She was nominated to serve on a Task Force of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe in the aftermath of the Balkan wars.   She is a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, has testified before US Congress and is a regular commentator in the media (CNN, BBC, Channel 4 News and other networks).

Farah Pandith has been a political appointee in the George H.W. Bush. George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama administrations. She left government at the end of January 2014 for Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government where she maintains an affiliation.

Amarnath Amarasingam, PhD, is a Senior Research Fellow at ISD. He is the author of Pain, Pride, and Politics: Social Movement Activism and the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in Canada (2015). He is the editor of Sri Lanka: The Struggle for Peace in the Aftermath of War (2016), The Stewart/Colbert Effect: Essays on the Real Impacts of Fake News (2011) and Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal (2010). He is also the author of several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, has presented papers at over 100 national and international conferences, and has written for Politico, The Atlantic, Vice News, Foreign Affairs, Al-Jazeera English, and War on the Rocks. Amarasingam is an experienced field researcher, having conducted hundreds of interviews for his PhD dissertation on social movement activism, organisational dynamics, and youth identity in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora. He also conducted over 50 interviews with former fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, or Tamil Tigers) throughout the former war zones of Sri Lanka in 2012 and 2013. At the Turkey-Syria border, Amarasingam spoke with dozens of injured fighters, refugees, as well as former and current activists of the Syrian revolution. He has also conducted field research in Somalia, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, and amongst different ethnic and religious groups in North America and Europe. As co-director of a study of Western foreign fighters in Syria, he has conducted dozens of interviews with jihadists in Syria and Iraq, supporters of jihadist movements online, as well as family members and friends of individuals who have joined the fight abroad.

Angharad is Senior Communications Manager at ISD, responsible for all external communications for the organisation, and for ISD’s flagship programmes. Angharad has over a decade of experience in non-profit management in the US and UK, with a focus on communications, programme management, partnerships, operations, and fundraising. Previous roles include Deputy Director of FilmAid International and Communications Manager at Free Word, a London-based centre for literature and freedom of expression. Angharad spent her early career working in publishing and literature in the US, before returning to the UK in 2013. During her time in America she managed The Big Read, a national programme that supports innovative community reading projects across the US.

Anisa is a Project Associate at ISD working predominantly on ISD’s East Africa project. Her work focuses on the use of social media in relation to extremism, radicalisation, and community conflict as well as in creating effective online counter narratives. Anisa holds a master’s degree from Sussex University in International Security. During he masters she researched on the transition from war to peace. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Sussex University in International relations with Arabic. Anisa is comfortable working in both English and Swahili.

Chloe is a Project Manager at ISD, working across development and delivery of ISD’s online research, programming and policy advisory work concerning counter-extremism and disinformation. Chloe also supports ISD’s business development strategy. Chloe is currently working across a number of projects that use social media analysis, discourse and network mapping to research hate speech, extremism and disinformation online. Her work at ISD also involves partnerships with the major social media platforms, including Facebook, Google and Microsoft, for whom she advises on global policy responses to the threat of online extremism. Chloe has also co-authored ISD reports on subjects including online discourse shifts in the British far right following the Brexit vote. Chloe was awarded the Mellon Fellowship to Yale Graduate School from 2014 to 2016, where she achieved a Masters in History and completed training in coding and data analysis. Chloe graduated from the University of Cambridge with a first class degree in History in 2014.

Christopher J. Stewart is a Project Manager at ISD, working primarily on the Online Civil Courage Initiative (OCCI) where he is responsible for the delivery of innovative models that combine expertise from the technology, communications and marketing, and academic sectors to ‘upskill and upscale’ the civic response to online hate and extremism. Christopher has an expertise in research focussed on the effectiveness of counterspeech and civil society efforts to challenge hate speech and extremism. Christopher’s most recent publications include: The Impact of Counter-Narratives, exploring the effect of online counter-narrative content, following a year-long cross-platform pilot study conducted in cooperation with Google; and an article on lone actor terrorism in the Chatham House journal The World Today. Christopher holds a Masters in Geopolitics & Security and a Joint Honors Bachelor in Geography, Politics and International Relations from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Cooper is a Project Coordinator at ISD, working predominantly with the Online Civil Courage Initiative. Cooper focuses on qualitative and quantitative research into extremism and radicalisation on social media platforms, and how they can be best counter-acted through counter-narrative campaigns. He also assists on a number of other research projects within ISD. Prior to joining ISD, Cooper worked at Portland, where he advised clients from the non-profit and government sectors on their media engagement and social media strategies. Cooper holds a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University and a Masters of International Security from Sciences Po. He has a background in quantitative research and data visualisation. He also speaks fluent Spanish and French, as well as proficient Japanese.

Daniel Hooton is a Project Manager at ISD, working on the Strong Cities Network (SCN), responsible for managing SCN regions, practice and digital delivery, and partnership development in support of the SCN’s leadership in strengthening local capacity to counter all forms of violent extremism and polarisation on a global scale. In addition to developing and delivering training and cooperation on local action planning, regional collaboration and direct city consultations on local P/CVE strategy and practice, Daniel works to expand inter-disciplinary learning and expertise across violent extremism and urban violence prevention, including related integration and cohesion agendas. Prior to joining ISD in January 2016, Daniel worked in the UK Parliament as a researcher and policy advisor to the Shadow Minister for Communities, developing Labour Party national policy and government scrutiny on community cohesion, social exclusion and public services. He holds a Master’s degree with Distinction from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Bristol.

Daniela Puska is Head of Project Operations at ISD and oversees cross-organisational grants and project management for the organisation. Daniela’s experience includes managing projects and organisational operations in the NGO and policy development sector and has previously worked for UK think tanks Demos, ResPublica, and Common Vision, and currently also works as a Project Manager for the Campaign for Social Science.

Duaa is Grants Manager at ISD, responsible for all grants management including reporting and compliance for all the projects at the organization. Duaa has experience working with non-profit organizations and international charities managing international programs and donor relationships with DFID, EU and USAID to name a few. She has previously worked with Save the Children UK and Marie Stopes International. Duaa holds a BSc Hons in Economics from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE).

Hadiya Masieh is an expert in the area of community cohesion, interfaith relations, counter extremism, and women’s involvement in extremism. She has been a counter extremism consultant for various Governments and NGOs in the US, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Denmark, and Spain. She has also worked with non-profit and commercial organisations including Google Jigsaw. She was appointed to the UK government’s “National Muslim Women’s Advisory Group” which advised senior government officials on theological development, community cohesion, and empowering women from ethnic minorities. Hadiya was one of the authors of the report “Radicalisation and violent extremism-focus on women: How women become radicalised and how to empower them to prevent Radicalisation”, which was produced the European Parliament committee on Women’s Rights and Gender equality. Hadiya was an ambassador for Women Without Borders promoting counter extremism narratives and facilitating discussions within conflict areas. She was appointed to the board of the internationally renowned and award winning peacekeeping organisation The Bereaved Families Forum based in Palestine and Israel, promoting their message of peace within conservative Jewish and Islamic Institutions in the UK. Hadiya was one of the first women to work on the UK channel programme where she has worked closely with scores of women affected by radical and extremist views. She has been interviewed by Radio 4, BBC World Service, BBC Asian Network, CNN, The Guardian, and Vogue Magazine. Hadiya has worked with ISD as a consultant since 2013 on the One to One programme.

Hannah Winter is a Research Intern at ISD, working across ISD’s counter-extremism research and policy projects. She is an MPhil student reading Russian and East European Studies at the University of Oxford. She is also a contributor to the Free Speech Debate Project, which discusses global free speech standards in the digital age. Previously, she has worked on social policy and cyber security projects at the OECD and interned for the German newspaper F.A.Z. Hannah holds a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the American University of Paris.

Harry works across ISD’s Middle East program, delivering and developing programs of work in several countries in the region in the strategic communications and capacity building space. Harry is currently working on youth and local government focussed programs in Tunisia and Jordan, as well as several other projects in Lebanon and Morocco.   Harry has over 5 years of living and working across the region in Syria, Egypt, Qatar and Oman. Prior to joining ISD, Harry worked for a range of strategic communications, political analysis, and governmental organisations, including work Aegis, Alaco, Bell Pottinger and the British Embassy in Cairo.   Harry holds a First class degree in Arabic and Middle East Studies from the University of Exeter, and is comfortable working in English, Arabic and French.

Heather is currently a Senior Fellow for the Institute of Strategic Dialogue (ISD) where she is serving in both an advisory and research capacity focused on U.S. efforts to build social cohesion and community resilience to counter violent extremism in all its forms. Prior to joining ISD, Heather served as the Senior Community Engagement Coordinator for Columbus, Ohio under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Community Partnerships. Previously, Heather spent a decade working for the U.S. Department of State focused on counterterrorism, countering violent extremism, and promoting Muslim civil society engagement across the globe. Heather has also worked in the philanthropic sector with Innovation Fund America and in the private sector with the Gap Foundation and the Cisco Entrepreneurship Institute. She holds a bachelor's degree in English and history from The Ohio State University, a master's in international security from George Washington University and a master's in business administration from New York University.

Hélène is a Project Associate at ISD, working on the Institute’s Strong Cities Network (SCN). She is currently supporting the implementation and development of the SCN project, connecting local-level policymakers and youth across multiple regions. Hélène has a humanitarian background, having worked in Mali and France, as well as having conducted research in Lebanon, with a specific focus on community-level capacity building, and monitoring and evaluation. Hélène holds an MSc in International Humanitarian Intervention from University College Dublin, with a minor in Religion, Peace and Conflict from Uppsala Universitet. She also holds a BA in International Politics from King’s College London. She is bilingual French and English, and is also comfortable working in Spanish.

Henry Tuck is Senior Development Manager at ISD, responsible for the development of new projects, managing donor relationships, and supporting existing ISD programmes in monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment. Henry oversees the Institute’s educational programme, including Extreme Dialogue, which aims to enhance resilience, critical thinking and digital literacy skills among young people. He also works across various policy-focused projects to counter extremism online in collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including governments, international organisations and the private sector. Henry has previously worked on a series of ISD networks and counter-narrative projects, and conducted research on foreign fighters, deradicalisation and the far-right. He holds a Masters in International Conflict Studies from Kings College London, and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Durham University.

Iris manages ISD’s partnerships and networks, currently focusing on the Online Civil Courage Initiative in partnership with Facebook and the Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN). Before joining the ISD, Iris worked at YouTube on the development and coordination of the global campaign Creators for Change. Prior to that, she managed European counter speech and social good programmes at Facebook and spent some time working for French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Jacob Davey is a Project Manager at ISD working across ISD’s online counter-narrative work. Jacob develops strategies for identifying extremists online and the dissemination of counter-narrative material and has specialist knowledge on far-right extremism and the role of cultural heritage in Islamic State propaganda. Jacob is currently working on ISD’s One to One programme which aims to initiate de-radicalisation processes through direct online interventions with radicalised individuals. He also works on a counter-narrative dissemination programme in partnership with Microsoft. Jacob holds a Masters in Ancient History from University College London where he focussed on the destruction of cultural heritage by Islamic State.

Jakob Guhl is a Project Associate at the ISD, where he mainly works with the Online Civil Courage Initiative, a project that aims to improve and promote civil society reactions to hate speech and extremism on the Internet. Jakob holds an MA in Terrorism, Security and Society from King’s College London.

Joe McElroy is an Education Associate at ISD, working across ISD’s counter-extremism education programmes. As well as organising outreach to schools in the UK and internationally, Joe designs, supports and evaluates education resources and projects that increase intellectual and emotional resilience in young people faced with online and offline extremist rhetoric. Joe is currently developing new educational approaches and resources that build online resilience and critical thinking, including ISD’s Internet Citizens project in partnership with Google, and Digital Resilience with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also supports in the development of a wide range of education research and policy at ISD. Having worked as an outstanding teacher in Mexico and the UK, Joe has a wide range of experience in varied educational contexts. As a Gifted and Talented Coordinator in schools, he has led on several active citizenship projects supporting the UK Youth Parliament, BBC News School Report and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Holding a Masters in History from Oxford University and a Bachelors in American Studies from the University of Warwick, Joe is also a Teach First Ambassador with a Distinction in his PGCE.

Jonathan is Head of Policy & Research at ISD, overseeing ISD’s policy work and networks including the Policy Planners’ Network and the Strong Cities Network, as well as overseeing ISD’s work on education policy and programming. On the research side, Jonathan oversees ISD’s research and primary datasets, programme monitoring and evaluation, and edits all of ISD’s written outputs. Since starting at ISD in 2015, Jonathan has overseen the launch and expansion of the Strong Cities Network from 25 to over 110 cities from every global region and growing. In addition to convening Global Summits in Turkey and Denmark, bringing together over 800 practitioners from nearly 75 countries, Jonathan leads on an exciting Strong Cities capacity building project in the Middle East, supported by the Danish Government. Overseeing a growing ISD team in the Middle East, Jonathan has worked closely with ISD Regional Manager Khadije Nasser to build six new ‘Prevention Networks’ and provide training to over 90 local stakeholders across six municipalities in Lebanon and Jordan. On research, Jonathan is currently focused on building out ISD’s unique partnerships and online analytic technology and capabilities to provide up-to-date understanding of extremist propaganda and recruitment tactics in addition to the evaluation of online campaigns and ISD’s online one-to-one interventions. Prior to joining ISD, Jonathan was Head of Programme at the UK cross-party think tank Demos, where he published over forty research reports on topics including violent extremism both Islamist (The Edge of Violence, 2010) and Far-Right (The New Face of Digital Populism, 2011). Jonathan has also written extensively on education (The Forgotten Half, 2011), social and emotional learning (Character Nation, 2015), youth social action and attitudes towards politics (Tune In, Turn Out, 2014), digital politics and marketing (Like, Share, Vote, 2014), trust in government (Trust in Practice, 2010) and religion and integration (Rising to the Top, 2015), among other topics. Jonathan holds a Master’s degree (with distinction) from the London School of Economics and Political Science as well as Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Joseph is an Intern for the Strong Cities Network at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. With a background in graphic design, Joseph recently graduated with distinction from the University of Sussex with an MA in Conflict, Security and Development. He specialised in Middle Eastern Politics, Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Peace-building, focusing primarily on the geopolitics of the Syrian Civil War. He wrote his dissertation on the resilience of the Syrian regime in light of the civil war, which explored the structural conditions that enabled the regime to survive where other dictators fell during the Arab Spring. Prior to joining ISD, he was a Research and Communications Assistant for Children on the Edge, with voluntary experience with NGOs in the UK, Lebanon and Turkey.

Josh is an Associate working on the ISD’s Education Programme. His main focus is the Be Internet Citizens project, run in partnership with Google, which takes an implicit approach to countering extremism. As part of this project, he has led on designing unique educational resources which enable young people across the UK to build critical thinking skills and online resilience. Previously, Josh worked on the US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House, where he led on event management for key projects, as well as contributing to research reports and concept notes. Prior to that, Josh completed the Teach First Leadership Development Programme, during which time he was appointed as Head of KS3 English at his placement school, and achieved his PGCE with Distinction. Josh also holds an MSc in International Politics from SOAS University of London, where he focused on the geopolitics of the Middle East and the domestic politics of the Great Lakes countries, as well as a BA in English Literature from Leeds University.

Julia Ebner is a Research Fellow at ISD, specialising in far-right extremism, reciprocal radicalisation and European terrorism prevention initiatives. She is the author of ‘The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism’ as well as several peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and policy briefings. On the basis of her research, Julia advises parliamentary working groups, frontline workers and tech firms, speaks at international conferences and delivers workshops in schools and universities. She regularly writes for the Guardian and the Independent and gives interviews in English, German and French on the BBC, CNN, ZDF, ARD, France24, Al Jazeera, LBC and others. Before joining ISD, Julia worked as a Senior Researcher at the counter-extremism organisation Quilliam, where she led research projects on terrorism prevention for the European Commission and the Kofi Annan Foundation and gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on far-right extremism. Among other publications, she co-authored the report ‘The EU and Terrorism: Is Britain Safer In or Out?’ as well as a chapter in the Routledge volume Education and Extremisms. In her role as the coordinator of the pan-European network Families Against Terrorism and Extremism (FATE), she carried out radicalisation prevention projects across Europe and North Africa. Julia holds an MSc (Dist) in International History from London School of Economics and an MSc (Dist) in International Relations from Peking University. She completed her undergraduate studies with a BA (Hons) in Philosophy and a BSc in International Business.

Kelsey Bjornsgaard is a Project Manager at ISD focusing on counter-narrative development and delivery as well as youth engagement and education. Kelsey is responsible for running the Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN) and organising ISD’s Youth Innovation Labs. Kelsey is developing new strategies for enhancing peer-to-peer messaging and works closely with young activists internationally to develop innovative youth-led initiatives to prevent and counter violent extremism. Kelsey also works closely with the Strong Cities Network to amplify youth voices amongst government and policy-makers at a city level. Kelsey previously managed marketing and social media strategy for an independent US-based IT company. She holds a Masters in International Conflict Studies from King’s College London and a Bachelors in European Studies from the University of Oklahoma.

As a Regional Project Manager based in Beirut, Khadije Nasser leads ISD's implementation of a Strong Cities Network Municipality Project with Lebanon and Jordan promoting the role of sub-national actors in PVE funded by the Government of Denmark. Khadije manages the team of Lebanese and Jordanian project staff including overseeing capacity building of six local Prevention Networks across the two countries. She maintains relations with mayors, Prevention Network focal points and Danish project stakeholders as well as national and international interlocutors in Lebanon and Jordan involved in formulation of national P/CVE policies. Prior to joining ISD, Khadije worked as Projects Manager and Cultural Advisor to the Danish Embassy in Beirut responsible for managing its projects and NGO relations. Earlier on she worked for national and international NGOs in the region managing prevention and advocacy projects in Lebanon and as a trainer/facilitator in Jordan. In Denmark, Khadije has managed crime prevention initiatives targeting marginalised youth in Copenhagen and integration of former prisoners. As a former Role Model and Dialogue Ambassador for the Danish Ministry of Refugees, Immigrants and Integration she has extensive experiences in working with direct interventions with youth at risk. Khadije is fluent in Arabic, English and Danish, and holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Anthropology from the University of Copenhagen.

Laura works as a Grants Coordinator at ISD, mainly for the Innovation Fund and as part of the project operations team. Her background is in journalism, and before joining ISD she worked in the U.S. Embassy of Stockholm and London’s Public Affairs Section, managing grants and working as part of the wider press team. Laura has a BA in Journalism from the University of Jyväskylä, and an MA in Media and Communication Studies from the University of Stockholm.

Lauren is the Operations Manager at ISD, responsible for day-to-day office management and operational processes including HR, health and safety, IT, security and data protection. Lauren is currently developing ISD’s operational policies and processes as well as the wider HR policy, and training and development programme. Lauren comes from an education background and was previously PA to Sasha Havlicek.

Louis Reynolds is a Policy & Research Manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Louis works across counter-extremism education, research and policy within the Institute, and is currently developing new educational approaches to build resilience to extremism online in the UK and internationally. Louis also works to develop the Monitoring and Evaluation of counter-extremism programmes, and on a range of other international counter-extremism projects and collaborations including the Policy Planner’s Network. Louis was previously a Researcher at the UK cross-party think tank Demos, where he undertook research on extremism and social and emotional education among other topics. He holds a Masters in Intelligence and International Security from Kings College London and a Bachelors in War Studies from Birmingham University.

Lucie Parker is a Project Manager at ISD. Lucie works across ISD’s educational programmes, including Extreme Dialogue, which aims to enhance critical thinking skills and resilience among young people in the UK, Canada, Germany and Hungary via a series of short films and educational resources, Digital Resilience, a pilot project designed to increase the resilience of young people in the Netherlands to hate and intolerance online, and Internet Citizens, a major collaboration with Google and UK Youth targeting disadvantaged and at-risk youth. She is responsible for establishing and developing training, outreach and delivery channels for ISD’s education programmes in the UK and internationally, and has published numerous articles on the subject of education and countering violent extremism for education-focused publications including Parentzone and Education Today. Prior to joining ISD, Lucie completed a Masters in War Studies from King’s College London

Marina Shalabi is a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy Candidate at The Fletcher School at Tufts University focusing on Security and Business. Ms. Shalabi formerly worked on U.S.-Middle East foreign policy at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. She spent over ten years living and working in the MENA region including most recently in Tangier, Morocco for the International Organization for Migration. She is currently writing her thesis on the role of technology and communication in Countering Violent Extremism.

Marta is a Project Coordinator at ISD, working on the Strong Cities Network (SCN). She supports local authorities in developing and implementing programmes and models in the SCN’s regions to ensure tailored bottom-up responses to local challenges posed by violent extremist movements. Prior to joining ISD in July 2018, Marta completed a traineeship at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in the Human Security Division. In previous positions she had the opportunity to work in several countries across Asia, in the US and in South Africa. Marta holds an MA in Conflict, Governance and International Development from the University of East Anglia. Her dissertation focused on local challenges and legitimacy issues in the peace-building process in Colombia, studying the interplay between state, civil society and local populations in the department of Chocó. Marta is bilingual French and Portuguese, and is also comfortable working in Spanish and German.

Melanie is a Fellow, working across ISD’s social media analysis projects. Melanie’s research focuses upon the involvement of women in violent conflict, the evolution of lone-actor terrorism and the online behaviours of extremists from across the spectrum. She has three years of experience using social media data to understand the recruitment narratives and infrastructures of violent extremist groups and is currently investigating the impact of disinformation and propaganda on political decision-making. Melanie has co-authored reports and articles on these subjects, regularly presenting her findings to governmental audiences as well as national and international press. Previously a Researcher at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King’s College London, Melanie built and cultivated the largest known online database of female members of ISIS. She holds an MA in Geopolitics, Territory & Security from King’s College London and a BA in Geography with Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese from the University of Exeter.

Moustafa Ayad is the Head of International Communications Programmes at the ISD, and a strategic communications professional with more than a decade's worth of experience. Moustafa's previous experience included designing and deploying youth, elections, and alternative narrative creative campaigns in conflict and post-conflict environments across the Middle East and North Africa. Moustafa has worked with regional experts, community organisations, media outlets, and regional-global production hubs on the creation of multi-platform creative content aimed at disrupting and denigrating extremism draws online and offline. He has experience working in environments such as Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. He has advised the United Nations, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, the United States Department of State, and other global and regional actors on the strategic use of counter and alternative narratives. Moustafa is currently leading the relaunch of the Against Violent Extremism Network (AVE) — the largest, and oldest, global network of former extremists and survivors of extremist attacks — in the United States and Canada.

Natasha manages ISD’s partnership projects programmes, overseeing delivery. This includes the Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN) and Online Civil Courage Initiative (OCCI) in partnership with Facebook. Prior to joining ISD, Natasha worked with a number of well-known organisations including the British Home Office, advising on marketing strategy and developing social enterprise and youth campaigns.

Nourhan is a programme associate working across projects in the MENA region currently focusing on youth and local government-focussed programs in Tunisia and Jordan. Before starting at ISD in July 2017, she worked in the Market Risk Technology team at Goldman Sachs. Nourhan has worked on conducting research on the drivers of radicalisation and other trends amongst youth in the Arab world and is most interested in upstream programmes which focus on collaborations between civil society, local governments and grassroots youth-led initiatives.

Based in Beirut, Nayla is a Project Associate for the Strong Cities Network Municipality capacity building project in Lebanon.  She is currently providing support to the Regional Project Manager in implementing the project across Lebanese municipalities.    Nayla was previously a Research Assistant at McGill University, where she undertook research on issues of transitional justice in the MENA region, and women militancy and civil war in Lebanon. She recently interned at the Carnegie Middle-East Centre where she worked extensively on women radicalisation. She holds a B.A in Political Science and Philosophy from McGill University, Canada.

Rashad Ali is a Resident Senior Fellow at ISD where he works across the organisation advising on strategy, programmes and Islamist ideology. Rashad is classically trained in Islamic theology and jurisprudence and Modern Studies in Islam having read at the Markfield Institute and taken courses at al-Azhar University, Cairo. He is an external lecturer for Derby University’s MA courses on radicalisation and counter-terrorism. He is also an author of "A Guide to Refuting Jihadism" and a chapter analysing Hizb ut Tahrir ideology and strategy in Arabic and English in the edited volume "ISIS Incubators - Rise of Salafi Jihadism" published by al-Mesbar.   As a researcher Rashad has also given testimony and contributed submissions to the UK’s Home Affairs Select Committee on Radicalisation, the UK Parliamentary Select Committee on Intelligence and has briefed the London Mayor's office on counter-terrorism strategy. He is regularly consulted by various think tanks and governments across the EU and North America. He has written for The Observer, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Times, Dissent Magazine, Conservative Home, and given commentary for Newsnight, BBC News, been a Researcher and Assistant Producer for the BBC's flagship Panorama documentary show.

Rebecca Skellett is a Senior Programme Manager at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) managing the Strong Cities Network (SCN) and working across ISD’s Policy Portfolio. Rebecca also supports ISD’s Education and Prevention activities regularly representing ISD at international events and in the media. Rebecca spearheads the Strong Cities Network (SCN), advocating for cities to have a central seat at the table in preventing and countering violent extremism in all its forms. The SCN is the first ever global city network devoted to uniting cities around the world to build social cohesion and community resilience to counter violent extremism in all its forms. The network comprises 114 cities from across 40 countries. Rebecca oversees the SCN’s activities ranging from advising cities directly, arranging global and regional training and capacity building activities engaging with mayors, municipal-level policy makers and practitioners to its long term strategies such as designing regional models for P/CVE. Previously, Rebecca worked on the front-line of the UK’s Prevent CVE Programme across several London boroughs, and has extensive experience in overseeing individual case work, conducting community engagement, developing local CVE programming, training and policy frameworks for local government and the education sector. Rebecca also advises national level policy-makers in the UK as a member of the UK Department for Education's Expert Advisory Panel for Extremism.

Sabine Barton is a Project Manager at ISD, working on the Institute’s Strong Cities Network (SCN), with a particular focus on youth engagement in P/CVE. Sabine is responsible for managing SCN regions and member engagement and training, including through city exchanges, practitioner workshops, and direct city consultations on local P/CVE strategy and practice to counter all forms of violent extremism and polarisation. Sabine is currently focussing on developing regional models for local youth engagement in Europe, Africa and MENA, including through a joint project with the Nordic Council of Minister’s Nordic Safe Cities Network. She also works on the topics of integration and cohesion, in particular through the SCN’s workstream on Refugees and IDPs. Sabine was previously involved in a research project on countering lone actor terrorism (CLAT) implemented by a consortium led by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), in cooperation with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Chatham House and Leiden University. Prior to joining ISD in June 2015, Sabine worked as a research assistant focussing on consumer rights and ethical consumption in Australia.

Sarah Kennedy is Head of Operations at ISD, where she is responsible for the operational management of the organisation. Sarah leads the operations and finance team to ensure the organisation’s programmatic, financial, operations, HR and legal responsibilities are met to the highest possible standard. Sarah has over a decade of experience in the UK and international charity sectors. Previous roles include UK Director of Kenyan NGO S.A.F.E and Head of Partnerships & Events at the UK think tank Demos. Having worked in a range of NGO functions - particularly communications, programme delivery, fundraising and partnerships - Sarah now specialise in operations and management, with a particular focus on financial management, strategic development, change management, HR and governance. Sarah holds a BA Hons (1st class) in Economic and Social History from the University of Bristol; an MA in Legal & Political Theory from University College London; and a Cert BA Certificate in Business Accounting from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Sarah is Programme Manager, Innovation Fund, responsible for the overall management of the fund as well as expanding the fund’s opportunities both in the UK and the EU. Prior to joining ISD, Sarah worked for the British Council’s Cultural Skills team where she led on programme and partnership development in the UK, Asia and Latin America focussed on capacity building within the arts and education sectors. She has over 7 years’ experience of strategic planning, project management, line management and is particularly passionate about workplace wellbeing, leading on a number of initiatives. Sarah has also worked for Creative & Cultural Skills and lived and worked in Brazil, Mexico and Spain. She completed an MSc in Education Power and Social Change at the University of Birkbeck in 2015.

Tim is a Project Coordinator at ISD, working across the Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN) and Against Violent Extremism (AVE) projects. He is currently responsible for network engagement and project delivery for ISD’s YouthCAN programme. Tim has previously been engaged in research for a number of UK charities and NGOs focusing on extremism, Middle Eastern politics and refugee issues among other topics. He holds a Masters in Intelligence and International Security from Kings College London and a Bachelors in the Study of Religions from the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Yomn is a Middle East and North Africa Project Coordinator for the Strong Cities Network Municipality Project in Lebanon and Jordan. She has previously worked with a think tank based in London focused on Syria and the wider Levant, coordinating workshops and events on Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding for Syrian activists and CSO’s in Lebanon. She also interned at Amnesty International with the East Gulf MENA office in London. Yomn has a BA International Relations from Goldsmiths, University of London, and an MSc Middle East Politics from SOAS, University of London. She is comfortable working in both Arabic and English.

Zahed Amanullah heads ISD’s network outreach, bringing the private sector together with activists, frontline workers, and relevant civil society networks to counter extremist propaganda and recruitment. Zahed also works on research and capacity building for counternarrative messaging campaigns to support NGOs in Kenya and the Middle East. He recently co-authored “The Impact of Counternarratives,” a groundbreaking cross-platform study demonstrating counternarrative messaging impact. His writings and analysis have been featured at the BBC (BBC Breakfast, The Culture Show, Radio 4, Radio Five Live, World Service, Asian Network), NPR, Channel 4, Sky News, the Guardian, CNN International, The National, The Daily Star, Le Monde Diplomatique, and Newsweek, among others. Zahed also is Director of the Concordia Forum, a global network of leaders from Muslim backgrounds that holds conferences and exclusive retreats annually in North America and Europe. He is also a founding board member of CEDAR, a pan-European network of Muslim professionals. He has given testimony and contributed submissions to the UK Home Affairs Select Committee on Radicalisation. Zahed has a BS from the University of California, Berkeley and a graduate diploma in management from the University of Bath.