Experience

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  ACLU of Oregon

  • Senior Policy Associate

    • Jan 2023 - Present

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  Free Yezidi Foundation

  • Legal Consultant

    • Jun 2023 - Oct 2023

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  Nonviolent Peaceforce

  • Sinjar & Ba’aj, Nīnawá, Iraq

  • International Protection Officer

    • Jan 2022 - Jul 2022
    • Sinjar & Ba’aj, Nīnawá, Iraq

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  United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability Against Da’esh/ISIL Crimes (UNITAD)

  • Subject Matter Expert

    • Jul 2021 - Jan 2022

    Served as an expert consultant on ISIL crimes against Shia Muslims for two separate UNITAD investigation teams. Built upon my previous research on this subject with extensive research and analysis of Arabic and English source materials. Drafted a legal brief establishing the ISIL possessed the specific intent to commit genocide against Shia Muslims.

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  Free Yezidi Foundation

  • Dahuk, Iraq

  • Legal Fellow

    • Dec 2020 - Nov 2021
    • Dahuk, Iraq

    Lead author and researcher of Free Yezidi Foundation report: "The Hardan Atrocities."

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  Federal Public Defender

  • Sacramento, California Area

  • Legal Externship

    • Jan 2020 - Jun 2020
    • Sacramento, California Area

    Assisted the Defense team to fight the extradition of Omar Ameen, an Iraqi refugee the Trump administration falsely scapegoated as an ISIS member and murderer. Assisted the Defense in fact finding to show that Ameen was not in Iraq at the time of the murder and could not possibly have committed the murder. Reviewed Ameen's social media activity and wrote a section of Defense brief on findings that showed Ameen's online presence was entirely inconsistent with that of an ISIS supporter (let alone a high up ISIS leader, as alleged). Wrote a UN complaint to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention arguing that Ameen's prolonged wrongful detention violated Ameen's fundamental rights (Category II) and constituted discriminatory detention (Category V)(On April 21, 2021, Judge Brennan denied certification of the extradition, finding that the Defense team had "obliterated probable cause.")

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  St. Andrew's Refugee Services (StARS)

  • Cairo, Egypt

  • Legal Officer - Refugee Status Determination Team

    • Sep 2018 - Aug 2019
    • Cairo, Egypt

    Represented applicants in first instance and appeal UNHCR asylum proceedings.Drafted client statements and accompanying briefs with extensive country of origin research in addition to legal arguments. Accompanied clients to appeal and first instance interviews and transcribed proceedings, occasionally transcribing from Arabic to English.Providing varied legal and emotional support for asylum seekers and refugees who sought urgent 'on-call' assistance. Received extensive training on interviewing vulnerable clients and working with interpreters.

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  Advocates Abroad

  • Chios, Greece

  • Advocate/Acting Field Coordinator - Chios

    • Jun 2018 - Aug 2018
    • Chios, Greece

    Assisting Syrian, Iraqi, Palestinian, Cameroonian, Ghanaian, and Kuwaiti Bidoon clients with admissibility and asylum claims - drafting claims and accompanying particularly vulnerable clients to interviews.Providing referrals for protection, medical assistance, housing, and other social services. Acting field coordinator for August - facilitating Chios on-site training and case oversight.

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  Advocates Abroad

  • Chios, Greece

  • Advocate

    • Jul 2017 - Sep 2017
    • Chios, Greece

    Worked as a trainee advocate in Athens and Chios, explaining the legal framework of the EU-Turkey deal to asylum seekers and the basics of admissibility and asylum requirements in Greece. Prepared asylum seekers for admissibility and asylum interviews (explained the process, translated their narratives from Arabic and drafted their legal claims). These written claims allowed to clients avoid some the most invasive, re-traumatizing elements of admissibility and asylum interviews.Attended doctor's visits and therapy sessions with clients, working as an interpreter and advocating for clients' rights to medical reporting often essential to assessments of vulnerability and credibility.Lobbied UNHCR on behalf of particularly vulnerable clients' protection needs: securing transfers from Chios and specialized accommodations for clients with disabilities or who faced threats to their safety.

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  Reprieve

  • London, United Kingdom

  • Middle East and North Africa (MENA) - Stop Aid for Executions Team Volunteer

    • Jun 2017 - Jul 2017
    • London, United Kingdom

    Tracked regional death penalty legislation and implementation for drug and political offenses.Assisted with drafting Reprieve's Universal Periodic Review for the UAE.Liaised with local counsel and foreign embassies on behalf of death row clients and communicated with families.

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  Novetta

  • Amman, Jordan

  • Media Analyst

    • Oct 2014 - Aug 2016
    • Amman, Jordan

    Produced daily global media digests with summary and analysis of breaking military news and commentary.

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  West Asia - North Africa (WANA) Institute

  • Majlis al Hassan, Amman, Jordan

  • Program Officer; formerly Research Associate

    • Sep 2014 - Jun 2016
    • Majlis al Hassan, Amman, Jordan

    Led the Institute's contingency planning initiative for rule of law, security, and transitional justice in post-conflict Syria. Personal focus on security sector reform and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (SSR and DDR) in addition to mapping potential conflict outcomes.Designed focus group discussions for Syrian refugees based in Jordan (conducted in Zaatari, Mafraq, and Jarash) to inform contingency planning research. Wrote speeches and contributed to editorials for HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal and other Majlis/Institute staff.As Research Associate:Drafted briefings on Islamism and violent non-state state actors in the region as well as opinion pieces for the office of HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal. Additionally provided executive office support for HRH. Successfully contributed to WANA project and grant development as the Institute shifted into a full-fledged policy think tank.

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  The Third Hague Peace Conference

  • Den Haag, Netherlands

  • Invited Researcher

    • Jul 2015 - Jul 2015
    • Den Haag, Netherlands

    Pitched a proposal for modernizing Geneva Convention protections to accommodate irregular combatants at The Third Hague Peace Conference, held a century after the outbreak of WWI prevented The Third Hague Conference of 1915. Conference attendees participated in workshops on reforming international humanitarian law, preventing conflict, and post-war peace building.

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  Institute of International Education

  • Amman, Jordan

  • Fulbright Research Fellow

    • Aug 2013 - Aug 2014
    • Amman, Jordan

    Researched demographic influences on the Hashemite Monarchy's top-down democratic reform efforts and within Jordan's Hirak movement.Conducted qualitative interviews with Jordanian politicians, activists, journalists, scholars and NGO affiliates.Studied Modern Standard Arabic and Jordanian Colloquial Arabic (MSA Level Five at Qasid Institute, media Arabic at MALIC Institute, and colloquial at The French Institute and with native speaker language partners).

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  Santa Clara University

  • Santa Clara, California

  • Tutor at The Hub Writing Center

    • Mar 2011 - Jun 2013
    • Santa Clara, California

    Worked one-on-one with students of all writing levels to develop their writing skills. Specialized in helping students write political science research papers and Santa Clara's final Pathway Essay (a graduation requirement) as well as working with students who spoke English as a second language.

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  American Foreign Service Association

  • Washington D.C. Metro Area

  • Editorial Intern

    • Sep 2012 - Dec 2012
    • Washington D.C. Metro Area

    Wrote short pieces for The Foreign Service Journal on international relations and diplomacy topics.Edited each month's edition pre-publishing.Assisted in the office with administrative tasks.

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  The Jordanian Institute of Diplomacy

  • Amman, Jordan

  • Research Intern

    • Sep 2011 - Dec 2011
    • Amman, Jordan

    Wrote research briefs and conducted political analysis for fellows at the Institute.Focused on Israeli-Turkish relations, the causes and effects of the Iran-Iraq war and the implications of the growing crisis in Syria for Jordan.

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  New Scholars, 501(c)3 Non-Profit

  • Outreach Coordinator

    • Jun 2010 - Sep 2010

    Co-designed a five-year fundraising plan and worked on grant writing.Established media ties for the burgeoning company.