Zomia has a dedicated staff of about 170 people.

Read some of their bios below:

  • Layla Al

    Research Assistant, Redress Program

    Layla is a legal support professional and researcher with a background in national security and human rights. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Zomia, Layla worked as a paralegal at the American Civil Liberties Union and interned with the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

  • Sari Alatassi

    Graphic Designer & Interpreter

    Sari is a marketing specialist, graphic designer and interpreter. His works focus on the Syrian war, he helps design Zomia publications, and oversees Zomia’s translation team.

  • Ahmad Al-Faraj

    Field Researcher

    Ahmad is an independent Syrian researcher and journalist. He has worked extensively with internally displaced persons. He holds a bachelor's degree in Arabic literature from the University of Aleppo.

  • Jeremy Hodge

    Senior Investigator

    Jeremy is an investigative journalist and researcher covering the rise of extremism in Syria and Iraq, the petroleum/defense sectors, and regional finance. His 2015 African Confidential investigative report, Opening the Black Box of Egypt's Slush Funds, exposed a $9.4bn network of corruption amongst the country's top generals. Jeremy’s articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Nation, Le Monde Diplomatique, Al Jazeera, The Daily Beast, Africa Confidential and other outlets.

    Twitter

  • Sol Laudon

    Director, Refugee Technology Programs

    Sol is a software engineer with six years of industry experience who runs Zomia’s refugee technology programs. Prior to entering tech, Sol worked in investment banking. Sol has spent three year in the Middle East working on various projects, including a collaboration with historians and anthropologists researching minority communities in Morocco.

  • Kristin MacDougall-Sullivan

    Afghanistan Humanitarian Programs Director

    Kristin is a US-licensed lawyer who runs Zomia’s humanitarian programs in Afghanistan. Prior to joining Zomia, Kristin provided legal counseling and advocacy for asylum seekers in Lesvos, Greece, which at one time hosted the largest refugee camp in Europe. Kristin earned her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She also holds a Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Tufts University, where she focused on public international law and human security.

  • Joanna Naples-Mitchell

    Director, Redress Program

    Joanna is a US-licensed lawyer who runs Zomia’s Redress Program. Prior to joining Zomia, Joanna worked at Physicians for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Department of Justice. She holds a law degree from New York University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. She is admitted to practice law in the state of New York.

    Twitter

  • Hussein Nasser

    Research Fellow

    Hussein is a fellow at the Zomia Center, where he specializes in analyzing the ideologies and formation of terrorist organizations and jihadist groups in Syria. Hussein is the former founder and general manager for the Syrian Counter Extremism Center (SCEC) which led rehabilitation efforts of former jihadists in northern Syria. He received his B.A. in International Relations from Artuklu University in Mardin, Turkey.

    Twitter

  • Mohamad Yusuf Othman

    Country Director - Syria

    Mohammad has been working with Zomia since 2017. He directs Zomia projects in Syria, and also supports the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. Othman previously worked for Adam Smith International. He holds a bachelor's degree in business management.

  • Hussein Mohammad Samawi

    Field Researcher & Medical Coordinator

    Hussein is a field researcher and journalist who has done extensive work in Manbij and its countryside, as well as other locations in eastern Syria. He also helps supervise Zomia public health projects, including Leishmanaisis and COVID-19 efforts.

  • Anita Sreedhar

    Co-Founder & Medical Director

    Dr. Anita Sreedhar serves as a co-founder and Medical Director of the Zomia Center. Her work encompasses a wide range of public health projects, including medical assessments for the Redress Program and hands-on direct patient care for individuals in conflict-affected areas. Prior to her work in medicine, Anita worked as a journalist and television news producer in areas around the world, including Afghanistan - a role that profoundly shaped her understanding of public health challenges in conflict zones. Along with her medical degree (M.D.), Dr. Sreedhar has earned an MPH and completed her residency in Internal Medicine, Primary Care & Social Medicine at the Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY.

Board of Directors

  • Anand Gopal

    Anand Gopal is an assistant research professor with the Center on the Future of War and the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University. He is a journalist and a sociologist who has worked extensively in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. He is a writer for The New Yorker. He is the author of No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban and the War Through Afghan Eyes. He received his PhD from Columbia University, and is a fellow at the Type Media Center.

  • Tom A. Peter

    Tom has worked with Zomia since its inception. He oversees all humanitarian projects and administrative functions at Zomia. With over 15 years of experience in the Middle East, Tom worked primarily as a journalist throughout the region with a focus on the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria before transitioning to the humanitarian sector. A graduate of Northwestern University, Tom also holds a master's degree from the University of Cambridge.

  • Daniel Rothenberg

    Daniel Rothenberg is Professor of Practice, School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University and a Senior Fellow at New America. Rothenberg has designed and managed rule of law and human rights projects in Afghanistan, Iraq, Central Africa and throughout Latin America, including programs to train human rights NGOs, aid indigenous peoples in using international legal remedies, support gender justice, and collect and analyze thousands of first-person narratives from victims of atrocities. His books include With These Hands (University of California Press), Memory of Silence: The Guatemalan Truth Commission Report (Palgrave), Drone Wars: Transforming Conflict, Law, and Policy (Cambridge University Press).

  • Carolyn Forbes

    As assistant director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University (ASU), Carolyn Forbes helps develop and coordinate multidisciplinary research projects that address complex issues of religion and conflict in global affairs. With degrees in religious studies and industrial and labor relations, her research interests include the study of religion, race, identity and law. She has taught courses on religion and conflict in American religious history and women and religion. Prior to joining ASU, she worked with Wellness Networks and AIDS Care Connection (now UNIFIED-HIV Health and Beyond) in Detroit.