Our Leadership

Ms. Jasmine Zaki

Chairwoman of the Board of Directors

Ms. Zaki is a Managing Partner, MENA Region at Ballard Partners. Formerly, she was a lawyer and senior legal counsel at ArentFox Schiff, where she advised clients operating in the Middle East and North Africa on commercial transactions and arrangements, including joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, commercial agencies, and franchising agreements. She assisted clients with structuring commercial contracts, distribution agreements, and services agreements and provides legal advice related to public international law, banking, policy, and political risk, economic development, and investment.

In addition, she advised clients on entering emerging markets in post-conflict countries and countries in transition in the Middle East and Africa, with an emphasis on negotiating political, regulatory, and formation matters. She has advised clients seeking investments in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and Middle Eastern and North African nations, including Syria, Iraq and Libya; numerous US- and UK-based companies on market entry, establishment and compliance in Iraq and the Kurdistan region, with political and risk analyses; and sovereign governments in public international law, policy, banking, investment, and transactional matters. Jasmine serves on the board of SEED for Change as the Kurdistan Board Member, is a media contributor on current events in the Middle East, and serves on the Iraqi Business Council.

She holds a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a BA from University of Memphis (cum laude). Prior to attending law school, Jasmine worked at the United Nations as the Press Officer for the UN Mission to Iraq. She is fluent in English and Arabic.

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Mr. Leon Shahabian

Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mr. Shahabian serves as a principal at Global Insights Group LLC, an advisory services firm that focuses on the Arabian Gulf and due diligence, and is a senior associate of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). He co-founded Layalina Productions in 2002 – a 501c(3) non-profit that worked on improving US-Arab relations after 9/11 – and left as its president and executive producer in 2019.

An award-winning filmmaker with credits from MBC Group channels, Al Arabiya, OSN, the Sundance Channel, and distribution by New Line Television, and Warner Brothers, Leon has implemented cooperative agreements in 15 Arab countries on behalf of the US Department of State and participated in track II diplomacy engagements. Leon is a guest lecturer at National Intelligence University in Maryland.

He has testified to the UN Security Council in New York. Mr. Shahabian is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Political Science Department at Penn State, and a life member of the Public Diplomacy Council of America (PDCA). A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Penn State University with degrees in International Politics and French, Leon has received a certificate in National Security and Strategy from the US Army War College in Pennsylvania.

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Dr. Ahmed Alwani

President and Member of the Board of Directors

Dr. Ahmed Alwani is the founder and president of the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy. He is a businessman based in northern Virginia with investments in the poultry, real estate, and education/training sectors. Dr. Alwani earned his Ph.D. in Human Resource Development from Virginia Tech (2014) and has a Master’s in Engineering Administration from the George Washington University (1990).

Dr. Alwani currently serves as vice president of York Foundation and Reston Investments, LLC, and as the president of Heritage Education, Inc. Dr. Alwani also serves on the boards of the Washington Theological Consortium (a community of theological schools of diverse Christian traditions, with partners in education, spirituality, and interfaith dialogue) and Fairfax Educational Foundation.

In 2018, Dr. Alwani became vice president of the International Institute of Islamic Thought, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization that focuses on educational advancement in Muslim societies – a legacy he inherited from his father, who co-founded the institute in the 1980s.

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Dr. Azeem Ibrahim

Vice-President and Member of the Board of Directors

Dr. Azeem Ibrahim, OBE, is the Senior Director of Special Initiatives at the New Lines Institute. He is also an Adjunct Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, and a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine.

He completed his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and served as an International Security Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a World Fellow at Yale. Over the years he has met and advised numerous world leaders on policy development and was ranked as a Top 100 Global Thinker by the European Social Think Tank in 2010 and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Dr. Ibrahim is also the author of “The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide” (Hurst & OUP), “Radical Origins: Why We Are Losing The Battle Against Islamic Extremism” (Pegasus New York), and “Authoritarian Century: Omens of a Post-Liberal Future” (Hurst 2022).

In 2019 he received the International Association of Genocide Scholars Engaged Scholar Award for his research on the Rohingya genocide and in 2022, Dr. Ibrahim was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, for his services to foreign policy.

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Mr. Nicholas A. Heras

Member of the Board of Directors

Nicholas Heras is the Senior Director for the Strategy and Programs Unit in the Academic Division at the New Lines Institute. In this role, he develops strategic programming for the academic programs at the Institute and oversees the institutional research innovation activities. He was previously the Deputy Director of the Human Security Unit and the Senior Analyst and Program Head for the State Resilience and Fragility Program at the Institute. Before joining the institute, he was the Director of Government Relations and the Middle East Security Program Manager at the Institute for the Study of War, the Middle East Security Fellow and the 1LT Andrew J. Bacevich, Jr., USA Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and a Senior Analyst at the Jamestown Foundation.

Heras served as a Research Associate at the National Defense University from 2013-2014, where he was responsible for managing field research and analysis for a project for the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. He was a David L. Boren Fellow based in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2010 and 2011, and previously worked as the Research Associate at the American University Center for Global Peace, where he managed field research and analysis for several projects focused on Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria.

Heras has written or co-written numerous reports and analytical articles on topics concerning global and Middle East security issues, presented widely on these topics to multiple U.S. government and military agencies and nongovernmental organizations. He has been a frequent commentator to the media on global and Middle East security issues, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, Forbes, USA Today, Time magazine, U.S. News & World Report, CNN, CBS News, NBC News, Fox News, C-SPAN, Bloomberg Television, National Public Radio, Voice of America, Public Radio International, Stars and Stripes, The Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek, Foreign Policy, Al-Monitor, Vice News, BBC World Service, Australian Broadcasting Company, Canadian Broadcasting Company, Deutsche Welle, Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiyya, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Mother Jones, Le Monde diplomatique, The Guardian, and The Telegraph.

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Mr. A.R. Joyce

Secretary and Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Joyce is the editor of the Council's quarterly journal, Middle East Policy, and leads the initiative of expanding its readership through innovation. After serving as editor and supervisor on the online news desk of the Associated Press, Mr. Joyce was copy editor of Middle East Policy. He started his career working on the development of cutting-edge technology products for television news editors. He holds a BA from Duke University and an MFA from the University of Iowa.

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Mr. Mustafa Mustafa

Treasurer and Member of the Board of Directors

Mustafa Mustafa is a strategic financial leader with over a decade of experience in audit, international accounting, and management consulting, specializing in nonprofit governance and organizational structuring. He currently serves as CFO of The Washington Institute for Education and Research, where for the past year and a half he has led the financial structuring and team development of Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy and its affiliates.

He previously spent 10 years as an audit manager and management consultant with MillerMusmar CPAs in the U.S. and RSM International in Jordan, advising mission-driven organizations on compliance, strategy, fiscal sustainability, and international accounting matters. He also brings board leadership experience through service on several nonprofit boards, including The Washington Institute for Education and Research and Keystone College.

His expertise spans financial strategy, governance, international accounting, and organizational development, with a strong focus on accountability, transparency, and mission alignment.

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Mr. Combiz Abdolrahimi

Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Abdolrahimi is a globally recognized emerging technology and innovation leader, a government relations expert and former senior government official, a U.S. national security and international lawyer, and a proponent of commercial diplomacy and DEIA worldwide. He has advised presidents and heads of state, parliamentarians and members of Congress, and global CEOs on emerging technology, policy, and innovation issues. He serves on multiple boards and advisory committees including with the World Economic Forum, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Economic Development, Meridian International Center, Council on Foreign Relations, Agile Nations, and Black Professionals in International Affairs. Born in Texas, the son of proud immigrants from the Middle East, Combiz is a graduate of UCLA, American University of Beirut, and Georgetown Law. He is the recipient of the World Economic Forum’s Agile 50 Award for being one of the world’s 50 most influential people championing public sector innovation globally. Combiz speaks several languages including Turkish, Persian, Azerbaijani, and Arabic, and is dedicated to fostering a world where technology, diplomacy, and responsible policies converge to pave the way for a hopeful, transformative era of lasting peace, shared prosperity, and strong relations between the U.S. and the countries and peoples of the Middle East.

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Mr. Richard Albright

Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Albright served as Deputy Assistant Secretary, and in 2021, as Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) at the U.S. Department of State, where he directed humanitarian assistance policy and programs in Asia, the Near East, and Africa, and guided PRM’s institutional relationships with humanitarian agencies. From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Albright was Deputy Assistant Secretary and Coordinator for Foreign Assistance in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. In prior Foreign Service assignments, he served as: Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations; Coordinator for Civilian Assistance at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad; Economic Minister-Counselor at Embassy London; Humanitarian Coordinator at Embassy Baghdad; Director of PRM’s Office of Assistance for Asia and the Near East; and Deputy Chief of Mission in Abu Dhabi. He also held economic policy assignments in Cairo, Paris, and Riyadh and served as desk officer for Algeria.

Albright is the recipient of Presidential Rank, Superior, and Meritorious Honor awards. He holds a BA in political science from the University of Chicago and MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
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Ms. Bassima Alghussein

Member of the Board of Directors

Ms. Alghussein has been the Council's Executive Director since January 1, 2021. Prior to joining MEPC, she founded Alghussein Global Strategies, a government affairs and communications consulting firm. She has executed projects involving the U.S. Congress, U.S. Dept. of State, European Union, British Parliament, Egyptian Parliament, International Monetary Fund, and the World Economic Forum. Ms. Alghussein is a Truman National Security Project Political Expert, a Board Member of Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security, and a member of the Meridian International Center Young Global Leaders Council. She frequently appears on international news outlets to discuss foreign and domestic policy issues. Ms. Alghussein earned her master's degree from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Security Studies and her bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College in International Relations.

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Mr. Khalid Alwan

Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Alwan is an entrepreneur, real estate developer, and investor known for his philanthropic efforts, political activism, and contributions to the public understanding of political, economic, and cultural issues affecting U.S. interests in the Middle East and other corners of the globe. He has dedicated over three decades to the real estate industry, with a particular focus on affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families. Mr. Alwan oversees and manages a diverse portfolio of properties providing affordable housing for thousands of tenants throughout the United States.

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Mr. Perry Cammack

Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Cammack has been the Peacebuilding program director at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund since 2019. Previously, he was a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an adjunct professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Perry worked for more than a decade on Middle East issues in the United States government, including as an advisor to then-Senators Joseph Biden and John Kerry on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2003–2013 and as a member of the State Department policy planning staff from 2013–2015. Perry is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He holds a BA degree from the University of Maryland and a MA degree from Columbia University.

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Mr. Mohamed (Mo) Maraqa

Member of the Board of the Directors

Mr. Maraqa is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at BlueLabs Analytics. He is an experienced and passionate data analytics executive specializing in empowering communications and nonprofit organizations through the strategic use of data. With nearly 25 years of expertise in crafting innovative data-driven solutions, Mo is dedicated to leveraging the power of data to revolutionize communication strategies and create positive change in communities. His profound understanding of data analytics, coupled with his commitment to social impact, positions him as a trusted partner for organizations seeking to maximize their impact, engage audiences, and advance their missions through data driven insights.

Mo has an extensive track record of helping nonprofits optimize fundraising efforts, identify potential donors, and measure program impact by uncovering valuable insights from complex datasets. In addition, he has guided communications organizations in enhancing their messaging and audience targeting, enabling them to establish more meaningful connections with stakeholders. Mo’s expertise lies in developing comprehensive data strategies that align with the unique goals and values of communications and nonprofit organizations. He is a recognized thought leader in the field, actively sharing his insights at industry conferences and contributing to publications focused on data analytics for communications and nonprofits. Mo holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Science and a master’s degree in Marketing Research, both from the University of Texas.

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Congressman (Ret.) Jim Moran

Member of the Board of Directors

Congressman James P. (“Jim”) Moran represented Virginia’s 8th Congressional District from 1991 to 2015, where he was known for his bipartisan leadership. He served on the Appropriations, Foreign Affairs, Banking, Housing and Finance, and Government Reform and Oversight committees during his 12 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to his time in Congress, Moran served as mayor of the City of Alexandria, Virginia (1985-1990). Congressman Moran’s other professional experience includes senior staff member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, senior specialist for budgetary and fiscal policy at the Library of Congress, co-chair of the Congressional Sovereign Wealth Funds Task Force, and acting director of the budget office for Welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Services in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Congressman Moran holds a BA in economics from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, and a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

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Hon. Anne W. Patterson

Member of the Board of Directors

Ambassador Patterson was the Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern and North African Affairs at the Department of State (2013-2017). She served as Ambassador to Egypt (2011-2013), to Pakistan (2007-2010), to Colombia (2000-2003) and to El Salvador (1997-2000). She retired in 2017 with the rank of Career Ambassador after more than four decades in the Foreign Service. Ambassador Patterson also served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and as Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Patterson was named one of Foreign Policy’s 100 Top Global Thinkers in 2011. She is a two-time recipient of the State Department’s Distinguished Service award. She has been appointed to two congressional commissions: the Commission on National Defense Strategy in 2017 and the Syria Study Group in 2019.

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Caroline Rose is the director of the Crime-Conflict Nexus and Military Withdrawals portfolios at the New Lines Institute, where she leads and produces research on the intersection of defense, security, illicit trades, and geopolitical landscapes. Previously at the institute, Rose served as the head of the Power Vacuums Program. She has also served as an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, teaching a graduate course on the nexus of illicit economies, armed conflict, and insecurity.  She is a recipient of the Middle East Policy Council’s 2025 40 Under 40 Awards.

Prior to joining the New Lines Institute, Rose served as an analyst at the forecasting firm and publication Geopolitical Futures, where she worked on political, economic, and defense developments in the Middle East and Europe, with a focus on the Mediterranean and the Levant. She is also the author of a special policy report on the trade of the illicit drug captagon in the Mediterranean and Gulf and its effect on security challenges – a culmination of her studies and field work as research associate for the LSE International Drug Policy Unit’s Middle East Initiative.

Rose has repeatedly briefed U.S. and allied ministries, intelligence agencies, embassies, and legislative bodies on the captagon drug trade and insecurity in the Middle East, and their effects on U.S. and partner interests. She has authored special reports and advised organizations like the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union, offering expertise on the crime-conflict nexus and synthetic drug trades in the Middle East. She has also testified before the British Parliament, providing expert evidence on the captagon trade in Syria. Her commentary and work on defense issues, security challenges, and geopolitical developments have been featured in The Washington Post, CNN, BBC News, NBC News, PBS, The Sunday Times, Foreign Policy, Politico, Al Jazeera, BBC World Service, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, Australian Broadcasting Company, The Financial Times, The Independent, and other outlets.

Rose holds a master of science in International History from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a bachelor of arts in International Studies from the American University’s School of International Service.

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Ambassador (Ret.) William Rugh

Member of the Board of Directors

Ambassador Rugh served as Ambassador to Yemen from 1984 to 1987, and as Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 1992 to 1995. As a Foreign Service Officer, Rugh had nine diplomatic postings in the Middle East over his 31-year career, including Deputy Chief of Mission in Syria. Between 1995 and 2003 he was President and CEO of AMIDEAST. Rugh is a Trustee of the American University in Cairo and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of several books, including: American Encounters with Arabs: the “Soft Power” of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Arab World (2005), Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio and Television in Arab Politics (2008), and Front Line Diplomacy: How U.S. Embassies Communicate with Foreign Publics (2014). He has a B.A. degree from Oberlin College, an MA degree from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

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Mr. Tarik Solomon

Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Solomon is Founding Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce Saudi Arabia - Defense & Security Industry Executive – where he advises leading multinational companies on the political, legal, and regulatory risk factors that impact their objectives in seeking to enter or expand into Middle East markets. His consistently demonstrated ability to successfully transplant business strategies to emerging markets, where barriers to entry are high, has endowed him with a reputation for being innovative and resilient. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. from Johnson & Wales University and his M.B.A. was completed at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

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Mr. Andrew Steinfeld

Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Steinfeld is a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer, who served for 36 years. He worked in the broader Middle East and Islamic world: Kuwait, Tel Aviv, Islamabad, Kabul, and Khartoum; as well as in Paris and Vienna. His expertise focused on political, political-military affairs, and public diplomacy and press relations. His last assignment was Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Generals Dempsey and Dunford). Before that, he served as Deputy NATO Senior Civilian Representative at ISAF Headquarters in Kabul. He was also Deputy Chief of Mission in Khartoum, Director of Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the State Department, Public Affairs officer at U.S. Embassy Islamabad, and Director of the Press Office in the State Department Near East Bureau. He graduated from Amherst College, and has Master‘s degrees from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Affairs, and the Naval War College. He also studied in Leningrad, Paris (Ecole Nationale d’Administration) and Bologna.

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Ambassador (Ret.) Patrick Theros

Member of the Board of Directors

Ambassador Theros served as Ambassador to Qatar from 1995 to 1998. He is a former President and Executive Director of the U.S.-Qatar Business Council in Washington, DC. Theros was a career Foreign Service Officer from 1963 to 1999. In addition to his Ambassadorship, his assignments included Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Political Advisor to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command, Deputy Chief of Mission and Political Officer in Amman, Jordan, Chargé d'affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Economic and Commercial Counselor in Damascus, Syria. He also served in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Nicaragua. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy, and serves on the Board of Advisors of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He holds a BA degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, and has done advanced study at the American University in Washington, D.C., the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua, Nicaragua, the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia, and the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.

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