Our Leadership
Dr. Melissa Kerr Chiovenda is an anthropologist who has extensive research experience with Hazaras from Afghanistan. She earned her PhD from University of Connecticut in 2016, and worked as an assistant professor of anthropology at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE. She is currently a Science and Technology Policy fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, for which she has been placed with the Department of Transportation as an Equity Research Adviser.
Mr. Wankel is a retired U.S. Official with extensive years of proven leadership and management experience in the government and private sector. He has more than 14 years of experience, including extensive in-country work in Afghanistan and the surrounding region. Prior to his private sector experience, Mr. Wankel served 26 years in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), where he retired as Assistant Administrator and Chief of Operations (SES-6) in 1996.
Prof. Dr. Christian Kaunert is Chair of Policing and Security, as well as Director of the International Centre for Policing and Security at the University of South Wales. Previously, he served as an Academic Director and Professor at the Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a Professor of International Politics, Head of Discipline in Politics, and the Director of the European Institute for Security and Justice, a Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence, at the University of Dundee.
Dr. Lotfi has been working as a Co-editor and Consultant with Green Card Voices on a book entitled My City Was a Sparkling Jewel. She was a professor of Afghanistan History at a university in Kabul, focusing on the histories of Iran and Afghanistan. Dr. Lotfi’s most recent project is entitled. “Voices of Witnesses to the Mazar-e-Sharif Massacre by the Taliban (August 1998)” entails collecting oral history from the survivors of that event who are living in Afghanistan or who have moved out of the country.
ZareenTaj is a women’s and human rights activist, author, filmmaker, and contributing writer at Ms. Magazine. She is also a Ph.D candidate and a visiting lecturer with Global Studies at University of Maryland Baltimore. As a passionate advocate and academic, she has attended numerous conferences, given many speeches, and written numerous opinion articles about Afghanistan.
Mr. Hasanyar is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in Virginia, USA. He has over 15 years of experience in accounting, financial management, Afghanistan tax compliance, government audits, government contracts & grants compliance. He also brings a broad depth of knowledge of U.S. Government regulations such as Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) and OMB Circulars applicable to federal contractors and grantees.
Mr. Kateb is a Public Policy and Grants management expert with over 20 years of professional experience in policy formation, grant/program management, nonprofit leadership, and strategic communications. He also served as member of board of directors for a couple of nonprofit organizations. He has an MSc in Public Policy from the University of Bristol, and a BA from Kabul University
Hassan A. Faiz is an established human rights, transitional justice, and human rights research expert in his home country, Afghanistan. He was the former Research Director of the Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN).
Mehdi Akbari is a professional technologist with extensive experience in areas of technology, data administration, and program management. He is a co-founder and served as CEO of UNIMARS Consulting & IT company.
Shaima Karimi has masters in international relations and a bachelors in law from Khatam-el-Nabin University in Afghanistan. She worked in various positions in public and private section organizations. She was a co-founder of Afghanistan Volunteer Youth Organization. She led multiple nonprofit programs through this organization in support of social justice, human rights, and vulnerable populations of Afghanistan.