Iraq Speakers Bureau

Raed Jarrar
Washington, DC

Raed Jarrar is an Iraqi political analyst and consultant to AFSC's Iraq Program currently based in Washington, D.C. After the U.S.-led invasion, Jarrar became the country director for CIVIC Worldwide, the only door-to-door casualty survey group in post-war Iraq. He then established Emaar, (meaning "reconstruction" in Arabic), a grassroots organization that provided humanitarian and political aid to Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Jennifer Bing-Canar
Chicago, IL

Jennifer Bing-Canar is the National coordinator of the Middle East Peacebuilding Program for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization founded in 1917. Jennifer’s involvement in Middle East issues began in 1982, when she lived and traveled in Israel and Palestine and researched the Israeli peace movement. She later volunteered as a teacher for three years at Palestinian Quaker school on the West Bank.

Peter Lems
Philadelphia, PA

Peter is the Iraq associate at the AFSC national office in the Peacebuilding unit. He coordinates the efforts of the organization around the country, designs and implements educational and advocacy campaigns, and works with the broader peace movement in the United States. In November 2007 Peter took part in an AFSC assessment team that visited Syria and Jordan to better understand the conditions of Iraqi refugees and explore new areas for AFSC program work.

Rick McDowell
Belmont, ME

Rick McDowell has been involved in Middle East-related issues since 1988. Between August 1996 and December 2002, Rick led or accompanied fifteen delegations to Iraq, including a Fellowship of Reconciliation delegation of Nobel Peace Laureates and an AFSC/Quaker delegation. He has worked with AFSC as an Iraq Country Representative, and with FCNL as a policy advocate.

Natalie Baker Merrill
Brattleboro, VT

Natalie Baker Merrill recently returned from the Middle East, where she worked with the Direct Aid Initiative, a project of Electronic Iraq providing funds for critical medical care to Iraqis forced to flee Iraq. She is currently the US coordinator for the Iraqi Student Project (www.iraqistudentproject.org), an initiative aimed at obtaining full scholarships at US universities for Iraqi students deprived of the opportunity for higher education by the ongoing Iraq crises.

Noah Baker Merrill
Brattleboro, VT

Noah Baker Merrill has spent four of the last seven months living and working among Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria - conducting in-depth interviews, working to secure release for detainees, advocating for improvements of aid to Iraqi families, and consulting with Iraqi and other governmental and non-governmental organizations, including the UNHCR missions in Jordan, Syria, and Iraq.

Mary Trotochaud
Belmont, ME

Mary Trotochaud first traveled to Iraq with a U.S. religious leadership delegation. In March 2003, Mary joined the international staff of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) as Iraq Country Representative. Living in a Baghdad residential neighborhood, she worked with emerging Iraqi civil society organizations while coordinating relief and development projects for AFSC.

Kristele Younes
Washington, DC

Kristele Younes was Refugees International's lead person in preparing The World's Fastest Growing Displacement Crisis (March 2007). The report addresses the plight of Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria. She recently appeared on CSPAN as a result of her testimony to a Congressional committee looking at the U.S.' failure to provide visas for Iraqis fleeing the violence.

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