Ilona Kassissieh is AFSC’s advocacy and communications coordinator working in the Jerusalem office. She was raised in the town of Bethlehem and left the country to pursue her graduate studies from the University of Grenoble III in France. She has extensive experience working with the civil society sector in Palestine, an experience she gained through her work with the Palestinian NGO Project, funded by the World Bank, to empower civil society. She also served as the spokeswoman and head of the Public Information Office at UNRWA. She is currently living in the Old City of Jerusalem with her husband and three young children.