TRANSFORMATIVE PEACE
Meet the Team
Meet Dr. Houda Abadi
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dr. Abadi has more than 18 years of extensive experience designing and implementing peacebuilding programs in the U.S., Europe and the MENA region. Dr. Abadi works with a wide range of stakeholders to facilitate dialogue and promote peacebuilding in sensitive conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and Sudan. She develops programs to foster women’s inclusion in peacebuilding processes; provides expertise in designing community based and gender sensitive PVE programs that are locally owned and led; facilitates collaboration between policymakers and grassroots leaders across political and religious divides; conducts evidence based research to help shape policy decisions at the national and international levels, and lastly empowers community leaders to be positive agents of change.
Additionally, Dr. Abadi also has also designed and implemented
monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, managed multi-million-dollar
budgets, overseen robust teams of national and international staff, and has provided high-level policy analysis and recommendations.
Prior to establishing Transformative Peace, Dr. Abadi served as the associate director of the Conflict Resolution Program at the Carter Center from 2014-2019. While working on the Syrian and the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, she designed and directed a locally tailored grassroots project that works with community and faith-based leaders from North Africa, Europe, and the United States to develop practical applications to prevent and address all forms of violent extremism.
Dr. Abadi also served as program director in two conflict transformation organizations that worked with Jewish and Muslim youth through experiential and political education. She also worked on curriculum development, civic engagement, youth empowerment, and conflict transformation - as well as serving as an international gender research consultant.
She has received numerous awards and honors, including the Luther College Young Alumni Award, Georgia State University Transcultural Conflict and Violence Presidential Fellowship, the Atlanta Institute for Diplomatic leadership 2018 Peacebuilder Award, and the 2019 ISB Women of Influence Award. She currently serves as a council member in the RESOLVE’s Research Advisory Board.
Dr. Abadi holds a Ph.D. in Political Communication and Media Studies from Georgia State University, a graduate certificate from Duke-UNC in Middle East Studies, and an MA in International Relations and Diplomacy, with a concentration in Middle East Studies and Conflict Resolution from Seton Hall University.
Dr. Abadi has published numerous scholarly articles, and has taught at Georgia State University and University of North Carolina. She speaks English, French, Arabic, and Spanish, and divides her time between Morocco and the United States.
Meet Dr. Ali Zoubeidi
Senior Research Fellow-Human Trafficking & Irregular Migration
Dr. Ali Zoubeidi is a senior consultant for social policies and interventions in smuggling of migrants, human trafficking, border security, transnational organized crime, security reforms, and human rights at the national and international level. Dr. Zoubeidi holds a Ph.D. in Security Studies from Hassan I University, and an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from Mohammed V University. Dr Zoubeidi has provided commentary to several media outlets including BBC, TV5, France 24, RTS, LeFigaro, Cnews, Lepoint, Jeune Afrique, TelQuel and Arab News. His analysis has been published by several think tanks.
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