
A world-leading CVE team
We deliver real and sustainable impact to governments, local organizations and people impacted by extremism by prioritizing local ownership.
Our passionate and driven international team brings together a vast network of unparalleled experts to counter and prevent violent extremism. Our core team comprises 20 nationalities across four continents, over half of which are women.
Since 2013, more than 70 interns from over 25 countries have joined us. The internship program ensures Hedayah is incorporating youth perspectives in advancing the efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism.
Together, we are dedicated to technical excellence and deliver groundbreaking research, innovative methodologies and programs globally.
The reason I started working in countering-violent extremism was because of my interest in rehabilitating child soldiers and reducing armed conflict in the Philippines. This is very personal to me, and drives my work, because it impacted my family.
Elaine Ayson Events and Administrative CoordinatorStaff
Kadir Akin Gozel
Director of Research and AnalysisAkin joined Hedayah as a secondee from the Government of Turkey in 2022, he has worked as a civil servant for the past 3…
Sara Sadaka
Director of Administration and FinanceSara Sadaka joined the Hedayah team in January 2015. She currently holds the position of Director of Administration and …
Celeste Hibbert
Director of Dialogue and CommunicationsCeleste is a communications specialist with over 16 years’ professional experience in public relations and strategic c…
Abeer Makki
Executive Affairs ManagerAbeer has over a decade of a successful career in the private, government and international sectors bringing executive e…
Cristina Mattei
Program Manager Capacity Building ProgramsCristina joined Hedayah in 2015. In her capacity, she manages large capacity building programs and leads the team in dev…
Hafedh Dridi
Program Manager Dialogue and CommunicationsHafedh is a seasoned strategic communication practitioner with a decade of experience in strategy development, program d…
Irene Belmonte
Program Manager EU STRIVE Global ProgramIrene is a Cooperation for Development professional with over ten years of experience working on the ground with NGOs in…
Suha Shalabieh
Finance and Grants Manager Administration and FinanceSuha has over 15 years of experience in finance, administration, and grants management. She worked at several internatio…
Nadine Slim
Finance and Grants Officer Administration and FinanceNadine joined Hedayah in March 2020 and has been supporting the Administration and Finance team since then. She previous…
Iman Badwan
Senior Communications Officer Dialogue and CommunicationsInitially joining Hedayah as an intern in 2014, Iman has since managed Hedayah's corporate communications initiatives an…
Farangiz Atamuradova
Program Officer Research and AnalysisFarangiz is a Program Officer in the Research and Analysis Department. She joined Hedayah in February 2018. Farangiz le…
Hatem Shatnawi
Program Officer Capacity Building ProgramsHatem has over 12 years of experience working with UN agencies, USAID, GiZ, and other international NGOs. He has an exte…
Lilah El Sayed
Program Associate Dialogue and CommunicationsSince 2013, Lilah has worked across several departments at Hedayah. Her roles at Hedayah ranged from supporting the Exec…
Denis Suljic
Junior Research Associate Research and AnalysisDenis is a Junior Research Associate in the Research and Analysis Department. He joined Hedayah in August 2020. Denis le…
Julien Domergue
Junior Program Associate Capacity Building ProgramsSince January 2020, Julien has supported Hedayah in the design, implementation and analysis of capacity building program…
Elaine Ayson
Events and Administrative Coordinator Administration and FinanceExperienced administrative management professional with over 13 years of experience in effective and comprehensive suppo…
Fadi Hamad
IT Administrator Administration and FinanceFadi Hamad is a computer engineer with more than 13 years of experience in the IT field. Fadi believes that IT is one of…
Masabo Djailani
Logistics Coordinator Administration and FinanceMasabo is responsible for managing day-to-day logistics within Hedayah, in addition to coordinating logistical operation…
Chidimma Chime
Accountant Administration and FinanceChidimma is a finance professional with over six years of Experience in financial management and record keeping. Before …
Alexandra Biallais
Capacity Building Programs InternAlexandra is a graduate in International Relations from Sciences Po Bordeaux with a major in Counter-terrorism and Non-p…
Chloe Smith
Research and Analysis InternChloe attained a Master of Islamic Studies earlier this year from Charles Sturt University; her undergraduate degree was…
Giulia de Santis
Capacity Building Programs InternGiulia obtained her Master’s Degree in Investigation, Criminality and International Security from the Faculty of Polit…

Trauma plays a significant role in the story of terrorism, from adverse childhood experiences to grievance, to retribution to regret. The transgenerational impact of trauma and the victim-perpetrator cycle has serious implications for the sustainability of terrorism.
Dr. Orla Lynch Senior Research FellowFellows

Adrian Shtuni
Senior Research FellowAdrian Shtuni, CEO of Shtuni Consulting LLC, is a Washington D.C.-based foreign policy, security, and strategic communic…

Edward Lemon
Associate Research FellowEdward Lemon is Assistant Professor of Eurasian Studies at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School, Washington DC. Between …

Göktuğ Sönmez
Senior Research FellowAsst. Prof. Dr. Göktuğ Sönmez got his bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Bilkent University, his Mas…

Greg Barton
Senior Research FellowGreg is a Research Professor in Global Islamic Politics in the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation…

Jocelyn Bélanger
Associate Research FellowJocelyn Bélanger is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at New York University Abu Dhabi. He earned his master's degre…

Lorenzo Vidino
Senior Research FellowDr. Lorenzo Vidino is the Director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. An expert on Islamism in…

Martine Zeuthen
Associate Research FellowMartine Zeuthen, who is based in Kenya, focuses on extremism and radicalization, countering violent extremism, program m…

Mohammed Abdel Rahem
Senior Research FellowDr. Mohammed Abdel Rahem was born in November 1977 in Egypt and is working as a Lecturer at the SISD "Section of Islamic…

Noah Turner
Associate Research FellowNoah Tucker is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Eurasia Center and program associate at George Washington Univers…

Orla Lynch
Senior Research FellowDr. Orla Lynch is currently a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Asc. Dean of Graduates Studies at University College Co…

Stuart Macdonald
Senior Research FellowStuart Macdonald is Professor of Law at Swansea University, U.K. Stuart’s research interests lie in criminal law and c…

Thomas Koruth Samuel
Senior Research FellowThomas Koruth Samuel is at present the Regional Consultant for Terrorism Prevention with the United Nations Office on Dr…