Maha Nassar
Palestinian

Maha Nassar is a former program coordinator for the International Strategy and Planning Institute, where she organized panels on public policy and minority rights. She is a member of the Arab-American Action Network and the University of Chicago's Center for Middle East Studies Speakers Bureau. Through both these organizations, Ms. Nassar has organized presentations in schools, community centers, churches, and synagogues on a wide range of topics, including the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, women in Islam and the Middle East, and gender politics within the region. She works with a group of graduate students at the Center for International Studies. With a grant from the Norman Wait Harris Memorial Foundation Fund, this group organized a series of panels and teach-ins on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the history of the peace process, and reasons for its failure, helping empower ordinary citizens to take the initiative and effect change. She is a PhD student in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago and holds a master's degree from the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the same university.

Ms. Maha Nassar's peace-building activities include:

• working and coordinating efforts with Jewish peace organizations and participating in joint vigils;
• organizing numerous conferences and panels that provide a forum for students and faculty to discuss issues concerning Middle Eastern/Islamic history, culture, society, and politics;
• coordinating multi-faith dialogues and peace vigils in commemoration of the September 11 events and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict; and
• promoting cultural understanding of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, bringing to American audiences a deeper understanding of the roots causes of the conflict.

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