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OUR STAFF

Martine Miller
Interim President / CEO
Rebecca Cataldi
Senior Director of Programs
Ray Kim, Ph.D.
Director of U.S. Programs & Partnerships
Loujain Kiki
Program Manager for Middle East & Africa
Maryam Iftikhar
Communications Director
Olga Batkhan
Financial Administrator
Amira Abouhussein
Conflict Resolution Liaison
Julia Barnes Ph.D.
Peace Fellow

SENIOR ASSOCIATES

Abubaker Y. Ahmed Al-Shingieti
Carlos Eduardo Vargas
Mohammed al-Samawi
Abubaker Y. Ahmed Al-Shingieti
Dr. Abubaker Al-Shingieti is a Senior Associate at the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. He brings to the Center unique experience in government affairs and diplomatic relations and a strong commitment to inter-religious reconciliation. 

Dr. Shingieti  served as editor of Islamic Horizons, a monthly magazine of the Islamic Society of North America, and was a founding member of the Society for Islamic Thought and Culture in Khartoum, Sudan. Al-Shingieti was a participant in the International Higher Education Interfaith Leadership Forum.

Dr. Shingieti earned a BSc. (Honors) in Architecture and a Graduate Diploma in African and Asian Studies from the University of Khartoum.
Carlos Eduardo Vargas

As Senior Associate at ICRD, C. Eduardo Vargas serves as special advisor to the president and government liaison.  He joined ICRD after serving in President Barack Obama’s Administration as Deputy Director of the Center for Faith Based & Community Initiatives (CFBCI) at the US Agency for International Development (USAID).  At CFBCI, Mr. Vargas led external engagement efforts, public diplomacy, and partnerships to build support for USAID’s humanitarian and development priorities, including, among others: the surge of unaccompanied children related to the 2014 Central American Migration; ensuring the safety, security and freedom from persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East; countering violent extremism; and advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Before joining the Obama Administration, Mr. Vargas served as Director to the United Nations DPI/NGO Executive Committee in New York, representing over 1,300 NGOs worldwide at the UN while championing greater civil society representation, access and inclusion in various UN agencies.  Prior to that, he directed a variety of global refugee programs, development and humanitarian assistance projects, and advocacy campaigns for Caritas Internationalis, Intersections International, and Aya Worldwide.

Mr. Vargas earned his MA in Diplomacy & International Relations at Seton Hall University. He has published articles and speaks publicly on a variety of globalization, humanitarian, and public policy issues. He has been featured by Al Jazeera, CNN, Foreign Affairs, FOX News, and Telemundo, among other outlets. For his work in diplomacy and peacemaking he has been recognized by the Huffington Post’s 40 Under 40 in Foreign Policy, awarded the USAID Administrator’s Letter of Commendation, and received the Many Are One Alumni Servant Leadership Award from Seton Hall University.

Mohammed al-Samawi

Mohammed serves as a fellow for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region at ICRD, where he has provided a wide range of support for the Center’s community engagement and research programs in Yemen, including conducting program evaluation, communicating with local partners and undertaking translations.

Hailing from Sana’a, he has experienced the impacts of the civil war and conflict in Yemen first-hand, both in a professional capacity and as a civilian. He has authored more than 30 studies and reports about Yemen and reported extensively on Sudan, including Darfur. He is currently writing his memoir for HarperCollins Publishers.