POLICY Statement

January 13, 2025: ATFL Welcomes Two New Vice Presidents to the Organization

January 13, 2025

The American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL) is pleased to announce the appointment of two new Vice Presidents: Patricia Karam as Vice President for Policy and Communications and Philippe Nassif as Vice President for Operations. Both Karam and Nassif bring decades of experience in management, advocacy, and US foreign policy in the Middle East and Lebanon.

Karam, in addition to recently acting as Senior Advisor to ATFL, previously served as Senior Iran Policy Advisor at both the Middle East Institute and Freedom House where she crafted strategies for promoting democracy and human rights in Iran. Her career spans Director of MENA positions at the International Republican Institute and, before that, at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, and senior positions at the International Center for International Justice, the US Institute of Peace, and the Iraq Foundation in Washington, DC. She is currently non-resident fellow at both the Middle East Institute and the Arab Center, and has published widely on the politics of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Iran, and North Africa, as well as on great power competition in the broader Middle East region.

Nassif brings decades of experience in nonprofit management and human rights advocacy and comes to ATFL from the Cohen Group where he served as Associate Vice President and, before that, as Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA. His expertise and commitment make him a driving force in helping understand and address critical challenges in this region. His career includes senior roles at the National Democratic Institute (NDI), In Defense of Christians in the Middle East, as well as at CARE USA, and the Houston Mayor’s Office.

Kristen Kouttab, currently Vice President of Operations, will also transition into the position of Vice President for Administration to oversee and manage the daily administrative functions that drive the smooth operation of ATFL, including human resources, internal office management, and information technology. Kristen has been the backbone of ATFL since 2018, and previously worked at the Moroccan American Center.

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