Rahaf Abu Shahin

Executive Director

Rahaf has been working in programs & non-governmental organizations management in the fields of democracy, elections, politics and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since 2014.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts-Journalism (2013) with more than 10-years experience in advocacy, activism, campaigning and strategies development, in addition to her previous work in media as a radio presenter, producer & news editor. She worked as a Regional Coordinator for the Arab Network for Democratic Elections 2014-2020 where she managed the network’s programs, organized and led several regional and international conferences and events, as well as more than 15 international missions specialized in assessing and monitoring elections in the MENA countries, including: Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. She also worked for 3 years as a Regional Program Manager and held other advisory roles in the fields of civic space and human rights in the MENA, and human rights grants-making principles.

Additionally, Rahaf is a certified trainer in domestic and international elections monitoring and the corresponding international standards, with over 14-years democracy & elections experience in Lebanon and other MENA countries. She has volunteered since 2010 at the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) and also worked with the Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform (CCER) 2011-2014. She was elected as a member of LADE’s Board of Directors for two terms, and held the position of its Communication Portfolio Advisor from 2020 until 2022.

She has joined the Caucus of Women in Politics in the Arab Region (CWPAR) in 2022 as its Executive Director. Rahaf strongly believes that humans, particularly youth, have the potential to change not only their own societies but the whole world into a better place.