Zohra Rasekh

Zohra Rasekh

Chair of the Board

Zohra Rasekh is one of the world’s leading spokeswomen for human right and gender equality. She is a former elected member of the United Nations Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and a current candidate for the United Nations Human Rights Committee. In her current position as the Director of Global Watch Group, Ms. Rasekh serves as a leader in the human rights and women empowerment movements, both locally and globally.

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Some of her Previous Professional Experience and activites Include:

  • Vice President, the United Nations CEDAW Committee;
  • Executive Director, Human Rights and Women’s Intl. Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan;
  • Senior Gender and Human Rights Advisor for Afghan Foreign Minister, Kabul, Afghanistan;
  • Research Associate, Populations Actions International, Washington, DC;
  • Senior Human Rights Researcher, Physicians for Human Rights, Washington, DC;
  • Lead investigator of an unprecedented human rights investigative research in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime;
  • Research Director, Management Sciences for Health, Kabul, Afghanistan;
  • Founder/CEO of Global Watch Group, an international human rights organization, based in Washington, DC.

Educational background

  • Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Certificate in Women &

Public Policy, February 2006

  • George Washington University, School of Medicine & Healthcare Sciences

Masters of Public Health, May 1997

  • George Washington University, Columbian College, Bachelor of Science, 1995

List of publications in the field

  • Terrorism and Public Health: Addressing Public Opinion in Muslim Communities,

      Oxford University Press, 2012

  • Women’s Health and Human Rights in Afghanistan, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
  • The Taliban’s War on Women: A Health and Human Rights Crises in Afghanistan,

Physicians for Human Rights publications

  • Education, A Health Imperative: The Case of Afghanistan, François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health & Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health Publications
  • Health and Human Rights of Adolescent Girls in Afghanistan, Journal of American Medical Women’s Association (JAMWA)
  • In this Generation: Health Policies for a Youthful World, Population Action International Publishing
Hassina Sherjan

Hassina Sherjan

Executive Director

Hassina Sherjan, a consummated professional with over thiry years of thorough knowledge and experience in education, business, communication, and journalism, is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aid Afghanistan For Education, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Boumi Group of Company. Boumi Production is an internationally recognized woman owned home accessory business and the only Afghan company with US Trademark. Coauthor of “Toughing It Out in Afghanistan”, published Feb 2011, Published various op-eds in NY Times, Washington Post, Guardian, USA Today and more.

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Member of the Board of Advisors at Samuel Hall, Global Ambassador for The International Alliance for Women (TIAW), Received The International Alliance for Women World of Difference Award 2012, Ambassador for Women Entrepreneurship Day representing Afghanistan, Global Ambassador for NGO World Day, Received Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard Kennedy School, received Honorary Doctor of Law degree from Queen’s University, Canada.

Wallied Sherzoi

Wallied Shirzoi

Board Member

Wallied Shirzoi is a foreign policy and higher education expert with significant experience working in the Middle East, Central and South Asia. He is specialized in managing complex large-scale multi-million-dollar programs in these geographic zones. He is currently a contributing writer with Wujud, a start-up enterprise consulting firm that provides expert services to elevate the economic integration of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Prior to this role, Mr. Shirzoi led the Middle East and North Africa portfolio at the Evidence for Policy Design (EpoD) at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. During this time, he led evidence-based research policy engagements with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, and the Ministry of Education, respectively, in KSA.

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Mr. Shirzoi has spent significant time working in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Qatar, leading U.S. government funded programs in democracy and governance, gender integration, economic development, capacity-building, countering violent extremism and education.

Mr. Shirzoi speaks Farsi (Dari) and intermediate French with novice understanding of Arabic. Mr. Shirzoi has a BA in International Affairs, with a concentration in Middle East studies, from The American University in Washington, D.C., and a MPIA from the University of Pittsburgh, with a concentration in Human Security. He received Bridge Builder Award from Middle East Policy Council in May 2022.

Matthew Griffin

Matthew Griffin

Board Member

Matthew “Griff” Griffin co-founded Combat Flip Flops in Kabul, Afghanistan. Griff specialized in developing solutions for companies growing business in “difficult” locations. A Graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in Engineering Management.

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Griff served in the 75th Ranger Regiment as a Rifle Company Fire Support Officer with three tours to Afghanistan and one tour to Iraq. Post military, Mr. Griffin moved to the private sector as the Director of Military Sales for Remote Medical International and the director of Special Operations for Protect the Force. Griff currently serves as a logistics officer for Team 5 Foundation.

Alec Logan

Alec Logan

Board Member

Worked as a finance manager, controller, CFO and CEO in the following sectors: residential and commercial construction, hospitality, foundry and engineered materials, tool manufacturing, non-profit, and education.

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Credentials:

– BBA – Bachelor of Business Administration, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC Canada

– CMA – Certified Management Accountant of British Columbia, Canada

– CPA – Chartered Professional Accountant of British Columbia, Canada

– CFE – Certified Fraud Examiner, USA

Alec Logan has retired from work in 2021 and now work as a volunteer in the non-profit sector.

Hilda

Hilda Grigorian

Board Member

Dr. Hilda Grigorian has over 25 years of professional experience in private sector in the U.S.A and over 18 years of in International Development working in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Armenia. She has worked for USAID and other donor agencies for seven years in Afghanistan and contributed to education and women empowerment in several provinces.

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Her publications focused on Afghan women empowerment through capacity building and education. She holds an MBA from University of La Verne and a PhD in Public Policy and International NGO Management from Walden University. In May 2011, Dr. Grigorian was recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives for her achievements in Afghanistan.