Elie Abouaoun currently serves as senior program officer for the MENA region at the US Institute of Peace. Previously, Dr. Abouaoun held the executive director position with the Arab Human Rights Fund. Prior to 2011, he managed the Danish Refugee Council's Iraq program and served as program coordinator for Ockenden International - Iraq. Dr. Abouaoun is a senior trainer and consultant with several local, regional and international organizations on human rights, program development and management, displacement and relief, capacity development, and Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. He has been a member of the pool of trainers at the Council of Europe since 2000. In 2001, he became a member of the Reference Group, established by the Directorate of Education at the Council of Europe in order to supervise the drafting of COMPASS, a manual for human rights education. He further supervised the adaptation and translation of this project to Arabic and its subsequent diffusion to the Arab region. Dr. Abouaoun regularly contributes to publications related to his areas of business and interest. He writes articles for the French speaking Lebanese daily newspaper L'Orient le Jour and other publications in the Arab region. He is also a visiting lecturer at the Notre Dame University and at Saint Joseph University, both in Lebanon.