Members
Rajaa Altalli is the co-founder of the Center for Civil Society and Democracy (CCSD) and a member of the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board for the UN Special Envoy for Syria, established in January 2016 to integrate women’s perspectives in the Syrian peace process. She serves as a senior fellow at the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Seton Hall University and held the Sergio Vieira de Mello Endowed Visiting Chair in Spring 2022. Additionally, she co-chaired the U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security from 2021 to 2022.
Rajaa’s activism began at age 12 when her father was arrested by the Syrian government for his political involvement. She earned a Master’s in Applied Mathematics from Northeastern University in 2009 through the Fulbright Scholarship. Following the onset of the Syrian revolution, she focused on documenting human rights violations and working with Syrians inside the country and refugees in the Middle East.
Rajaa has bridged grassroots networks with national and international decision-makers, conducting research on the influence of religion on Arab-Kurdish relations and the role of Syrian women in peacebuilding. In December 2019, she addressed the UN Security Council on behalf of CCSD, presenting a six-point plan for a political solution in Syria. Rajaa has actively participated in international conferences to advocate for a political transition in Syria.