Isam Khatib is a Syrian sustainable development and human rights specialist with over ten years of experience working with international organisations and local civil society actors in Syria and the wider Middle East and North Africa region. He holds an MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. He has led programmes and teams in fragile and conflict-affected settings, with a focus on civil stabilisation, civic space, justice and accountability, and rights-based development. He developed extensive knowledge of stabilisation programming through his work with USAID’s Syria Regional Program, where he contributed to the design, implementation and monitoring of interventions supporting Syrian communities and civil society actors. Previously, Isam served as Executive Director of Kesh Malek, a Syrian civil society organisation working on democratic and social change in Syria. He also served as Deputy Director of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, a human rights organisation focused on justice, and accountability.