Board of Trustees

Dr. Sylvia Maier
Director of Educational Programs

Sylvia is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Center for Global Affairs, New York University. She earned her PhD in Political Science in 2001 from the    University of Southern California. Prior to joining the CGA, she was on the faculty of the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies at NYU and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Her primary fields of interest (and passion) are women’s rights, education and empowerment in the Global South, with a particular focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UAE, where she has worked, taught and conducted extensive field research for extended periods over the past several years. She is currently working on two book manuscripts, women’s empowerment in Afghanistan and strategic symbolism in women’s social protest movements, respectively.

Karin Attia, Board Member

Karin Attia is a M.S. graduate in Global Affairs from NYU with a concentration in peacebuilding and a specialization in gender. She has conducted research in Rwanda, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Israel and West Bank. Karin has been published on OpenDemocracy, Mondoweiss and academic journal, Perspectives on Global Issues. Her primary fields of interest are women’s rights, conflict resolution and education.

Sibley Hawkins, Board Member

Sibley works with the Gender Justice Program at the International Center for Transitional Justice, where she has also worked on fundraising and development. While pursuing a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, Sibley focused her research on the arts as a tool for change within the juvenile justice system. She holds an M.S. in Global Affairs from New York University, where she undertook field research in Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia for projects related to the psychology of identity in transitional settings. She lived and taught in Monteria, Colombia for a year and speaks fluent Spanish. She is thrilled to be working with The Peace Project to promote its mission of creating safe, peaceful and tolerant communities.

Tiffany Stevens

Tiffany Stevens is the Chief Operating Officer of the Sohn Conference Foundation. The Sohn Conference Foundation is dedicated to supporting innovative initiatives to cure and treat pediatric cancer. Identifying specific areas of need, the foundation funds groundbreaking research, state-of-the-art technology, and programs to target cures and improve patient care. Tiffany has previously held roles at nonprofits and foundations focused on the environment, education, democracy, the arts. She began her career as a lawyer. She currently serves as a Trustee for World Neighbors. Tiffany received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, and her B.A. in Intercultural Communications and Women’s Studies from the University of Oklahoma. She enjoys painting and writing and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Awista Ayub

Awista Ayub is the deputy director of New America’s Fellows program. She is the author of Kabul Girls Soccer Club (Hyperion). Ayub has served as an advisory council member and contributor to espnw.com and has written about issues pertaining to Muslim women in sports. Prior to joining New America, Ayub worked as the director of South Asia programs at Seeds of Peace and was based in Mumbai, India with extensive travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan for three years of her six years in this role. She also worked for the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C. as the education and health officer. She has been featured in a number of national news publications and programs for her work in Afghanistan that includes ABC News, NPR, ESPN, Glamour Magazine, CNN, New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, the San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian, and USA Today. She received her B.S. in chemistry from the University of Rochester, and her M.P.A. from the University of Delaware.

Jesus Casado

Jesus is a multilingual graduate student pursuing an M.S. in Global Affairs with a concentration in Gender Global Studies and a specialization in Peacebuilding. Jesus worked as a Special Projects Coordinator at Creighton Elementary School District Phoenix, AZ, where he coordinated academic programs and events for the district’s refugee student population and their families to promote school and community engagement as well as educational attainment. He is currently an academic mentor for junior and senior students from underserved high schools in New York through NYU’s Aspire Program. Jesus received two B.A. degrees in Political Science and Global Studies with a concentration in Violence, Conflict and Human Rights from Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, in May 2013