AMR AL AZM

Amr Al Azm received his doctoral degree in 1991 from the Institute of Archaeology (UCL) in the UK. He was the founder and Director of the Scientific and Conservation Laboratories at the General Department of Antiquities and Museums (1999-2004) and taught at the University of Damascus until 2006. Amr Al-Azm is a tenured Professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio. He also teaches in the Gulf Studies program at Qatar University and in the Foreign Service School at Georgetown University-Qatar.

Amr Al-Azm is a keen follower and commentator on current events in Syria and the Middle East in general. His main research interest is focused on threats to cultural heritage in conflict zones, looting and trafficking of cultural property (antiquities) and terrorism financing. He is a subject matter expert in his field and has published chapters and articles in numerous journals, and major media outlets including guest editorials for the New York Times, Time Magazine, Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs.

Amr Al-Azm is a founder and board member on The Day After project (TDA) and currently coordinates the Heritage Protection Initiative (TDA-HPI) at the TDA. He is also a co-Director of ATHAR, the Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research (ATHAR) Project and the Achilles Research Group.

KATIE PAUL

Katie is a co-director of the Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research (ATHAR) Project Project and a founding member of the Alliance to Counter Crime Online (ACCO). She is an anthropologist and research analyst and serves as an affiliated researcher with The Day After Heritage Protection Initiative (TDA-HPI). Her work focuses on the trafficking and destruction of cultural property and its connections to transnational crime and terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa. Katie focuses on the role of social media and new technologies in monitoring and recording trafficking in nations in crisis. Katie believes it’s not enough that only archaeologists work to protect heritage; rather, the world needs ArchaeoActivists: People working across fields and disciplines to combat the trafficking of antiquities by organized criminal networks. Previously, Katie served as chief of staff and a research fellow at the Antiquities Coalition, a Washington, DC-based non-profit dedicated to combating cultural racketeering. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University (OH) with a double major in Anthropology and Ancient Greek and earned an M.A. in Anthropology at The George Washington University.

ADNAN ALMOHAMAD

Adnan Almohamad is a Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology at Birkbeck, University of London, and a Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University. He is also a Fellow with Cara Syria Programme. His Master's degree in Archaeology of the Ancient Near East and Egypt was awarded by Charles de Gaulle University-France. From 2009 to 2014, he worked in the Department of Excavation and Archaeological Studies of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of Syria, and during the same time period he lectured on ancient ceramics at the Department of Archaeology at the University of Aleppo. His research interests are in the area of upper Euphrates of Syria, and destruction and preservation of cultural heritage. His current work focuses on documenting the looting and destruction of archaeological sites in northern Syria and the relationships of local communities in Syria with their cultural heritage before and during the war.