Qutaiba Idlbi is a Syria Program Expert at the International Center for Transitional Justice advising on the framework of political imprisonment and forced disappearance in Syria.
He is also a Senior Non-resident Fellow with the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, where he leads the Syria Project, and he previously served as the Representative for the National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces to the United States.
His past research experience includes analyzing economic sanctions as a Non-resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute, profiling refugee entrepreneurship in Turkey and Jordan with Building Markets, analyzing security policy in Turkey and Syria at the Global Policy Institute, and developing governance and security atmospheric reports for the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command and the USAID Office of Transitional Initiatives with Caerus Associates. Qutaiba was also Co-Founder and Vice President of People Demand Change, where he managed and evaluated governance, civil society strengthening, and peacebuilding programs in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon.
He is a 2013 Leaders for Democracy Fellow with the Middle East Partnership Initiative at the United States Department of State, and a 2016 Peace Exchange Fellow with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Qutaiba currently serves as a board member of multiple organizations advancing accelerated education, skills training, and women empowerment across refugee communities in the Middle East.
He received his bachelor's in political science from Columbia University, and an associate degree in finance and banking from Damascus University.
