Team Bios

Perla Issa is a candidate in the Master of Arts in Arab Studies at Georgetown University. She earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Perla is the audio-visual research manager and French language translator/transcriber at Quilting Point.

Valerie Jayne Schrock works as a Director in the non-profit world and served as an international human rights observer in the North of Ireland, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. She participates in film-making, puppet-making, and organizes events around Palestinian solidarity issues. She has a Master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University. Valerie was originally trained as a crisis worker and counselor in clinical psychology. She is the webmaster for the original QuiltingPoint.com website and serves as Quilting Point’s public relations representatives vis-à-vis NGOs and activist circles.

Sherene Seikaly is a PhD candidate in the Departments of History and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University. She is a Senior Editor of the Arab Studies Journal. Sherene conducted interviews for this documentary series.

Nadya Sbaiti is currently completing her doctorate in history at Georgetown University. She is Senior Editor of the Arab Studies Journal. Nadya conducted interviews for this documentary series and served as a research assistant, text editor, and translator.

Bassam Haddad is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at St. Joseph’s University and Visiting Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. He is also a Scholar in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania. Bassam serves as Editor of the Arab Studies Journal (www.arabstudiesjournal.com), a peer-reviewed research publication and is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad (www.aboutbaghdad.com). He is currently working on his first book on Syria’s political economy. Bassam is the co-founder of Quilting Point and director/executive producer of this documentary series on Arabs and Terrorism.

John Warner received his Master of Arts in Arab Studies in May 2005 from Georgetown University. He spent many years living, working, and traveling throughout the Middle East, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. John was formerly a flying trapeze artist, performing and teaching in the United States and Mexico. He is Quilting Point’s senior field producer and public relations representative.

Khalid is a systems engineer who works as Business Continuity Director in the Washington DC area. He is also a rising professional photographer. Khalid is Quilting Point’s technical consultant and co-producer of this documentary series.

Dirar Hakeem is a networking engineer who works as a senior consultant in the Washington DC area. He manages the translation and subtitling process at Quilting Point and serves as an assistant editor for special segments. Dirar is co-producer of this documentary series.

Ebie Dupont is a candidate in the Master of Arts in Arab Studies program at Georgetown University. She also holds a B.A. from the George Washington University in Russian language and literature. Ebie is Quilting Point’s special segments research manager.

Anne L. Thompson graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Government in 2004. She is the managing editor of The Reporter, the quarterly magazine published by Population Connection. Anne is Quilting Point’s Senior Research Director.

Issam Salameh acquired his B.S. degree in Pharmacy. In addition to his interest in public health, he has a great passion for music and visual art. He has remixed Arabic dance music and composed his own tracks. Issam is Quilting Point’s in-house Editor and travel segments editor for this documentary series.

Sinan Antoon is a poet, novelist and translator. He teaches Arabic culture at New York University. He studied English literature at Baghdad University before moving to the United States after the 1991 Gulf War. He received his Master’s degree in Arab Studies at Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in Arabic Literature at Harvard University. His poems and articles (in Arabic and English) have appeared in prominent publications in the Arab world and the United States. He has published a collection of poems Mawshur Muballal bil-Huroob (“A Prism; Wet with Wars,” Mirit Books, Cairo) and a novel I`jam (“Diacritics,” Dar al-Adab, Beirut). Sinan returned to Iraq in 2003 to co-direct/produce the award-winning documentary About Baghdad about the lives of Iraqis in a post-Saddam occupied Iraq. He is a Senior Editor at the Arab Studies Journal, and a member of Pen America. He is a contributing editor to Banipal and a member of the editorial committee of Middle East Report. Sinan is co-founder of Quilting Point and served as the language consultant for this documentary series.

Marwa Alkhairo is an Iraqi-American student based in the Washington DC area. She is graduating from George Mason University with a degree in Government and International Politics in May 2006. Marwa is the Database Manager and Business manager at Quilting Point.

Maya Mikdashi is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University. She is co-director/producer of the award-winning documentary About Baghdad. Maya is the assistant director of this documentary series. She is the principal member of the camera team and a special segments editor.

Carlos Martinez was raised and educated in El Salvador and is currently doing Public Relations and Development for an nonprofithealth clinic in Washington, DC. He is the Spanish language translator/editor at Quilting Point.