Chirin Dirani is the Director of Programs at the Alwaleed Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. She is a development practitioner with over fifteen years of management, administrative and operational experience in the MENA region and USA. Before arriving in the USA in 2015, Chirin worked as a Field Manager at the Japanese International Organization, NICCOD, in Jordan. Her main role was focused on supporting the economic empowerment of female refugees from Syria and Jordan. In Syria, Chirin used her business experience to help young female entrepreneurs establish their small businesses. In 2012, Chirin received the World of Difference Award by the International Alliance for Women.

On the academic front, Chirin graduated from Damascus University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy. In 2020, she received her first Master’s degree in Arab Studies from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Currently, Chirin is working on a Master of Arts and Science in Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University. In this program, she is exploring practical application of emerging technologies to address some urgent social and cultural issues.