Wisam Khaleefah joined Spirit of America in 2025 as interim Regional Program Manager for the Middle East and Central Asia, bringing over a decade of experience in conflict prevention, governance, and crisis response across fragile and post-conflict environments. Prior to joining Spirit of America, he contributed to key US government-funded stabilization programs in Iraq, Syria, and Libya.

Most recently, he led programming for a multimillion-dollar post-ISIS recovery effort in Iraq that helped the country rebuild—restoring services, rehabilitating infrastructure, and supporting the return of thousands of displaced families in Sinjar and Mosul. The success of this programming led to its expansion into new strategic areas of Iraq, including the south, where Wisam launched initiatives to preserve cultural heritage sites and support civic engagement.

Earlier, Wisam supported the launch of a State Department–funded education and countering violent extremism program in Northeast Syria, establishing one of the earliest US operational footprints in the area following ISIS’s defeat. The program helped restore schooling and provide psychosocial assistance to tens of thousands of Syrian youth affected by conflict. Wisam has also supported civil society dialogue initiatives in Khayelitsha, South Africa, and worked with the Indiana Red Cross to manage refugee resettlement efforts in the state.

A United World College alumnus, Wisam completed his master’s degree in International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and earned a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Skidmore College in New York.