Van Azad is a Middle East policy practitioner and development strategist with more than 18 years of experience designing and managing multi-million-dollar programs in fragile and post-conflict environments, with deep field engagement across Iraq and the broader MENA region. Her work focuses on ethnic and religious minorities affected by conflict, climate-induced displacement, and the erosion of cultural heritage, with particular attention to how these dynamics intersect to shape the lives of women and girls.

Her professional background spans the private sector, academia, and international development. Van previously led nationwide community investment portfolios for ExxonMobil in Iraq, where she worked at the nexus of corporate responsibility, community investment, and institutional partnerships. She later completed graduate studies at Yale University and went on to serve as Program Manager at Vital Voices Global Partnership, overseeing U.S. government–funded initiatives across the Middle East and North Africa.

Van is the Founder and Executive Director of WANi Organization, a Washington, D.C.–based organization that supports women-led civil society actors in Iraq through institutional strengthening, policy-informed program design, monitoring and evaluation, and digital advocacy. Under her leadership, WANi convenes senior Iraqi women advisors and international experts to advance survivor-centered approaches to violence prevention, inclusive governance, and climate-responsive development.

Her current work bridges grassroots realities with policy and donor ecosystems. She advises local organizations and international partners on addressing displacement, safeguarding minority communities, and responding to the loss of tangible and intangible heritage following years of conflict and environmental stress. Central to her approach is an intersectional lens that recognizes how displacement, poverty, and weakened protection systems disproportionately affect women and girls—shaping access to education, livelihoods, safety, and civic participation.

Van holds an MA in Global Affairs from Yale University and a BSc in Architectural Engineering from University of Sulaimaniyah. She regularly contributes to policy dialogue on locally led development, minority inclusion, and climate adaptation in conflict-affected contexts.