For more than two decades Heather has lived in Afghanistan and Iraq pioneering projects and programs tackling systemic issues at the intersection of community development and geopolitics, such as minority and human rights, gender equality, economic disparity and education. 

Heather’s passion for public service and freedom work was solidified in her early career when she and seven of her humanitarian colleagues were captured and imprisoned for 105 days by the Taliban in pre-9/11 Afghanistan at the crossroads of the global war on terror. Her shared imprisonment with brave Afghan women affirmed her resolve to impact change among the world’s most vulnerable. Following a miraculous rescue, she founded The Hope Afghanistan Foundation, which supports people and programs advancing freedom and human rights in Afghanistan. 

During the rise of the Islamic State, Heather created the US-based campaign, Hope4Iraq, engaging thousands of Americans to support minorities, refugees, and displaced people victimized by terror and genocide. As the ISIS Response Program Director, she coordinated the rescue of 21 Yezidi women and children from ISIS traffickers and developed the first  on-government residential aftercare program in Iraq for trafficked victims, addressing conflict-based trauma and radicalization. In 2019, she assisted in the development of a deradicalization program for ISIS-affiliated families in the Al Hol Camp in Al Hasakah, Syria.

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and Heather’s Taliban captivity, in the presence of 650 senior Kurdish leaders and constituents, she inaugurated Global Hope’s Freedom Center, a 75,000-sf community development center that she helped design, fund, build, and operationalize to address the most complex challenges facing Iraq today. It stands as a beacon of hope to the next generation that progress is possible, even against all odds. 

Heather frequently speaks at conferences in the US and around the world on topics of leadership and nation-building and contributes to global news outlets on Afghanistan/Iraq issues. She invites you to join in Global Hope’s mission to impact and transform lives.