Sarah Zaaimi is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs. Her research focuses on the Western Sahara conflict, North Africa, Arab-Israeli normalization, and regional minorities. She is also the former deputy director for media and communications of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council.

Zaaimi is an award-winning journalist, communications strategist, and international development professional with over two decades of extensive experience in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in countries like Morocco, Egypt, and Iraq. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, she managed projects and engagement efforts for organizations like the European Union’s Anna Lindh Foundation, World Wildlife Fund, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Organization for Migration.

She also worked in several US, UK, and MENA newsrooms as a reporter, producer, and news editor, including various pan-Arab media outlets like BBC Arabic, Asharq Al Aswat, the US Agency for Global Media’s Alhurra, and Al Araby TV. Zaaimi holds an MSc in communications and international development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), an MA in communication management from l’Ecole Polytechnique of Paris, a BA in journalism and media, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies. She is also a United Nations Alliance of Civilization MENA fellow, an FDD Berish Center for Media Integrity fellow, and an honorary research fellow at the University of Exeter. Her PhD research and writings focus on North African politics, transnational identities, Arab cultural studies, diaspora, and community stabilization.