Cheryl Benard was born in musical, multicultural, historic New Orleans. She has a PhD in international relations and was a senior analyst and program director for European and U.S. think tanks. At the RAND Corporation, she worked on issues of national security and post-conflict reconstruction. She is the author of more than 20 books, including two novels. She founded ARCH after being continuously impressed with the power of culture to restore morale and build bridges between communities. As a member of a military family, she grew up in post World War II Europe, where she saw destroyed cities rise anew and populations take hope from the rebuilding of their historic heritage.

Irina Bokova was born in 1952 in Sofia, Bulgaria. She believes that her birthplace, at the crossroads between East and West, was formative to her deep interest in the interactions between cultures and communities. Bokova studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs, and the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. She has received more than 40 honorary degrees from universities worldwide and was awarded the French Medal of Honor.

From 2009 to 2017, she served as Director of UNESCO, working with the Security Council to finalize two landmark Resolutions: 2199, on the illicit trafficking of antiquities and the financing of terrorism, and 2347 affirming the link between the protection of heritage and peace and security.

In 2016, the newspaper The Guardian described Ms. Bokova as “the woman standing between ISIS and world heritage,” a title meant to express her extraordinary outspokenness and engagement against the devastation occurring in Syria and Iraq. As she puts it, “The deliberate destruction of cultural heritage is a war crime, which is used as a tactic of war, to disseminate fear and hatred. (…) Violent extremists target culture because they know it weakens the social fabric and damages the capacity for resistance.”

Yama Jewayni is a restaurateur and executive in Washington D.C. His hallmark is bridging cultures through food, music and design, as evidenced by some of the legendary food and drink destinations he has brought to that city: Eighteenth Street Lounge, the Gibson, Marvin, Daikaya and Bantam King. Some of these establishments are credited by the Washington Post as having significantly contributed to the transformation of formerly undeveloped neighborhoods into newly thriving urban centers. Yama joined ARCH because of his life-long interest in the intersection of history, art, and the exploration of cultures.

Zalmay Khalilzad hails from the ancient city of Mazar-i-Sharif, famous for its grand blue mosque. He has a B.A. and M.A from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and a PhD from the University of Chicago. He has been a research director, a university professor, a strategist and a diplomat. In the latter role, he served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations. He is a frequent contributor to Washington’s policy debate and sits on the board of several think tanks and academic institutions. In his recent memoir, The Envoy, he reflects on the lessons inherent in the decline of great centers of civilizations such as Balkh, and on the importance of cultural identity in keeping populations resilient under stress.

Sophia Schultz grew up in the Baroque district of a small town in South-West Germany. After studying Cultural Sciences at the European University Viadrina close to Berlin, she worked on political contemporary art and film projects. Her involvement in ARCH’s first project – the Bamiyan Project – began while she was a Middle East Politics postgraduate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Sophia is the Director of International Programs at ARCH. She has published essays in art catalogs and worked on contemporary art and film projects, such as Reach, Grasp, Move, Position, Apply Force by Kajsa Dahlberg. Earlier in her career, she worked for a foundation promoting freedom of expression in Iran and she monitored media relating to the Middle East, and U.S. foreign policy. She sits on the the Selection Committee of the San Diego Latino Film Festival.

Adam Tiffen grew up in a quiet town surrounded by farms on Long Island, New York. He has a Juris Doctorate from George Washington University Law School, and spent several years as a litigator and international trade attorney at a D.C. law firm. He currently works in international business, project management and risk mitigation. He is a veteran of three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and witnessed first-hand the threat that conflict poses to culture and heritage when he came face-to-face with the 3,500-year-old Sumerian Ziggurat at Aqar-Quf during a combat patrol. He is committed to doing what he can to protect the world’s collective cultural history and heritage.

 

Marietta Ulrich-Horn was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. At the age of 16 she participated in an overseas student exchange program, which opened her eyes to cultural diversity and the benefits of mutual learning. Marietta holds a PHD in social and cultural anthropology from the University of Vienna, and an Executive Masters Degree in Business Administration from the WU Wien and the Carlson School of Management in Minnesota.

In her “day job,” she helps run a multi-generational family business. Together with her husband, she founded a high tech spin-off of the traditional firm: Securikett® develops cutting edge security measures that enable retailers and customers to distinguish authentic products from counterfeit or illegally trafficked items. Marietta is President of ARCH’s sister organization, ARCH Europe, an EU recognized non-profit headquartered in Austria.

Kathryn Costello was born in Detroit, Michigan and spent most of her childhood in New England. She studied at the University of Massachusetts and at Harvard University’s Extension School, with a focus on multi-media design, education, web design and psychology. Her first job was as a youth counselor, organizing programs in a shelter for homeless teenagers in New York City. Later, she worked for Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. For the past 20 years she has been running her own business in photography, graphic design and web development.

Hans Curvers, grew up in Valkenburg in a landscape of caves, quarries, castles and churches spanning millions of years. This practically obliged him to become an archaeologist, and he now has over 20 years experience in public and private heritage planning and urban design in Western Asia. He has a long-standing connection to the University of Amsterdam and to Solidere, the Lebanese company charged –since 1994— with the reconstruction and development of the Beirut City Center. He completed the implementation of the Beirut Heritage Trail (2011). He has worked on several major excavations in Syria and Lebanon. At ARCH he contributes as a technical advisor on Mes Aynak, where for a time he was director of the archaeological team.

Nic Flemming was born in Stratford East London. He studied physics and chemistry at Cambridge. In 1958 he led an expedition of 8 undergraduates to Libya where they mapped the submerged Greek city of Apollonia. This led him by complicated paths to the development of new underwater technology and diving systems, the study of global sea level change, and the regional tectonics of earth movements in the Mediterranean. He has published over 300 scientific and technical papers and a dozen books. He has held positions in the Society for Underwater Technology, the British Sub Aqua Club, the Underwater Association for Scientific Research, the Scientific Committee of the World Federation of Underwater Activities, and the International Oceanographic Data Exchange Committee of UNESCO. He represented UK at the UN Law of the Sea Conference, and was Secretary of the UK Committee on Marine Science and Technology. He was Director of the European Office of the Global Ocean Observing System. He made the first outline map of Pavlopetri in 1967, and has participated in several technical surveys of Pavlopetri in 1968, and 2008-2011. At the ARCH Watch Day in 2016, he was the fan favorite, attracting autograph-seekers of all ages.  

Seth J. Frantzman is author of After ISIS: America, Israel and the Struggle for the Middle East (Gefen, 2019), and executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis. He has reported from and conducted research in Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the UAE. A former lecturer at Al-Quds University on US foreign policy, he has a Ph.D. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A veteran reporter and analyst for The Jerusalem Post, The National Interest and Defense News he has covered three Gaza wars, rising tensions with Iran and the war on ISIS. Frantzman was born in Maine and received his B.A from the University of Arizona. He is also a gifted chef, sharing the results of his culinary experiments on facebook. Follow him on Twitter @Sfrantzman

Elin Haaga was born in Usk, on the Welsh border, and grew up in Somerset in the southwest of England. She studied History at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, and London University. After teaching for some years, she lived in South Asia and worked for UNICEF and Save the Children. After moving to the U.S., she started a garden design company for residential and industrial projects. She is a professor for History of the Landscape at George Washington University and a frequent lecturer to garden societies and design associations including the National Arboretum.  

Jeff Lee is President of Lee and Associates, Inc.  He received the Presidential Citation from The American Society of Architects: AIA, for leading the design team for The Pentagon 9-11 Memorial. He was inducted into the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows; this is the highest honor achievable in the profession and he is the first Korean-American landscape architect to receive it.

During the past 25 years, he has crafted a body of work which integrates the complex relationship between man and nature to design ecological and sustainable solutions promoting responsible stewardship of our land, waterways, cities, gardens, parks and ultimately, the public realm. He developed the Cultural Tourism Master Plan for two centuries of Buddhism in China (Dazu); connective spaces for the Hajj (Mecca); and the bringing to renewed life of a historical Ottoman Pasha’s Palace (Ciragan Palace Kempinski, Istanbul).

Lee studied at the University of Virginia in the School of Architecture in landscape architecture, fine arts, and architecture. After working in Seoul, Korea; Doha, Qatar and on projects throughout Asia and the Middle East, he returned to the U.S.A. to launch his career in landscape architecture. His projects include the Korean Embassy Residence; the International Culture & Trade Center at the Ronald Reagan Building; Fort Belvoir Community Hospital; and the recently completed City Center.   

Arsalan Lutfi was born in Kabul, but left at the age of 13 to live in the U.S. With his siblings, he started TriVision and grew it into an award-winning creative marketing and media communications company with locations in downtown Washington DC, Northern VA, Baltimore, Miami, and Kabul. Arsalan is one of the founders of Tuti TV, a live-stream television channel targeted to the Middle Eastern and South Asian audience, with the mission to promote and keep alive the indigenous music of that region.

Murat Palta was born in 1990 in Antakya, better known to the world as Antioch – the famous Silk Road city dating back to the fourth century BC. In this southernmost part of Turkey, next to the Syrian border, he grew up with many influences from varied cultures, religions and ethnic groups. After graduating from Dumlupinar University in Kütahya, an area known for its traditional art and ceramics, he decided to highlight his multicultural background through the medium of art. Ever since he’s been working as an illustrator, and his hallmark is a quirky mixture of Ottoman/Persian traditional art with modern elements. His poster series of Hollywood blockbusters transformed into Persian miniatures brought him international attention. For ARCH, he shines as the illustrator of our Storybook Series.

Dr. Sarajuddin Rasuly was born in Takhar, Afghanistan. He studied political science and pedagogy in Austria and Germany and taught in the Political Science Department of the University of Vienna for fifteen years. Currently, he works as an expert witness for issues pertaining to Afghanistan at the Austrian Federal Administrative Court. He is the author of two textbooks about political transformations in Afghanistan and about the role of Afghan political elites.

Born in South Africa to Greek parents, Magda now lives in Laconia. She holds BA degrees in English Literature and Interpreting and works as a conference interpreter for Greek, English, and Dutch. Magda is actively involved in the protection of Vatika Bay and is an advocate for the local endangered loggerhead turtles. Magda has been a tireless supporter of ARCH’s efforts to preserve Pavlopetri and has been involved in many of the efforts to promote sustainable tourism in the area, for example by raising funds for the restoration of the Aghia Paraskevi Castle.

Frederick Starr is founding chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute/ Silk Road Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University’s SAIS and ISDS in Stockholm. He began his career doing archaeological work in America and in Turkey, where he mapped Roman roads and the Persian Royal Road. His most recent book, LOST ENLIGHTENMENT: CENTRAL ASIA’S GOLDEN AGE FROM THE ARAB CONQUEST TO TAMERLANE, addresses cultural and economic issues in countries relevant to ARCH. He has written extensively on the history or architecture in America, Russia, and Central Asia has been an active practitioner of historic preservation

Lauren Attwell is from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Art History at Skidmore College. Her experience ranges from excavations in Romania to curating in contemporary art museums, and her research interests are primarily contemporary tattoo practices and Eastern European cultural revitalization. Lauren’s work with ARCH includes producing audio guides about the historic, artistic, and spiritual aspects of Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Levi Clancy was born in Los Angeles but spent many years in Erbil studying the lives of minorities including Shabakis, Kakaiis, Jews, and ‘small worlds’ within the broader community, and writing a travel blog about intriguing, little-known destinations in Kurdistan. He is a software developer and photographer. He can be found on Facebook or Twitter at @leviclancy or on Instagram at @levi.life

At ARCH, Rodrigo is contributing to the communications strategy and documentary research for our ongoing projects.

Elimarie Garcia-Cosme Born in North Carolina and raised in Texas by Puerto Rican parents, Elimarie spent her summers in Puerto Rico with family exploring Old San Juan and developing a passion for cultural heritage preservation and the feeling of connection to the past. She holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Texas at San Antonio, an MA in Anthropology from the University of Central Florida, and an MA in Cultural Heritage Studies from University College London. Her research topics focused on the archeology of lowland Bolivia and on cultural expressions of Eastern Cuba. At ARCH, she helped built out the Wall of Shame project to spread the word about sites in danger of destruction. In her current position, she is Programs Coordinator at World Monuments Fund.

Andrew Harris grew up in Toronto, Canada, a city known less for its history than its push towards the future (as well as the rapper Drake, and an ice hockey team that hasn’t won a championship in more than half a century). History teachers in middle- and high-school influenced his love for the past, ancient ruins, Buddhism, architecture, and archaeology. He holds Bachelors from Queen’s University, an MA form the School of Oriental and African Studies, and a PhD in Anthropology (Archaeology) from the University of Toronto. Andrew works primarily on exploring the placement and significance of monastic architecture from the 14th-16th centuries at the ancient Cambodian capital of Angkor Thom. This entails mapping, survey, excavation, photogrammetry (3D modelling), and spatial analysis to better understand the ways that religious populations interacted with ritual spaces. He also has studied the association between historic sites and local livelihoods from tourism. At ARCH, Andrew designed historical theme-based “tourism routes” for virtual travel and at a future point, real implementation in Afghanistan. Currently, he is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Southeast Asian Archeology at the National University of Singapore.

William Humphrey was born in Washington D.C., and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Towson University. disseminated during the internships he worked in the Research, Education, and Visitor Experience sectors of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. William’s past participation with multicultural student groups in college developed an interest in the intersection of culture and heritage across borders. In his travels, the unfolding of lifestyles, world heritage sites, and local traditions have led him to study his Master’s in Cultural Heritage Management at Johns Hopkins University.

At ARCH, William helped with the design and publication of the Handbook for Controversial Monuments and Statues. Currently, he is Program Associate with the World Heritage USA.

Colleen Makosky was born and raised in Massachusetts. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in international business with a minor in digital media at the University of Denver. During her undergraduate studies, she has taken numerous classes that focus on international studies, art history, as well as the cultural implications of modern design.  

She is working on multiple projects for ARCH doing graphic design and assisting with social media initiatives. She recognizes and appreciates the importance of cultural heritage for its historical and artistic significance in communities around the world.

Melissa Metzgar grew up in the greater Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and Anthropology from Kutztown University. Melissa has served as a social and behavioral researcher, a gallery director, and digitally cataloged the Archives of the Missionaries of Africa in Rome. She subsequently completed a Master’s in Art History at Cabot University, with a thesis on the fresco paintings in a looted ancient Etruscan tomb. She is now pursuing a degree in Sustainable Cultural Heritage. Her graduate research focuses on managing heritage in conflict and the efficacy of US laws in combatting illicit antiquities trafficking.

Veronica Scroccaro grew up in Venice, Italy, where historical and cultural patrimony are part of daily life. Entranced by the essence of her city and its mosaic of cultures, she chose to study Middle Eastern languages and after spending time in “the Venice of the Middle East”, Sana’a, capital of Yemen, the Middle East became her second home. Veronica holds a Master in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management from the University of Leicester, and a Master in Project Management for International Cooperation from the Social Change School. She believes that the safeguarding of cultural heritage is an imperative for humanity and for the generations to come.

Megan Plaumann grew up in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and has fond memories of childhood visits to Hawaiian cultural heritage sites around the state. Megan has a BS in history with a minor in Museum Studies from Northern Arizona University, a MA in World History, and is a recent graduate from Johns Hopkins University’s MA in Museum Studies. She has worked in museums ranging from historic houses to historic ships to traditional history museums, in collections management and exhibit development. She loves to research and develop exhibits around artifacts she discovers when surveying collections.

Eloise was born in New York and grew up in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. She graduated from the University of Cambridge with an M.A. in Heritage Studies. Subsequently she worked for the Dreamland Heritage Trust, which promotes and conserves a historic seaside amusement park complex in Kent, UK, and for the Next Century Foundation, an NGO which works towards conflict resolution in the Middle East.

James Wright is a graduate student in Cultural Heritage Management at Johns Hopkins University. He has a background in maritime heritage and submerged cultural resources and has worked on projects with the Florida Public Archaeology Network, the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program in St Augustine Florida and the Maritime Archaeological Historical Society in Washington D.C. James maintained the database documenting commercial shipping in Vatika Bay.

Tina Yiomelakis was raised in the small seaside town of Neapoli in southern Peloponnese, Greece, surrounded by rich history and significant archaeological sites such as the underwater site of Pavlopetri and the castle of Vatika. After moving to Australia, Tina pursued an undergraduate degree in archaeology and is currently completing postgraduate study in intelligence and security with a focus on the illicit trade of antiquities. Through her work, she hopes to raise awareness about the importance of protecting archaeological sites from illegal activities and promote the ethical trade of antiquities.