Experts
Qutaiba Idlbi
Qutaiba Idlbi is a Researcher at the Global Policy Institute working on policy and advanced education in the Middle East and a Senior Consultant with Pechter Polls specialized in aid and security in the Middle East with a focus on Syria.
Qutaiba is a native of Damascus. He in Syria at the outbreak of protests in March 2011, detained twice by Syrian internal security services, and forced to leave the country. Since leaving, Qutaiba supported numerous Syrian political and humanitarian efforts both domestically and internationally. He has extensive refugee experience, advancing national engagement efforts as a Research Assistant with the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services; promoting refugee awareness through numerous speaking engagements across the U.S, acting as Associate Producer for the Red Lines documentary; and volunteering for various refugee relief organizations in Lebanon and Egypt. His research experiences include working as an Associate with Caerus Associates, focusing on governance and security developments in Syria, and providing research assistance on the different governance and military structures in Syria to Mouaz AL-Khateeb, the founding president of the Syrian National Coalition.
Qutaiba is also a Co-Founder and was the Vice President of People Demand Change, an aid and development firm providing service delivery and monitoring and evaluation support to conflict areas in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon.
Qutaiba has completed fellowships with the State Department’s Leaders for Democracy Fellows Program as well as the International Republican Institute. He holds an associate degree from the University of Damascus’ Technical Institute for Finance and Banking Sciences. He has also studied at the International University for Science and Technology in Damascus until he was forced to flee Syria.