UNRWA USA 52d ago

Meet our new Director of Strategic Communications! Zeina Hijazi is a Palestinian polyglot currently trading the volcanoes of Guatemala for the avenues of Washington,D.C. She is a first-generation Palestinian raised in Athens,Greece. Her father Akram is from Jaffa and her mother Nawar is from Jerusalem. She is rooted in Sumud and a guardian of her family's Palestinian memories and traditions. Zeina is a communications strategist and director across media companies and humanitarian response. She began her career as a journalist and producer with the Associated Press, NBC, and MTV, and later joined Cartoon Network, where she led cross-regional campaigns and launched localized channels across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She transitioned from a background in global media into humanitarian communications, applying her storytelling and editorial expertise to crisis and development contexts. Her work includes strategic communications roles with the UNOPS and the USAID. During her tenure as the Creative Director for the USAID Guatemala Mission, she directed the Valiente gender-based violence animated series campaign, one of the Agency’s most far-reaching public awareness efforts. At the start of the war in October 2023, Zeina left her role in Guatemala and immediately joined the USAID West Bank and Gaza Mission. There, she managed strategic communications, crisis response, and media strategy in high-risk environments. She knew that messaging had to be rooted in the truth of the people on the ground; that narrative integrity was the most powerful tool in pushing for the increase of humanitarian aid and resources into Gaza, and it is still desperately needed. Ask Zeina about: Why cartoons aren't just for kids—and how they can lead to meaningful positive behavioral change in humanitarian work, media monitoring, tomato is the best fruit, Palestinian olives, and friendly pranks. https://www.unrwausa.org/our-people