New Tactics Team

Global Team
Noor Zada | Global Program Manager

Noor is a distinguished professional in the NGO sector, with over 16 years of invaluable experience. Her impressive career at New Tactics in Human Rights began in 2014, where she swiftly progressed through the ranks and held various positions such as MENA Training Manager, MENA Program Manager, and MENA Director. As the current Global Program Manager, Noor is a visionary leader responsible for the strategic planning, development, and management of the New Tactics program, aligning it with CVT's strategic plan and the program's principles of innovation, empowerment, collaboration, and inclusion.

Her responsibilities are far-reaching, and she expertly provides program leadership, manages the program staff, leads fundraising and program development efforts, and fosters and maintains partnerships and collaborations with organizations whose work aligns with the New Tactics program. Noor's remarkable contributions to the sector extend beyond her tenure at New Tactics, as she previously served as a Trainer and Senior Program Officer at Partners-Jordan for eight years, showcasing her versatility in delivering impactful outcomes. With a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the esteemed University of Jordan, Noor is a true force to be reckoned with in the field of NGO management.

Nancy Pearson | Training Manager
Nancy is responsible for creating curriculum and training techniques to bring New Tactics in Human Rights' methodologies for strategic and tactical thinking to a variety of audiences worldwide. Nancy has a wide array of experience in non-profit work doing social work, community organizing, and the training of human rights activists. Nancy has a master's degree in social work from the University of California at Berkeley and bachelors of social work and and sociology from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN.
Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva | Training Officer
Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva brings significant experience in training facilitation and advocacy within intercultural contexts. Most recently, Lisa led training and education for Community Technology Empowerment Project at St. Paul Neighborhood Network and annually supervised and trained 35 AmeriCorps members in a social justice curricula. Previously, Lisa conducted trainings in citizen journalism and adult basic education with immigrant communities in Minnesota, and also coordinated volunteers at American Jewish World Service in New York. Lisa has an MA in journalism and mass communications from the University of Minnesota, MS in teaching from Pace University and BA in History from Barnard College at Columbia University.
Sydney Stead | Program Officer
Sydney is responsible for providing programmatic, logistical, risk management, and administrative support for the New Tactics program. She previously supported CVT’s rehabilitative programs for survivors of torture and war trauma at five clinical sites in Kenya and Uganda. Sydney also has experience in refugee resettlement, professional and youth leadership exchange programs, legislative advocacy, and community organizing around immigrant and criminal justice issues. Sydney holds a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Minnesota and a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Lewis & Clark College.
Middle East & North Africa Team
Omar Altabakha | MENA Program Manager
Omar joined the New Tactics MENA team in February 2016 as an Associate Trainer and worked his way up till he became the MENA Program Manager in January 2023. Omar provides oversight and management of New Tactics in human rights Program in the Middle East and North Africa. He is responsible for creating and implementing the strategic vision and developing and maintaining relationships with partner organizations and donors, and collaborating with other Center for Victims of Torture programs and departments. Omar has a Master’s Degree in Business Management from the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia.
Ayman Malhis | MENA Digital Media Senior Coordinator
Ayman joined the New Tactics MENA team in February 2018. As the MENA Digital Media Coordinator, he is responsible for overseeing the program’s online presence in Arabic, including website, social media channels, online community, and e-learning courses. He was part of the team responsible for developing The Tactical Mapping Tool (TMT) which is a tool that visualizes human relationships surrounding complex problems. Ayman holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Amman al Ahliyya University.
Shaden Al Ajarmeh | MENA Lead Trainer
Shaden joined New Tactics MENA in July, 2021. As a MENA Trainer, Shaden is responsible for providing training programs on advocacy using the five-step Strategic Effective Method within the MENA region along with the development of training materials and other tasks assigned by the MENA Training Manager. Prior to joining New Tactics Shaden worked for six years as a trainer and Inclusion Technical Officer at Humanity & Inclusion (HI)  where she trained and coached humanitarian workers affiliated with many international organizations in order to make sure their services provided and projects were  inclusive for people with disabilities. Shaden has a bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy from The University of Jordan.
Basil Ibrahim | MENA Trainer
Basil joined New Tactics MENA as a fellow from the LAZORD Foundation in October 2021, under the title of MENA Training Assistant. After finishing his fellowship, Basil was hired in New Tactics as MENA Junior Trainer. Basil is responsible of assisting in the training program and supporting its activities, as well as developing training materials, conducting trainings and mentoring activities. Basil has a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and English languages and literature from The University of Jordan.
Hamza Abu-Shabana | MENA Junior Trainer
Hamza joined New Tactics MENA in April 2023 as a MENA Junior Trainer. Hamza assists the training team in the training program and supports training activities, along with collecting and analyzing post-training reports. Hamza also helps in assessing, developing, and translating training materials. Additionally, he is responsible for conducting training and mentoring activities. Hamza graduated from the University of Jordan with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Shahd Alayed l MENA Training Assistant
Shahd joined New Tactics MENA as a fellow from the LAZORD foundation in October, 2022. under the title of MENA Training Assistant, Shahd is responsible for assisting the MENA Training Manager and MENA Trainers with training programs, support activities as well as co-training. Shahd has previously worked as an E-learning platform's Operations assistant and as an Engineering assistant in a consulting firm. Shahd holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from The University of Jordan.