Leadership & Vision
Scholars · Advocates · Champions of Democracy
Dr. Charles Jacobs
President & Co-Founder
01 / Co-Founder
President · Activist · Author · Abolitionist
"A Harvard-educated abolitionist from Newark who risked his life to free enslaved Africans — and never stopped fighting for truth, justice, and human dignity."
A native of Newark, New Jersey, Dr. Charles Jacobs has spent more than three decades pursuing justice on a global scale. He holds a Doctor of Education from Harvard University (1988) and has channeled that foundation into a life of extraordinary moral courage and civic leadership.
In 1993, Dr. Jacobs co-founded the American Anti-Slavery Group alongside Muslim and Christian Africans, shining an international spotlight on the enslavement of thousands of black African Christians in Sudan. He personally flew into Sudan on clandestine rescue missions, helping to liberate enslaved men, women, and children. For this work, he was presented with the inaugural Boston Freedom Award by Coretta Scott King and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in 2000. He has testified before Congress multiple times and was personally invited to the White House for the signing of the Sudan Peace Act in 2002.
Named by The Forward as one of America's top 50 Jewish leaders, Dr. Jacobs has founded or co-founded multiple impactful organizations dedicated to combating antisemitism, radical extremism, and the erosion of democratic values.
Education
Ed.D., Harvard University, 1988 · Social Policy
Award
Boston Freedom Award, presented by Coretta Scott King (2000)
Media
CNN, CBS, Fox News, NPR, PBS; published in The New York Times & The Boston Globe
Recognition
Named one of America's Top 50 Jewish Leaders by The Forward
Organizations Founded
Dr. Walid Phares
Vice-President & Co-Founder
02 / Co-Founder
Vice-President · Professor · Policy Advisor · Author
"A native of Beirut who became one of America's foremost voices on terrorism, the Middle East, and the struggle for democracy across the Arab world."
Born in Lebanon in 1957, Dr. Walid Phares immigrated to the United States in 1990, bringing with him a lifetime of lived experience and academic rigor. A dual Lebanese-American citizen, he earned degrees in Law and Political Science in Beirut, a Master's in International Law from the Université de Lyon in France, and a Ph.D. in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the University of Miami.
For over three decades, Dr. Phares has been at the forefront of counterterrorism analysis and Middle East scholarship. He has advised the U.S. Congress, the European Parliament, the United Nations Security Council, and served as Foreign Policy Advisor to presidential campaigns of both Mitt Romney (2012) and Donald Trump (2016). He is widely recognized as the only analyst who publicly predicted the Arab Spring — a full year before it occurred — in his 2010 book The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East.
Education
Ph.D., International Relations & Strategic Studies, University of Miami
Media
Fox News Terrorism Expert since 2007; NBC/MSNBC Analyst 2003–2006; Newsmax 2022–present
Academic Posts
National Defense University, Florida Atlantic University, Intelligence University (DIA)
Languages
English · Arabic · French
Notable Contributions
"The defense of freedom requires both the scholar who understands history and the activist who refuses to accept injustice — together, they make change possible."
The Founding Vision
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