Dr. Elie Abouaoun is the director of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) North Africa Programs and of the MENA regional Hub in Tunisia. Dr. Abouaoun joined USIP after serving as the executive director of the Arab Human Rights Fund. Prior to being the acting country director and program manager of the Danish Refugee Council in Iraq, Dr. Abouaoun managed humanitarian, human rights, and development projects in the MENA region.

Dr. Abouaoun serves as a senior trainer and consultant for various international organizations since 1996, including the Council of Europe. He was appointed a member of the Reference Group, established by the Directorate of Education-Council of Europe (2001), to supervise the drafting of COMPASS, a manual for human rights education. He later supervised the manual's adaptation and translation into Arabic to be distributed throughout the MENA region.

Dr. Abouaoun holds a visiting teaching position in several universities in the MENA including at the Saint Joseph University (Lebanon). In addition to being an international fellow of the Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, he joined the Religion and Security Council as a senior nonresident fellow and regularly contributes to publications throughout the MENA region and the United States, while also serving on the board of directors for several regional organizations.

Dr. Abouaoun holds a master’s in business administration and management and is a doctor of dental surgery.