Yerevan Saeed

Yerevan Saeed serves as the Barzani Scholar-in-Residence in the Department of Politics, Governance & Economics at American University’s School of International Service (SIS), concurrently directing the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace. His academic appointments include prior roles as Lecturer at the University of Kurdistan Hewler, Visiting Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW), and Associate Fellow at the Middle East Research Institute.

His research centers on political economy, energy politics, and conflict resolution with acute focus on Kurdish studies across Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Gulf states, and the Levant. This specialization stems from doctoral work at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, where his dissertation analyzed oil’s impact on secessionist movements in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Media engagement forms a critical dimension of his scholarship—he is frequently cited by CNN, NPR, and S&P Global while contributing to policy outlets including The New Lines Institute, AGSIW, and Al Jazeera. His advocacy leverages personal survival of the Halabja chemical attack and childhood refugee experiences to address genocide awareness at institutions like the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Capitol Hill.

Notable professional background includes White House correspondence for Rudaw TV (2015), Middle East specialist work at Stratfor (2013), and frontline journalism during Iraq’s conflict era (2003–2007) for The New York Times and BBC. His TEDx talk articulates five resilience principles forged through adversity.