ABOUT FREE TO RUN

Founded in 2014 by ultra runner and human rights lawyer, Stephanie Case, Free to Run began with simple hiking activities that were requested by a small group of young women in the Central Highlands region of Afghanistan. Since then, Free to Run has impacted thousands of individuals and their communities in five countries, most notably Afghanistan where the organization was founded, and Iraq where our largest-scale programs operate today.

 
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OUR WORK IS…

  • Rights-Based: Rooted in girls’ and women’s rights as an ethical and practical imperative.

  • Girl/Young Woman-Led: Our sessions are led by Community Development Leaders - young alumni of the program who want to further develop their leadership skills.

  • Community-Owned: Programs are exclusively designed, implemented, and evaluated by people from the community.

  • Diversely Integrated: We bring together participants from diverse ethno-religious and cultural backgrounds as a grassroots strategy to improve peacebuilding and stability in places of conflict.

  • Safety-Conscious: Sport participation and rights activism is a counter-cultural act in most of the communities where we operate. We are experts in understanding how to ensure mental, emotional, physical, and political safety of our participants and staff. 

  • On the Edge: Our work exists at the places where it’s most challenging to be assigned female at birth, in places where few others dare to work. We exist where our work is most acutely relevant and has the greatest impact. We focus on segments of the population that experience deep, intersectional discrimination based on gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, and/or migration/displacement. 

 

 

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OUR TEAM

We're a diverse team, but we share a deep commitment to human rights, gender equality and freedom of movement. We believe passionately in the mission of Free to Run and together we’re working to create a positive impact on the lives of women and girls who are living in regions of conflict.

 GLOBAL TEAM

 

SARAH MURRAY
Executive Director

ERICKA KRIEDEL
Development Officer

JADE IRONS
Director of Development and Communications

RAHMATULLAH HAMDARD
Afghanistan Consultant

 

IRAQ TEAM

 

INSHERAH MUSA
Iraq Country Director

SHILAN ALI
Senior Programs Officer

SHIREEN IDO
Program Officer (Duhok/Shariya)

BATOUL JAMMAL
Program Officer (Erbil/Kasnazan)

SAHIRA HASSAN
Trainer (Duhok/Shariya)

NADINE DINHA
Trainer (Erbil/Kasnazan)

 

AREEN FARSAT
Program Officer (Duhok/Shariya)

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

STEPHANIE CASE
Founder/Board Member

LEAH ANATHAN
Board Chair

LAMA HATTAB
Board Member

VANESSA GARCIA-BRITO
Board Member

MEG SASELU
Board Secretary

LYDIAH MUTIMBANYOKA
Board Member

 

ALEX BANCROFT
Treasurer

SAHRA KABOLI-NEJAD
Board Member

JAMES WILLCOX
Board Member

DIVYA SOORYAKUMAR
Board Member

ROBERT LANKENAU
Board Member

SARAH MURRAY
Ex Officio Board Member & Exec. Director

All board members currently working for the United Nations volunteer for Free to Run and act in their personal capacity.