Rasha Aqeedi

New Lines is an American magazine for ideas and writing from around the world, specializing in long-form essays and reportage that aim to make the past relevant and the present grounded in history.

• Conducted vigorous research on cultural backgrounds and historical significance of all pitched stories and applied best models to convey them to English-speaking readers.
• Writing original content including 4 most-read articles.
• Managed all non-English content, commissioning suitable translators and localization vendors, setting timetables, and editing final product.
• Led and managed coverage of multiple thematic projects (war, pop culture) from conceptual stage through to launch.
• Managed team of writers and junior editors to deliver accurate and engaging content.
• Implement storytelling method in original content to convey situations and contexts that explain broader political and social points to readers.
• Pitched content strategies and managed asset acquisition.

The New Lines Institute is a policy think tank base in Washington D.C. that focuses on issues at the intersection of U.S. foreign policy and global geopolitics.

• Created, developed, and headed the Non-State Actors program publishing 3 papers, 8 analytic essays, and 1 forecast monthly.

• Managed translation for non-English content (Russian, Arabic, German, and Mandarin) and oversaw localization process.

• Commissioned academics and practitioners to author essays and papers on various non-state actors globally and edited from start to finish.

• Met regularly with members of Foreign Relations Committee, congressional staff, and ambassadors to discuss security issues.

• Provided commentary for various media outlets in English and Arabic on non-state actors and geopolitical events.

Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN) is the non-profit news organization that operates Alhurra Television and Radio Sawa under a grant from the U.S. Congress-funded US Global Media. Alhurra and Radio Sawa provide America an undistorted line of communication with the people of the Middle East.

• Oversaw, trained and developed writers and associates, assistants and junior editors to optimize production and quality of work.
• Developed publication website, blogs and social media presence, achieving 80% organic growth.
• Established editorial direction and publication policies, KPIs, and procedures and monitored and maintained functional consistency.

• Oversaw team restructure in the U.S. and Iraq of 30

journalists, video producers, and content creators.

• Led the platform's communication and external affairs

with stakeholders, securing funding from Congress.

• Utilized concepts of localization to achieve successful exchange of ideas and thoughts between different cultures in Iraq and between U.S. and Middle East.
• Introduced roots problem analyses and routine AB testing to improve audience engagement and interaction.
• Managed budgets for marketing and advertisement on social media, vendors, and freelancers.
• Ensured 24hour coverage of news by organizing work shifts for myself and staff.
• Crisis management by taking necessary measures to secure the safety of staff amid massive media blackout. Through rigorous fact-checking and verification, Raise Your Voice avoided pitfalls of inaccurate coverage and applied highest standards of journalism.

Al-Mesbar is a Dubai-based research, consultancy, and publishing center that delivers incisive research and analysis on political and social movements in the Middle East. Al-Mesbar publishes a monthly book of 12-15 chapters.

• Managed translation and localization of non-Arabic chapters of center's monthly book.
• Research on cultural significances of content prior to commissioning localization vendors.
• Setting timetables and meeting all deadlines before publishing
• Managed team of 20 freelance translators and provided Arabic to English (vice versa) translation for urgent tasks.
• Arranged localization measures for conferences and workshops
• Provided live interpretation during conferences and workshops when needed including various United Nations-sponsored event