Lina Sergie Attar

Lina Sergie Attar is a Syrian-American architect and writer from Aleppo, Syria. She is the founder and CEO of Karam Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Lake Forest, IL. Karam means generosity in Arabic and its mission is to build a better future for Syrian refugee youth through innovative education and community-driven aid. Named one of 50 Women Groundbreakers Changing the World in 2020 by Worth Magazine, her articles and essays have been published in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Foreign Policy, Politico, The Atlantic, and BBC. Lina has spoken about the Syrian humanitarian crisis at schools, universities, and institutions including RISD, Harvard, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern University, Phillips Exeter Academy, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, New America, the Aspen Institute, and others. Lina studied architecture at the University of Aleppo and continued her graduate studies at the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lina is a co-founder of the How Many More? project which is dedicated to remembering those who have lost their lives in the Syrian conflict. She serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of The Syria Campaign, and is a non-resident fellow at New America.