Karen Hansen is the Program Coordinator for IJMA3-USA, a nonprofit based in Washington, DC, which works with its sister organization, IJMA3, on ICT for development projects in the Middle East and North Africa. Karen earned her BA in Political Science and International Studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. She specialized in the political culture of the Middle East. Karen studied politics of contemporary Islam at the American University and traveled to Egypt, Jordan, and Syria to complete her undergraduate thesis on the complexities of state relationships in the Levant and the effects of US policy there. She most recently worked with the Syrian Expatriates NGO, a US-based organization that coordinates medical relief and internet security projects. She is interested in international humanitarian law and how it affects public policy on a global scale.