Alaha Ahrar is a Social Justice and Human Rights expert based in Virginia, USA. She holds a master’s degree in Social Justice and Human Rights from George Mason University, where she completed an outstanding final book focused on survivors of human trafficking and human smuggling.

Ms. Ahrar earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Mary Washington, graduating on time in four years with a triple major in Human Rights, Political Science, and International Affairs, as well as a certificate in Middle Eastern Studies.

She is a multilingual professional fluent in English, Persian (Dari and Farsi), Hindi, Pashto, and Urdu, with working proficiency in Arabic and Spanish. She also possesses advanced computer and research skills.

Ms. Ahrar has collaborated with numerous national and international organizations, leading and initiating impactful projects that have benefited communities in the United States, Afghanistan, Canada, and countries within the European Union.

She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of International Kindness Sharing (IKS), a 501(c)(3) international nonprofit organization based in Virginia, and as a Gender Consultant working across the United States, Europe, and Asia. In addition, she has served on the Board of Directors of International World Poetry (Canada) and the Afghan … Read More »

Ryla Students are visiting our clubHelp us give a warm welcome to this year’s RYLA students. In February they took part in the RYLA leadership gathering, and this morning they’re joining us to share what they learned and how the experience has shaped them. We’re delighted to have them with us.

Dhardon Sharlin – Where Mind and Media Meet Moral FuturesDhardon Sharling is an interdisciplinary scholar-activist with more than 20 years of experience in public advocacy communication, democracy promotion, and advancing gender, social and climate justice. She serves as a Lecturer in Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she earned her PhD in Communication and a Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies. Her research examines how human communication practices – especially those shaped by emerging media – advance social change, with particular attention to gender and climate justice. Drawing on intersections among communication studies, new media, critical feminist theory, cultural anthropology, and lived experience, Dhardon seeks to generate knowledge that challenges and intervenes in systemic structures of power and injustice.

Dhardon’s career spans leadership roles, including Information Secretary of the Central Tibetan Administration and elected Member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. She has also served as a … Read More »

Bart Marcois is a career diplomat with deep and broad experience in highly regulated economic sectors. After the Foreign Service he served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy. During the first Trump Administration he led a team at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to achieve a key White House policy, streamlining the permitting process for very large infrastructure projects.He has worked in the European defense and energy sectors, opening markets for American products and systems. As an official in the Republican Party of Virginia, he has worked on each of President Trump’s campaigns since 2016.

We are reopening the discussion of the Bylaws, as we experienced technical difficulties during the Club Assembly on March 26th.Please make sure to join us virtually this morning.

Bita Golshan Lotfi – Attorney, Private PracticeBita, the daughter of first‑generation Iranian immigrants, has dedicated her career to supporting refugees and immigrants in the Washington, D.C. area. She joined IROC after her daughter Ariana founded the organization in 2019, helping expand its mission and impact.

She holds degrees from Wittenberg University and the University of Dayton School of Law, and is a member of the Illinois and D.C. Bar Associations as well as AILA. Bita spent more than a decade with the immigration law firm Fragomen and now works as a business immigration consultant.

Alison BostromAllison holds an MSc in International Development from the University of Edinburgh and an MS in Astronomy & Astrophysics. She has experience in monitoring & evaluation, specializing in supporting organizations in collecting and using data to understand and improve their programming. Allison oversees most of IROC’s programs while managing the organization’s volunteers and partner relationships.

Cees Roels (LLM Leiden University Netherlands) has spent over four decades working in some of the world’s most challenging places as a diplomat of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His work took him from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Balkans, the Great Lakes region in Africa and Asia (India, Japan, Indonesia), often right into the heart of conflict and transition.During the surge in Afghanistan in 2010, Cees worked closely with US and UK military leaders on the ground, spending long stretches in frontline areas like Kandahar. He was also in Kabul during its fall in 2021, giving him a rare and very personal view of events as they unfolded. He was dealing with Afghanistan from 2002.Cees is known for his clear, honest insights and his ability to cut through complexity with real-world experience. After retiring late 2021, he continues to share those insights through his writing and public discussions.