Mahmoud Jabari is an accomplished young professional who works across sectors, regions and platforms to shape regional collaboration and inform public policy agendas. His professional expertise includes private sector diplomacy and public-private partnerships. At the World Economic Forum, he works with government and business leaders in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to amplify their impact and bring their expertise to new communities. Between 2019-2020, he spearheaded the Forum’s engagement in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, including the planning and implementation of the first-ever Executive Leadership Education Module. Prior to the Forum, Mahmoud was an Economic Development Associate at the Jerusalem-based Quartet Mission. He has spoken at the Annual Conference of the US World Affairs Councils, TEDx Tufts and TEDx Teen New York City (see Talks).
Mahmoud Jabari holds a Master’s of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, with a concentration in International Political Economy. In 2021, he completed the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In April 2018, he was inducted into Tufts University Honos Civicus Society for exemplary civic engagement. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Communication with a minor in Global Studies from Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, which he attended on a merit-based scholarship. He was awarded the 2015 Champlain College Presidential Award for outstanding leadership, and he gave the senior commencement address.
Early Years
Mahmoud Jabari grew up in Hebron, south of Palestine’s West Bank. As a child, he lived in H2, the part of Hebron under Israeli military control. His childhood and teenage years were heavily influenced and shaped by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the rough security conditions of the second Palestinian uprising (intifada). These experiences motivated him at an early age to be actively engaged in his community and its local politics. From 2008 and 2011, he was an active blogger and youth journalist, covering political events in his hometown of Hebron. Following this time, in late 2011, Mahmoud changed course and left Hebron for the United States to pursue his academic studies and better understand how to advocate for his home.
