Executive Vice-President for Content (Editor-in-Chief)
Amjad Atallah is the executive vice president for content (editor-in-chief) for Al Jazeera America. Previously, Amjad served as the regional director of the Americas for Al Jazeera Media Network; he joined Al Jazeera English as Bureau Chief for the Americas in 2011.
During Amjad's tenure with Al Jazeera, U.S.-based programs and reporting from the Americas for Al Jazeera English won several prestigious journalism awards including The Dupont Columbia Award for reporting from Haiti, The Gracie for reporting on abortion in Ireland, The People's Voice Webby Award and a Royal Television Society award for Al Jazeera's digital magazine “The Stream,” two Communicator Awards for Al Jazeera's coverage of the BP oil spill and fracking in America, the NABJ Salute to Excellence Award for a documentary on gentrification in Washington, D.C. neighborhoods, and several CINE Golden Eagle Awards.
Amjad was also one of the senior executives on the launch team for Al Jazeera America, as well as AJ+, Al Jazeera’s newest digital channel.
Before joining Al Jazeera, Amjad was a director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, and the co-editor of the Middle East Channel for Foreign Policy magazine. Prior to his work at New America, Amjad served in senior advocacy and advisory roles in conflict and post-conflict situations including directing international policy and advocacy efforts on behalf of Darfuris and advising Palestinian negotiations with the U.S. and Israel. Before joining Al Jazeera, he published dozens of articles and lectured widely throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Israel, Sudan, and South Africa.
Amjad also co-founded Women for Women International in 1993 and served on its Board of Directors until 2012. During his tenure with Women for Women, the organization created and expanded its support services for women survivors of war to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Kosova, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Iraq and South Sudan.
Amjad was born and raised in Gary, Indiana and received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Virginia and received his J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law. He is married to Stephanie J. Bagot, a practicing attorney.