Guidance, expertise, and perspective advancing women’s rights
Our Board of Advisors brings together experienced professionals, journalists, writers, and advocates who offer knowledge, perspective, and strategic guidance to WORDS. Their diverse expertise strengthens our work to advance women’s rights, dignity, freedom of expression, media freedom, and meaningful participation in society.
Shawn McCarthy is an independent writer/editor and Senior Counsel with Sussex Strategy Group, focusing on climate change policy and the clean energy transition. He retired in 2019 after a 40-year career as a reporter, including 13 years as national correspondent at The Globe and Mail covering energy and climate change. He is Past President and remains on the executive of World Press Freedom Canada.
MJ Daoud is the Editor-in-Chief of The What If, a German peacebuilding organization that aims to transform conflict zones into hubs of understanding and inspiration. She is passionate about solution-based and constructive journalism, drawing on her experience reporting from conflict zones to explore how narratives shape conflict, and what can be done to transform them.
Hamid Obaidi is a media researcher, journalist, and media development expert with over a decade of experience in journalism, research, strategic communications, and media coordination. His work focuses on journalism in conflict and crisis settings, exile media, journalistic culture, press freedom, and access to information. He previously conducted research at Leipzig University on journalistic culture, media practices, and the Afghan media landscape, with his work published in international journals and presented at academic and policy forums. Before relocating to Germany, Obaidi served as an assistant professor of journalism at Kabul University. He later founded the Afghanistan Media Support Organisation (AMSO), which supports journalists at risk and advocates for press freedom, and the Media Coordination Hub (MCH), which connects international journalists, researchers, policymakers, and organisations with trusted information networks and verified sources across Afghanistan. Education: PhD Candidate at Leipzig University, Germany; postgraduate degree in Journalism and Communication from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China; Bachelor's degree in Journalism from Kabul University, Afghanistan.
Nazifa Jalali is the Executive Director of Dialogue Hub for Common Ground and a member of the HRD Plus Steering Committee.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law, with a focus on Judiciary and Prosecution, and a Semi Bachelor’s degree in Islamic Sharia. She has also completed fellowships and professional training in human rights documentation, documentation of human rights violations, and political leadership.
With a background in media and journalism, Nazifa has worked at the intersection of human rights, civil society, documentation, media, and dialogue. Her work focuses particularly on strengthening Afghan civil society, supporting human rights defenders, documenting human rights violations, and promoting inclusive dialogue and accountability.
Women Organization for Rights, Dignity and Speech. A Canadian non-profit protecting women journalists, human rights defenders, and civic leaders worldwide.
