Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess is an activist, author, Muslim refugee and authority on rebuilding societies and civic institutions that have fallen into chaos. In fact, she’s a professor who lectures on radicalization, corruption and elite formation in societies at Columbia University. Her just-released memoir, THE CAT I NEVER NAMED: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival, is a harrowing account of how her family survived the Bosnian war’s ethnic cleansing campaign in the early 90’s.

Amra’s journey has been described as Anne Frank’s if Frank hadn’t perished during the Holocaust.Her background and expertise converge with so many of America’s current cultural touch points: radicalization and the rise of hate groups, White supremacy, far right activism, BLM, racism, tribalism, exploding Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment, civil unrest and social disintegration, and trying to stay hopeful in a country you don’t recognize. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess is an expert because she has firsthand experience and she has since devoted her life to understanding how and why societies fall apart. Her advice is sought by US policymakers in the US Dept. of State as well as leaders of NGO’s and foreign governments.