Tara Kangarlou is an award-winning global affairs journalist, author and humanitarian who has previously worked with news outlets such as NBC-LA, CNN, CNN International, and Al Jazeera America. She is a frequent on-air contributor for various international news outlets covering the MENA region and global affairs and writes regularly for TIME magazine as well as other news platforms. She has also spent much time covering the rise and fall of ISIS, the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, as well as other pressing humanitarian issues worldwide. Born out of her extensive reporting and firsthand knowledge of the global refugee crisis, in 2016, she founded Art of Hope, the first American nonprofit organization that’s strictly committed to supporting the mental well-being of war-torn refugees and IDPs in vulnerable host communities worldwide. She is also the author of the award-winning book “The Heartbeat of Iran“, which is the first book available to a global audience that provides an unprecedented insight into the many nuances, textures, and complexities of real life in today’s Iran – as told through the stories of ordinary Iranians living inside the country. The Heartbeat of Iran is the result of over three years of reporting, research, and writing that far from being a monolithic narrative on Iran, provides readers with an in-depth understanding of a country that remains a mystery to much of the rest of the world. Tara is currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service teaching at the intersection of journalism and public diplomacy. She was born and raised in Tehran, Iran until she moved to the States in her late teens. At the moment, she splits her time between London and Washington DC. Tara has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from UCLA and a Master’s Degree in Journalism from USC and is fully bilingual in English and Farsi.