Maha Hilal is a PhD candidate in Justice, Law and Society at American University in Washington, D.C.  Her area of research interest is in the field of human rights, with a focus on survivors of human rights abuses and the adverse consequences they face post-abuse.  She received her Master’s Degree in Counseling and her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She has worked and volunteered at a number of human rights organizations including the Center for Victims of Torture and the Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition International.  She was also a Christine Mirzayan Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences, a Kathryn Davis Peace Fellow for Arabic study at Middlebury Summer Language Schools, and a recipient of the Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship for Arabic study in Morocco.  Upon completing her doctoral degree, she plans to pursue a career as a scholar-practitioner in the fields of human rights and conflict resolution.