Samuel Rizk is the Head of Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding & Responsive Institutions (CPPRI) at the UNDP Crisis Bureau in New York. Prior to this position he has served as the Manager of the UNDP/RBAS Sub-Regional Response Facility (SRF) based in Amman, Jordan, supporting the organization’s regional response to the Syria crisis, in close collaboration with UNHCR. From July 2015 to October 2017, Sam was the UNDP Country Director in Syria, and prior to that, from 2012 to 2015 he served as Senior Programme Advisor with the RBAS in New York.
Sam also served as Peace and Development Advisor (PDA) in Sudan (2010-2012) and as Conflict Prevention Advisor in Yemen (2009-2010). Sam holds a BA in Political Science from Hanover College (Indiana, USA), an MA in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo (AUC), and a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR) at George Mason University (2012).
