Badr Elbendary

Badr is the Program Coordinator for the Freedom of Expression Urgent Assistance Fund at Vital Voices’ Crisis Response Team. The Freedom of Expression Urgent Assistance Fund provides urgent funding to women and girls who have experienced an acute threat to their wellbeing while practicing their right to freedom of opinion and expression. Prior joining the Crisis Response Team, Badr worked on Vital Voices’ Voices Against Violence Urgent Assistance Fund providing grant management support and regional expertise on MENA.

Prior to joining Vital Voices, Badr worked with grassroots organizations across the MENA region focusing on issues areas related to the media’s independence, policy research and advocacy, and human rights. Badr is a survivor of police violence in the face of freedom of expression, and worked as an Economic Journalist in Egypt for 8 years prior to obtaining his MAIR degree from Syracuse University focused on conflict resolution and Peacebuilding.

What makes a great leader? What makes a great leader the ability to discern when is it appropriate for you to step up and when is it best to step back. A great leader is compassionate and is the one who knows how to transform hardships into opportunities for growth. A great leader also knows that healing isn’t just a work within, but is also a collective process.