Tara Kangarlou is an award-winning Iranian-American journalist who has previously worked with news outlets such as NBC, 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. 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 that strictly focuses on supporting the mental well-being of war-torn refugees and IDPs in vulnerable host communities. She is also the author of the award-winning book “The Heartbeat of Iran” that provides an unprecedented insight into the many nuances, textures, and complexities of life in today’s Iran – as told through the stories of ordinary Iranians living inside the country. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service teaching at the intersection of journalism and public diplomacy. Tara 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. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from UCLA and a Master’s Degree in Journalism from USC.