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Our Team

“Let me thank God and the entire
team that visited us in Jos and brought out our stories and published also a most accurate report. 21Wilberforce is repeating history in a good way because you are standing up for the freedom of religion and saving lives.”

Anglican Archbishop Emeritus
Benjamin Kwashi, Jos, Nigeria

Wissam al-Saliby

President

Biographical Summary

Talar Haidostian

Operations & Program Coordinator

Biographical Summary

Trent Martin

Advocacy & Training Coordinator

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Lou Sabatier

Director of Communications

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Curtis Brown

Director

Biographical Summary

Elijah Brown

Director

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James Carr

Director

Biographical Summary

Ross Chandler

Director

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J. Nixon Daniel, III

Director / Chairman

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Amanda Howard

Director

Biographical Summary

Tommy Lent

Director

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Suzii Paynter March

Director

Biographical Summary

Geoffrey Nwankwo

Director

Biographical Summary

Raúl Scialabba

Director

Biographical Summary

Knox Thames

Director

Biographical Summary

Bruce Webb

Director

Biographical Summary

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Knox Thames

For two decades, Knox Thames has promoted the rights of religious minorities and combated persecution, working at the intersection of global affairs, religion, and human rights.

An accomplished foreign policy expert with in-depth knowledge on a range of international affairs issues, his career has taken him to the State Department and two different U.S. government foreign policy commissions. Most recently, Knox served across two administrations as the Special Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South / Central Asia at the U.S. Department of State. The first to serve in this special envoy role, he received a civil service appointment in September 2015 to lead State Department efforts to address the situation of religious minorities in these regions.

Starting in July 2020, Knox left the government to embark on a book writing project based on his experiences and joined the Institute for Global Engagement as a Senior Fellow. He is also a Senior Visiting Expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace, contributing to the Middle East and Religion & Inclusive Societies teams. Both positions are possible thanks to the support of the Templeton Religion Trust.

During his 20-year career in government, Knox also served at the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission), the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), AmeriCorps VISTA, and the U.S. Army War College as an Adjunct Research Professor.

Knox has written widely, including multiple contributions to ForeignPolicy.com, along with articles appearing in TIME, Newsweek, CNN.com, the Times of London, the Harvard Human Rights Journal, the Yale Journal of International Affairs, Christianity Today, and the Georgetown Journal for International Affairs. And he literally wrote the book on religious freedom advocacy, being the initiator and lead author of a first-of-its-kind handbook, “International Religious Freedom Advocacy: A Guide to Organizations, Law and NGOs,” published by Baylor University Press.

He received a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown College (KY), a Juris Doctorate with honors from American University’s Washington College of Law, and a Master’s in International Affairs from the School of International Service at American University. In addition, he studied at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland.

Knox joined the 21Wilberforce Board of Directors in March 2023.