Dr. Azza (Az-zah) Karam is the founding President and CEO of Lead Integrity - a global consultancy firm dedicated to serving the common good, through the leadership, competence and integrity, of women professionals, inspired by their (diverse) faiths.  She serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (Jordan), International Alert (UK), the Temple of Understanding, and the Parliament of World Religions (USA). She is a member of the United Nations’ Secretary General High Level Advisory Board on Multilateralism, and was named one of the top 500 Most Influential Muslims. 

Azza has worked in international NGOs, serving as President and CEO of the Women’s Learning Partnership; and Secretary General of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (from 2019-2023; and as Director of it’s Women’s Programmes, and Middle East Advisor, from 2000-2004). 

She served at the United Nations for two decades, where she Coordinated the Arab Human Development Reports, co-founded and Chaired the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion - with over 20 UN System bodies - and founded and convened its Multi Faith Advisory Council, as part of the 500+ global NGO database she compiled and coordinated. During her tenure at the United Nations, Azza was a Lead Facilitator for UN system wide peer to peer “Strategic Learning Exchanges” on 'Religion, Development and Diplomacy'. 

She has worked with other intergovernmental organisations (the OSCE, the EU, and International IDEA) in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and East and Central Asia, where she set up, coordinated and facilitated global capacity building programmes on Women and Politics, as well as Democratisation, human rights and peacebuilding. 

Throughout, she continues to serve in Academia. Since she completed her PhD in Environmental Sciences (University of Amsterdam) - with a focus on governance and political Islam -  she has lectured in various universities (including West Point Military Academy and the Vrij University of Amsterdam). She is widely published, and her work has been translated into multiple languages. 

In 2022, she was awarded a Doctorate in Humane Letters honoris causa, by John Cabot University (Rome, Italy). She has received multiple other awards, including for her work on/in the United Nations, as well as in/on Interfaith work and Culture. 

Born in Egypt, Azza is also a citizen of the Netherlands and resides in New York.