Emily is the Executive Director of Airwars. Since 2021 she worked as our Research Manager, and took over the leadership of the organisation in June 2022 from founder and former director Chris Woods. Her previous experience includes working in humanitarian aid delivery in the Middle East, with a focus on carrying out research and managing assessment teams in Syria and Libya to help inform humanitarian responses.
Joe is our Director of Programmes, having joined Airwars in 2021 to set up our Investigations Unit. Joe now oversees all areas of innovation at Airwars, including our Open Source Munitions Portal and our media partnerships. Joe has a decade of experience living and working in the Middle East, including as Chief Correspondent for the Palestinian Territories for AFP. His role is to carry out in-depth investigations and lead major media partnerships across a variety of conflict-related topics.
Shihab Halep is our Senior Conflict Researcher, leading our local open source research teams. A refugee from Aleppo, he is our Syria specialist – with extensive experience monitoring and researching strikes from foreign actors in Syria (such as Russia and the US-led Coalition). Shihab additionally leads our research on Gaza, and trains our teams across all conflict areas.
Kathrin is our Operations Coordinator. Kathrin has worked on building systems for community-led organisations, with extensive experience both internationally and in London.
Anna is our US-based Archive Lead. She works on casualty assessments across multiple conflicts and belligerents, and began with Airwars as a volunteer in 2018. She has an MA in American foreign policy and international economics from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and has previously worked in communications and political campaigning.
Clive is our Data Manager. Originally starting with Airwars as our geolocation specialist, Clive has worked across our conflict portfolio verifying the locations of strikes and answering spatial questions internally and externally. He now leads our geospatial department, supplementing the work of both our investigations team and research teams to provide advanced analysis and innovate our practices. Clive holds an MA from the Centre For Research Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Salim Habib is a Baghdad-based Conflict Researcher and journalist who monitors and follows up for us reports of civilians killed and injured in Iraq by US-led Coalition air and artillery strikes; as well as monitoring reports of civilian harm resulting from Turkish actions in northern Syria, and Kurdistan/ northern Iraq. Salim has worked in Iraq as a researcher and field producer for many major international news organisations, including the BBC, the UK’s Channel 4, Al Jazeera English, Al Arabiya and ABC News.
Ryan is our Projects Manager. She comes to Airwars having worked in Kenya and Somaliland researching and evaluating humanitarian programmes. She also spent a number of years living in Amman, Jordan, and has worked on academic projects monitoring the way that the built environment in Gaza is depicted by external and media actors during aerial assaults.
Megan is our Policy Specialist, working across the US, the UK, and several European countries. She previously worked as a Conflict Researcher and Advocacy Officer at the Oxford Research Group’s Remote Warfare Programme and has extensive experience as an organiser within migration-focused projects.
Aasma is our senior investigative reporter in the Investigations and Accountability Unit. She has previously worked as an investigative researcher, reporter and editor in print and documentary journalism. She holds a masters degree in journalism from Columbia University.
Joel is Airwars’ geolocator. He joined the organisation as a geolocation volunteer and has previously worked at Forensic Architecture. He graduated from the Centre for Research Architecture, examining right-wing violence and state negligence within the framework of Germany’s migration policies.
Iryna Chupryna started as a Conflict Researcher for Airwars in December 2022. A war refugee from Ukraine, previously she was engaged in various media monitoring projects focusing, among other things, on the monitoring of Russian war propaganda. She graduated with MSc in International Public Policy from the University College London.
Azul De Monte (she/they) is a visual artist, researcher, and designer. With a BA in Image and Sound Design from the University of Buenos Aires and an MA in Art Praxis from the Dutch Art Institute, Azul’s focus is on translating investigations into audiovisual forms that efficiently portray their processes and conclusions. Azul has been working with Airwars since November 2022.
Rowena is our investigator in the Investigations and Accountability Unit, joining Airwars as a geolocator in our Casualty Recording Unit in October 2023. Rowena received an MA from the Centre for Research Architecture (CRA) at Goldsmiths in 2023.
Nathan is Airwars’ Visual Lead, working in our Investigations and Accountability Unit. Having worked as a digital designer and frontend developer for several years as a freelancer and in various design agencies, Nathan joined Airwars in January 2024. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in communication design from Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand in 2018.
A Palestinian lawyer and human rights researcher, Ahmed joined the Airwars research team as a Conflict Researcher in 2024 – holding a masters degree from the Arab Master’s Program in Human Rights and Democracy at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon. He works on documenting, investigating and lobbying cases related to the Gaza Strip conflict. He previously worked on defending and promoting human rights in Palestine and across the Middle East. His experience focused on legal research, documentation, and policy analysis.
Tomi is a Conflict Researcher focusing on Latin America, with a specialty in maritime OSINT and open source investigations. A USMC veteran, he joined Airwars in October 2025 to monitor developments in the Western Hemisphere. Tomi is a contributor to Bellingcat, and a member of the Bellingcat Volunteer Community. He has worked as a community organizer and advocate for marginalized communities in the United States, and is passionate about bearing witness for victims without voice. Tomi holds an MDiv from Washington Theological Union and a BA in Philosophy from St. John’s University in New York.
See https://scuttlebutt.report/ for Tomi’s articles.
Giacomo Nanni is an Information Designer and researcher focusing on environmental and social justice, storytelling and journalism. He explores the intersection of technology, data and design working with archives and datasets in collaboration with museums, universities and NGOs. At Airwars he oversees the design and development of the Open Source Munitions Portal while creating toolkits and visualisations.
Lily is a Conflict Assessor working on Russian airstrikes, and initially began with Airwars as a volunteer in 2023. She has a MSc in Security Studies from University College London, and a MSc in Global Affairs from King’s College London.
Alexander is a Conflict Researcher, focusing on English-language sources. Having started as a volunteer in 2022, he now works primarily on English-language research, focusing most of his efforts on researching civilian harm in Gaza. His background spans conflict research, human rights, and policy communications, with experience at organisations including the EU Institute for Security Studies, International Crisis Group, and Lawyers for Justice in Libya. He studied at Leiden University.
Pedro is a Researcher at Airwars. He joined the organisation as a volunteer in 2024 and became a researcher in 2025, contributing to the documentation and assessment of civilian harm across multiple conflicts. His work combines open-source intelligence (OSINT), information management, and cross-source verification.
Pedro has a background in data journalism and holds an MSc in Digital Journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London, with training in data analysis, geospatial research, and investigative methods. His broader work has focused on socio-environmental research and the relationship between climate, conflict, and humanitarian risk, including experience working with humanitarian organisations in information management and research roles.
A native Spanish speaker, Pedro regularly works with Spanish-language sources and maintains links with journalists, researchers, and subject-matter experts.
Mubarik Abdi is a Consultant Researcher at Airwars, where he documents and investigates international airstrikes in Somalia using open-sources. Originally a medical student at China Medical University in Shenyang, he pivoted into the research and humanitarian sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequently earning a Public Health degree from Admas University. Previously, Mubarik spent nearly four years at Consilient Research, rising to Research Officer and Fieldwork Manager while leading nationwide studies across governance, security and climate sectors. He is also one of the co-founder of Hargeisa Debates, a youth-led platform advancing inclusive political participation and locally driven dialogue in Somaliland.
James works with Airwars as a volunteer Developmental Consultant, focusing on researching and identifying potential funders and special projects, and supporting Airwars’ strategic development. He is located in the US and has been with Airwars since 2017. James holds a BS degree in Community Health Administration and Planning, focusing on financial modelling and healthcare data analytics, and holds additional certifications in studies of forced migration. James’ most recent role was with a regional healthcare organisation as Vice President of Strategic Planning, where he also managed the corporate foundation.
Assessment
Nike Schnurre, Nighat, Maria Cosette Molijn, Rebecca Passeri, Fabio Cescon, Kat To-Hauser, Laura Went, Josef Garlick, Grace Reid, Mirea Gabry, Anvee Bhutani, Madison Moore, Livia Giannotti
Geolocation
Dana Abbas, Renate Baumane, Luis Beyerbach, Judith Buuts, Fabio Cescon, Jeanne Desurmont, Madeleine Gallop, Sara Le Guillou, Carys Hosking, Subah Kamal, Tamara Keller, George Leonard, Cara June Michel, Kobe Spells, Sam Storey, Hannah Su, Matt Sutherland, Petroc Taylor, Nick Winchester, Rana Zayanderoudi
Policy
Erin Bijl, Jeff Meer, Jessica Garlasco