Nawar Shora, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Special Counselor, Transportation Security Administration, Washington, DC

Nawar Shora was born in Damascus, Syria, and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1987, settling in West Virginia. In law school, Mr. Shora focused his studies on cyber law, but after the events of 9/11, he quickly recognized the need for community organizations to proactively engage federal agencies and law enforcement. Mr. Shora developed a nationally recognized training program and accompanying book, The Arab-American Handbook, used by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Mr. Shora was asked to coordinate efforts with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Because of his success with the FBI and other agencies, he was brought in to help with trainings and projects that would eventually come to be known as Countering Violent Extremism.

In late 2009, Mr. Shora decided to dedicate himself full-time to serving his country as a civil servant. Mr. Shora joined the Transportation Security Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor with the Office of the Special Counselor. He was part of a small cadre of staff chosen to help build the foundation of a paradigm shift within the TSA screening process to better balance the security and liberty of the traveling public.

Mr. Shora became a naturalized citizen in 1993.