Hilary Rantisi is the Associate Director of the Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative (RCPI)—an initiative of Religion and Public Life that seeks to combine a complex understanding of religion with a policy approach on timely issues in the Middle East region. Working across Harvard in collaboration with partners in the Middle East, Rantisi is responsible for setting and executing strategy for the RCPI through a robust program of coursework, a practitioner Fellows program, student experiential learning opportunities, annual symposia, public events, and online training opportunities. Rantisi also co-instructs the annual experiental learning course Learning in Context: Narratives of Displacement and Belonging.

Rantisi has served as the Director of the Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School of Government and as a Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative Senior Fellow. Rantisi received her Master’s degree in Middle East Studies from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Harvard, she worked with civil society organizations in Israel-Palestine, which focused on religion, politics, and grassroots mobilization efforts in Jerusalem. In 1999 she co-edited the book Our Story, and has been an active public speaker on issues pertaining to the Middle East region. Rantisi is a native Arabic speaker.