Omar Shakir is an alumnus of both Stanford University (2007) and Stanford Law School (2013). While in law school, he was deeply involved with the International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic (IHR&CRC). Omar has devoted his career to human rights work. Omar currently works as the Israel and Palestine Director in Middle East and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW) overseeing research and advocacy on human rights abuses in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. His office investigates and documents abuses by a range of actors and calls for greater protection of human rights. Prior to this, Omar covered Egypt for HRW and worked at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where he represented men detained in Guantánamo Bay.