Sami Awad is the Founder and Programs Director of Holy Land Trust. His parents are both Palestinians; his father became a refugee at age nine after his father was killed in the 1948. Sami’s mother is from the Gaza Strip. At a young age Sami was influenced by the teaching of his uncle Mubarak Awad, the Palestinian activist who promoted nonviolent resistance to the occupation during the first Intifada. Through this, Sami was introduced to great leaders and visionaries of the global nonviolence movement; from Jesus to Gandhi to King.

Sami holds a Doctoral Degree in Divinity from the Chicago Theological Seminary, a Masters Degree in International Relations from the American University in Washington D.C. and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Kansas. Sami has engaged himself locally, through promoting and engaging in nonviolence, healing and transformation work and globally through visiting and speaking in different countries, communities, political and religious organizations.