Michael Youash is Project Director of the Iraq Sustainable Democracy Project, a Washington, DC based project focusing on the condition of minorities in Iraq's democratic transition. ISDP sees minorities as the best indicator for the long-term sustainability of Iraq’s transition to democracy and a vital element in reinforcing moderation in the face of extremism in Iraq and the Middle East. ISDP’s work is entering its fourth year, and has been the source of various policy initiatives, including the effort to better understand the use of US Government funds in relation to minority communities. Its work also underpins the initiative targeting the Nineveh Plain with emergency funding for religious minority internally-displaced persons (IDPs) that are amassing in such regions in substantial numbers. ISDP’s research also meets the demands of various Iraqi minority parliamentarians, other Iraqi minority politicians, and coordinates with an array of Iraqi civil society partners. Before joining the ISDP, Michael Youash worked for over 4 years in South Africa, developing its parliamentary budget oversight framework and operationalizing South Africa’s constitutional requirement for public participation in the legislative process. He also served the Executive Committee of the African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption.