Sherri Kraham Talabany is the President and Executive Director of the Kurdistan-based SEED Foundation and U.S.-based 501(c3) organization, SEED for Change, non-profit development organizations that promote social, educational, and economic development in Kurdistan, Iraq. 

SEED’s mission is to support survivors of violence through comprehensive mental health, case management, and protection services; training and capacity building for of those serving the most vulnerable through SEED’s Center for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services at Koya University; strengthening laws, policies and practices through technical assistance and advocacy, and combating human trafficking. 

Prior to establishing SEED, Sherri worked in the United States Government in Washington, D.C. from 1998 – 2012. She served in the US Department of State and the Millennium Challenge Corporation working on foreign policy and foreign assistance and international development programs including humanitarian, human rights, security, economic, social, and governance programs. 

Her work on Iraq started in 1998 and she later served in Baghdad in 2003. 

Sherri is an American lawyer who earned her Juris Doctorate in 1999 from George Mason University School of Law. She currently resides in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan with her husband and two children. She has been involved in volunteer activities, served on non-profit boards, advisory committees, and is a frequent advocate and public speaker on behalf of the poor and underserved, including vulnerable minorities, displaced people, human trafficking victims. She was recognized by multiple awards from several U.S. Secretaries of State and awarded DevEx’s ‘Top 40 Under 40’ Leaders in International Development.