Dr. Fadi Hilani is a Senior Academic and Research Fellow-in-Residence at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
Born in Aleppo, Syria, Dr. Hilani was raised in the United Kingdom and Syria. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in English Language and Literature at Aleppo University in Syria and earned a Master’s Degree and Ph.D. in Linguistics from Essex University in the United Kingdom. In Syria, he served as a Professor of Linguistics at Aleppo University and as the Acting Director of the Languages and Translation Department at the Higher Military Academy in Damascus. He also served as a Professor of Linguistics at Isra University in Jordan before accepting a faculty position at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
Dr. Hilani also earned a Master’s Degree in Near Eastern Studies from New York University, with focus on Middle East foreign policy and U.S. relations. Following his graduation from NYU, he accepted a Summer Internship Fellowship with the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and participated in the Youth Leadership Development Program, known also as the Modal Arab League. He served in a research and editing internship position at the Arab Center Washington DC. There, he published a policy paper on "Disaster Politics and Earthquake Diplomacy in Syria and Turkey" (March 2023). Prior to his current appointment at the National Council, Dr. Hilani served as Academic Advisor for the Council’s 2023 University Student Summer Internship Program and its accompanying seminar on "Arabia and the Gulf."