Anisa Mehdi

Emmy Award-winning Broadcast Journalist

Executive Director of the Abraham Path Initiative

Anisa Mehdi is executive director of the Abraham Path Initiative, a not-for-profit that connects people from all over the world to the marvelous traditions of hospitality in Southwest Asia (aka “the Middle East”). Travelers walk from village to village, immersing themselves in the local experience.

Anisa is an Iraqi American of Muslim and Christian religious heritage. Her career in mainstream American news broadcasting began in 1982 at WBZ-TV, Boston, and from there went to CBS News, New York.  She is the first American to report the hajj pilgrimage for television from Mecca (1998) and subsequently made documentaries on the hajj for National Geographic (2003) and PBS (2014). She was Executive Producer of Frontline’s “Muslims” (2002), and producer/director for ABC News Nightline’s series on Islam (2002, 2004). Anisa was a commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered (1998-2010), and a monthly global perspectives columnist for Stratfor.com (2015-2018). She consulted to the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), and the US Department of State International Educational Programs. She has won two Emmys Awards, many awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, and a CINE Golden Eagle, for her reporting on religion and the arts.

A graduate of Wellesley College and the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, Anisa is currently completing a master’s degree in Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Jordan, training young professionals in the art of visual storytelling. An accomplished flutist, she performed with a flamenco jazz ensemble and at the Conservatory of Seville during her junior year abroad.  Anisa played in the MIT Symphony Orchestra, the Livingston Symphony Orchestra, and is a founding member of the Maplewood Flute Quartet. She sits on the board of trustees of the Esalen Institute and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.