Who We Are
A nonprofit founded by Syrian journalists, for Syrian journalists — and for the country that needs them.
Brainstorming for Developing Accuracy Press strategy — Washington D.C 2017
Founded from necessity, not opportunity
Zaid Mastou had been working as a journalist for four years when the Syrian revolution began in 2011. Two weeks after protests started, he was arrested for his journalism work. That arrest, and what came after it, led directly to the founding of the Accuracy Press Institute.
After his release, Zaid began informally training the civilian journalists who had emerged from the uprising — people with cameras and conviction, but no professional formation. He saw that what Syria needed was not just individual journalists, but a functioning journalism profession: with standards, training, ethics, and institutions.
The formal decision to build that institution came over falafel at a Syrian refugee-owned restaurant in Gaziantep, Turkey — a conversation between Zaid and Karen Volker, who brought years of institutional management experience and had previously managed a MEPI project. Qusai Aljamous, with decades of journalism experience, joined as co-founder.
API was formally established in 2016. It started with online training, moved to in-person programs in Gaziantep, then expanded to Istanbul, Beirut, and — with the fall of the Assad regime — inside Syria itself, with a goal to reach every Syrian city.
"Syria had spent 60 years without a free press. When the revolution started, thousands of ordinary people became journalists overnight — with no training, no ethics, no institutions. We decided to change that."Zaid Mastou — Founder & CEO
An American diplomat with over 35 years in human rights, peacebuilding, and civil society development, Karen currently serves as the first female Executive Director of the United Religions Initiative. She previously directed the U.S. State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative, overseeing a $530 million assistance portfolio across MENA.
Karen Volker is an American diplomat, international development professional, and civil society leader with more than 35 years of experience advancing human rights, pluralism, peacebuilding, and violence prevention.
In March 2025, Volker became the first woman to serve as Executive Director of the United Religions Initiative (URI), a global grassroots interfaith network dedicated to promoting enduring cooperation, ending religiously motivated violence, and building cultures of peace, justice, and healing. She joined URI in January 2023 as Director of Partnership and Violence Prevention, where she worked to expand strategic partnerships, strengthen URI’s violence-prevention efforts, and represent the organization in its engagement with the United Nations and other international partners.
Before joining URI, Volker spent a decade at Cure Violence Global, an international organization that approaches violence as a preventable public-health problem. She rose to the position of Vice President, served as a principal liaison to the organization’s Board of Directors, and helped introduce its violence-prevention model in new countries and cultural contexts.
Volker previously completed more than 25 years of service as a United States diplomat. From 2009 to 2011, she served first as Deputy Director and then as Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative. In that role, she provided strategic direction and managed a $530 million assistance portfolio supporting civil society and promoting pluralistic and prosperous societies across the Middle East and North Africa.
Her diplomatic career also included service as Chief of Staff to the Special Coordinator for Middle East Transitions, U.S. Coordinator for the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe, a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, and Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Her overseas assignments included Budapest, Brussels, and London.
Volker holds a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University. As Board Co-Chair of Accuracy Press Institute, she contributes extensive experience in institutional leadership, international partnerships, civil society development, strategic governance, and conflict and violence prevention.
A Syrian-American investigative journalist who founded API after being arrested while covering Syria’s 2011 uprising, Zaid has trained more than 300 journalists across MENA in investigative reporting, fact-checking, and conflict-sensitive journalism. He also directs Accuracy Productions and directed the documentary “Doomsday Rehearsal.”
Mohamad Zaid Mastou, professionally known as Zaid Mastou, is a Syrian-American investigative journalist, media executive, trainer, filmmaker, and photographer with two decades of experience in journalism and media development.
Mastou is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Accuracy Press Institute. Through the Institute and other media-development initiatives, he has trained and mentored more than 300 journalists across the Middle East and North Africa in investigative reporting, news writing, fact-checking, media ethics, newsroom management, and conflict-sensitive journalism.
Since 2022, Mastou has also served as founder and Executive Producer of Accuracy Productions, an international production company that works with journalists, photographers, videographers, and filmmakers, including professionals operating in conflict zones.
From 2019 to 2023, Mastou served as Editor-in-Chief of Journalism for Change, the organization behind IranWire Arabic. He supervised more than 30 staff members and contributors and led the production of investigations, fact-checks, and regional reporting on censorship, disinformation, and human-rights violations.
Between 2012 and 2015, Mastou worked as a reporter for Middle East Broadcasting Networks in Washington, D.C. He was also an editor and reporter for “Syria Stories,” an MBN documentary project that followed six Syrians living through the country’s conflict.
Earlier, Mastou worked as a freelance correspondent and photographer for Al Arabiya News Network. In April 2011, Syrian security forces arrested him while he was covering anti-government protests. He was detained for nearly two months, prompting public appeals for his release from international press-freedom and human-rights organizations.
Mastou’s consultancy experience includes developing and delivering a fact-checking program for the National Democratic Institute in Guinea, and advising Cure Violence on program development for its Syria portfolio.
As a filmmaker, Mastou directed and produced the feature documentary “Doomsday Rehearsal,” documenting the human consequences of the February 2023 earthquake in Syria and Türkiye. The film premiered in Damascus at the National Library of Syria in February 2026.
Mastou earned a Master of Arts in Communication: Journalism and Public Affairs from American University in Washington, D.C., in 2025. He holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism from L’Institut Supérieur de l’Information et de la Communication in Morocco, and in law and political science from Mohammed V University.
A business journalist and media executive with over 20 years across the Middle East and U.S., Qusai currently serves as Editor of AsharqBusiness.com with Bloomberg. He has co-founded multiple media and publishing ventures and led journalism training programs across the Arab world.
Qusai Aljamous is a media executive, business journalist, financial analyst, and trainer with more than two decades of experience in journalism, broadcasting, publishing, organizational leadership, and business development across the Middle East and the United States.
He currently serves as Editor of AsharqBusiness.com, part of Asharq Business with Bloomberg. His work encompasses business and financial journalism, editorial management, and coverage of companies, markets, investment, energy, and regional and global economic developments. He has also conducted interviews with senior executives and international business leaders at major events, including the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Earlier in his career, Aljamous served as Executive Editor-in-Chief of Al Roeya Al Iqtissadiya, an Arabic-language business newspaper in the UAE, and held a managing-editor position at the Saudi Research and Publishing Company.
Aljamous also has extensive television experience, producing and anchoring business programs for CNBC Arabia in Dubai and Alhurra Television in Virginia, and appearing as a financial analyst on international and regional news channels.
Alongside his editorial career, Aljamous has co-founded and managed press, publishing, media-production, economic-consulting, and motion-picture ventures in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, including co-founding Accuracy Press Institute.
In 2025, he co-led an economic-journalism training program in Damascus that helped journalists improve their reporting on financial institutions and develop professional sources in the banking and capital-markets sectors.
He holds an MBA from the University of Leicester and a certificate in nonprofit organization development.
Jelena oversees API's program design and monitoring, evaluation, and learning framework. She brings structured program management to API's training operations across multiple cities and countries.
Ahmad leads API's press and digital operations, overseeing the Arabic journalism platform and digital publications that serve Syrian journalists across the region.
Mazhar manages the day-to-day operations of API's training programs — coordinating logistics, scheduling, and delivery to ensure every cohort runs smoothly across all locations.
Usama directs API's flagship financial journalism program, designing curricula and leading training that has equipped Syrian journalists with data journalism and economic reporting skills.
Kamal supports the financial journalism program as assistant director, developing training materials and mentoring participants in data and investigative financial reporting.