Dr. Amani Ballour

Dr. Amani Ballour is a Syrian pediatrician program advocacy officer of the Syrian American Medical Society. She is best known for her life-saving work during the Syrian civil war, chronicled in the award-winning documentary, "The Cave." The film follows her work as the first female hospital director in Syria, where she endured a 5-year siege of her neighborhood and was subjected to chemical weapons attacks, aerial bombardments, and barrel bombs.

She has since released a memoir, also titled "The Cave" about her experiences.

For her bravery and courage in providing care to the most vulnerable Syrians, Dr. Amani was awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Prize from the Council of Europe in January 2020, the first non-European to receive the prize.

She has briefed the UN Security Council and been profiled in "The New York Times," "Nightline," and "The Guardian." She currently works as the Program Advocacy Officer at The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), and as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

In 2016, at 29 years old, Ballour was elected and promoted as the hospital director. She became the first and only woman to manage a hospital in Syria. She ran the hospital until the Assad regime quelled the last resistance in 2018. Since then, Ballour has been exiled. She was forced to flee Syria and spent some time living in a refugee camp in Turkey.