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Before assuming the role of Director for CAN in March 2023, Matthew Jaber Stiffler served as Research and Content Manager at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) for 12 years. In this position, he worked closely with leadership and staff to ensure that content exhibits, collections, and educational programming accurately reflect the diverse experiences of the Arab American community’s past and present. Matthew came to AANM after receiving his Ph.D. in American Culture and Arab & Muslim American Studies from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. In his time as Research and Content Manager, he initiated the oral history department, and developed the popular Yalla Eat! Culinary Walking Tours, built partnerships with other archives and universities and helped plan and host multiple convenings of the Arab American Studies Association.

In 2015, he worked with leadership across the agency to begin a national research initiative to secure better data on the national Arab American community. Matthew and his team met with scholars of the Arab and Middle East and North African (MENA) communities, convening them annually in Dearborn and other cities. The research team also worked closely with leadership at the U.S. Census Bureau Population Division.