Since 2007, Ismael Montana has been closely involved with WARA’s various research and resource environment. Under WARA’s collaborative research network, Montana has worked with scholars interested in promotion of research in northwest Africa, a region still heavily underrepresented in the academic research. Between 2009 and 2011, he was an active participant in the WARA and the American Institute of Maghreb Studies (AIMS) series of international conferences called Saharan Crossroads: Views from North and South held in Tangier and Niger. More recently, Montana has worked with Dr. Abu Bah, former WARA board member, and secured institutional membership for Northern Illinois University and through my academic activities in West Africa brought its membership to the attention of scholars and academic institutions in Mali, Nigeria, and Ghana.
As a Board member in WARA, Montana intends to continue to help expand WARA institutional membership in the US, Canada, and West Africa. Montana would also like to work with WARA’s board members to foster and promote the organization’s role in promoting academic research and cooperation among West Africa and academic institutions in the United States. Ismael Montana is a historian of slavery in Muslim Africa. Originally from the Ghana, he has a diverse background and training in African, Islamic and Middle Eastern history. He holds masters’ degrees in History, and Diplomacy and International Relations, and received his PhD in African History from York University (Toronto).