Driss Benmhend grew up in Sefrou, a town at the foot of the Middle Atlas Mountains, about 20 miles south of Fez.  He comes from a long line of “Marmoucha” Imazighen and is an active member of Ait Lafdil Association, which represents the interests of the population in the mountains where his ancestors originated near Imouzzer Marmoucha.  A graduate of l’Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II  and Eastern Michigan University, Mr. Benmhend has a longstanding interest in Amazigh culture and has written on Amazigh-related topics and other current issues for Wafin, Moroccoboard, Al-Bab, Maroc Hebdo, and the Amazigh Voice, of which he is a former editor.  Mr. Benmhend has been a member of the Amazigh Cultural Association in America and has been featured in La Vie Eco.

Mr. Benmhend is based in the Washington D.C. area and in his “day job” works for the federal government as a Biologist with the Biopesticides Division of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.  As part of his work, he represents the agency at conferences in the U.S. and abroad about environmental policy and pesticide regulation issues.