I’m an educator, Innovator, and creative with a passion for holistic learning, shared dreaming, and collective liberation.
Born in Bangladesh, and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, I grew up working in my family’s Tex-Mex restaurant, organizing community programs, caring for my younger siblings, and exploring the world through reading, art, and a love for nature. I bring the values of care, resilience, creativity, and collaboration from these formative years into all my endeavors. I’ve called the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area my home for more than a decade and love my serving local, national, and global communities.
My creative, curatorial work is driven by my passion for sustained learning, interactivity, and community storytelling. I am inspired by stories and questions central to South Asian, Muslim, and immigrant experiences. Intersectionality, accessibility, and courage are core principles of how I curate and design projects. Recently, I have been preoccupied with the concept of community care and multi-generational wisdom as cultural inheritance, prioritizing tacit knowledge and knowledge produced by women. Past projects have included Little Syria (performance and educational resources) with artist Omar Offendum, Culture Labs on Intersectionality and Imagined Futures, and the Muslim Writers’ Salon at the Asian American Literature Festival.
As an educator and facilitator, I craft curriculum and content utilizing evidence-based practices and a holistic, learner-focused approach. I specialize in creating interdisciplinary educational courses and engagements with a focus on the engaged humanities. I’m currently an Educational Developer with the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) at Georgetown University, where I work at the intersection of inclusive pedagogy, educational innovation, faculty development, and community building.
I also have 15+ years of program development, strategic planning, and management experience to ensure the effective execution of any initiative, program, exhibition, or course.
PAST Professional Experience
At the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), I oversaw the design and planning of the Center's programs, with a focus on learner-centered design, community partnerships, and the advancement of JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion). I won an institutional award in 2019 for my role in designing and launching the Center’s groundbreaking series of Culture Labs, a series of exhibitions that reimagines the museum experience as a collaborative, participatory, socially and environmentally responsible space where people can come as their true selves. Read the Culture Lab Manifesto, co-authored by our team on the Poetry Foundation website or here.
My writing can be found in "Change is Required: Preparing for the Post-Pandemic Museum," published by Rowman & Littlefield and “APA101: Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture at the Smithsonian in 101 Objects.” Prior to the Smithsonian, I worked on global professional learning programs for the Department of State at Meridian International Center and social justice programs at Busboys and Poets. Throughout my career, I have worked to elevate the voices of underrepresented communities and create spaces for dialogue, growth, and transformation. I’m also always looking for ways to collaborate on projects at the intersection of education, community-building, and positive social change.
georgetown university
As an Educational Developer at the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) at Georgetown, I serve as a subject matter expert for institutional work related to teaching, learning, and JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion). I care deeply about making learning accessible to all students and that students, in turn, care to learn. In the era of GenAI, it is more important than ever to consider equity, deep learning, creativity, and community-based approaches to teaching and learning.
I’m also a graduate of the Master’s in Learning, Design, and Technology program. Through this transformative experience, I researched, designed, and wrote about the most pressing topics within education, including trauma-informed teaching, climate change education, high-impact practices for underserved students, engagement analytics for adult learners, and anti-racist speculative design. Learn more about my graduate projects here.
Visit the Master’s in Learning, Design, and Technology page here to learn more. Please reach out if you are interested in applying and have any questions!
Outside of Work and School
Outside of work, I can be found gardening, reading, cultivating community, making art, and DJing as one-half of Shuno Re (@shuno.re), playing under-heard sounds from Bengal, South Asia, and the broader South Asian diaspora. In 2018 I was featured in Time Magazine’s Women Across America for my efforts in creating soulful, inspiring spaces for Muslim-American women and was recognized by President Biden and the White House Office of Engagement for my leadership in the Muslim-American community in 2023. I would not be who I am without the values instilled in me by my family and the support given to me by my community. Below I’ve linked a few organizations that are doing important work for my communities both locally and globally.
“Our Mission: To promote sexual health, uproot gendered violence, and advance reproductive justice by establishing choice and access for the most impacted Muslims.”
“DC’s longest running, dopest Hip-Hop based arts educational non-profit. We are here to break down those barriers that keep our cities' outstanding young creatives from taking full advantage of the opportunities that come along with living in the Nation’s Capital.”
“Founded in Bangladesh, BRAC is an international nonprofit that designs proven, scalable solutions that equip people to lift themselves out of poverty and achieve their potential.”