Cohort I
Hanan Abdel-Khalek
Ambassador, Nakshi Creates
Hanan Abdel Khalek is London based freelance journalist for the Huffpost blogs UK and a masters student at SOAS University who studies Media in the Middle East. A graduate of the University of Westminster in English literature and French, Hanan currently works a marketing and communications officer at HHUGS charity, is the editor at Productive Muslim and is the Ambassador of Nakashi Creates-- a non-profit grass-root initiative seeking to empower the lives of the women and children of Bangladesh through the intricacy of art.
Sumaira Alwani
Director of Media, Aga Khan Foundation
A journalist and story writer, Sumaira Alwani recently completed her Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Regina where she worked on the Project of Rape Culture Hysteria in Pakistan and Canada as well as on Domestic Violence issues. Having previously worked at Web Enthusiasts, Brandsynario, AAJ TV and in the Media and News Department at Bahria University, Sumaira currently works as the Director of Media, Marketing and Communication for The Aga Khan Foundation.
Bian Elkhatib
Northwestern University
Bian Elkhatib is a multimedia journalist based in Washington, D.C., where she conceives, shoots and produces videos ranging from quick-turn social media pieces to long-form documentaries. Having recently graduated with a master’s in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Elkhatib has worked extensively for a range of publications to cover stories focused on social justice, politics, diversity, women’s issues, immigrants and refugees, the Middle East, education and international affairs. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, YES! Magazine, Roll Call, Belt Magazine, and the Social Justice News Nexus, among others.
Bobbie Foster
University of Maryland
Bobbie Foster is a first year PhD student at the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. Foster's research interests focus on the creation of Internet memes by social media users to add commentary to current events reported in the news. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, her work rangers from a master's thesis that provided content analysis of memes posted to 2012 Presidential Election Facebook pages to working as the Assistant Director in the Center for Ethics in Journalism, of the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism.
Nour Halabi
University of Pennsylvania
Nour Halabi is a PhD student writing her dissertation contrasting immigration policy with discourses of immigrants and refugees in the media. Her research focuses on the concept of hospitality and how it is crucial to extending welcome to immigrants and refugees with profound consequences for their ability to achieve a "sense of feeling at home" in their adopted countries. Having started her education with a license in International Languages and Civilizations awarded by the Paris (IV) Sorbonne Abu Dhabi and a MSc. in Comparative Political Science - Politics and Markets from the London School of Economics and Political Science, Nour has since taught widely on Arab culture, media anthropology and popular culture both in the positions of instructor and guest lecturer.
Jennifer Hijazi
News Assistant, PBS NewsHour
Jennifer Hijazi is a Washington, D.C based journalist for PBS NewsHour with an interest in diversity and breaking the cycle of misrepresentation of Arab and Muslim female voices. Having graduated with dual master’s degrees in Journalism and Middle Eastern and North African Studies from the University of Arizona, her project included four multimedia reports on borderlands in the Middle East and North America, including stories from the Syrian-Lebanese border, the Blackfeet Indian reservation on the Canadian border and the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona. Hijazi's thesis received awards from the UA School of Journalism, as well as from the Arizona Press Club, the UA Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies and the Arts Foundation of Tucson and Southern Arizona.
Heena Khan
Washington State University
Heena Khan is a doctoral student of communication at Washington State University. Her education background began with a Bachelors of Arts from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, followed by a Masters of Business Economics from Delhi University, a postgraduate from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, and a Masters of Arts in English Literature from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Khan now studies the Oriental and Occidental assumptions about the veiled Muslim women, and taps into their diverse voices. She is particularly interested in the Muslim women’s perceptions of the nature and role of fashion in their communities and the extent to which women use the hijab to assert or reframe their gender and Muslim identities, resisting the stereotypes imposed on them.
Yehyun Kim
Reporter, Columbian Missourian
University of Missouri
Yehyun Kim is a master’s student studying multimedia at the Missouri School of Journalism with the intent to tell the story of Muslim women in a compelling way through different forms of media such as video, photography and writing. Kim completed her Bachelor of Arts in English at Dongduk Women’s University in Seoul, Korea and has since worked at a number of locations such as the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Voices of New York, Center for Community and Ethnic Media, Bait Current Affairs Magazine, The Foreign Press Center and at the Columbia Missourian.
Hunter Martin
American University
Hunter Martin is a first year graduate student at the American University in Washington D.C. where she is pursuing a degree in Global Media. Martin began her education at Iowa State University and graduated with with dual degrees in Women’s Studies and Public Relations. It was after witnessing Islamic life abroad that Martin's passion for women’s advocacy expanded to fighting Islamaphobia in the Midwest and now, a research journalist, her chosen career path is that of continual learning and a goal to accurately convey the stories of underrepresented populations.
Myles Mason
Doctoral Student, University of Colorado
Myles Mason is currently pursuing a PhD in Communication at University of Colorado—Boulder after having completed his MA in Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Syracuse University and BA in English at Georgia Gwinnett College. His research interests include Affect Theory, Queer Theory, Rhetorical Theory and Criticism, and Critical Cultural Studies. He is interested in how public discourses of Muslims intersect with those of disaffected and allegedly-alienated sectors of dominant society and is tracing the affective claims among Trump supporters that they have been overlooked-- noticed clear alignment in these arguments with support for a Muslim registry. Mason merges theories of affect with his investigation of representation, tracing the ways that the “disaffected” marshall that “alienation” in ways that are clearly shaping cultural politics.
Eryn Mathewson
Graduate Student, Columbia University
Eryn Mathewson's educational profile includes Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and focused on the impact of prisons and chronic health problems on African American communities and a Master of Science from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she covered conflict involving race, class, and gender in the US and Abroad. During the 2016 campaign season she worked as an assistant public radio producer for The Takeaway, a nationally syndicated news program where her goal was to highlight voices and stories from diverse communities as often as possible. Mathewson is dedicated to covering issues related to race, class and gender.
Atia Musazay
University of California, Berkeley
Atia Musazay is a journalist committed to telling original and well-‐researched stories on various platforms.Having completed her MA in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley and BA in English Language and Composition at the University of Washington, Musazay has worked in many places including the International Examiner, Pudget Sound Business Journal, The Seattle Times, Optimedia Seattle, Optimedia Seattle, Oakland North and Fusion. Her master's work reported on a team of young women in Afghanistan who climb mountains and reflected on what it’s like to be affected disproportionately by war as a woman. Musazay wishes to continue broadening her understanding of the Muslim women experience in hopes that it will provide guidance on fleshing out her own story ideas into a publishable piece.
Mira Nabulsi
Reporter, KPFA Radio
Mira Nabulsi works with the Pacifica KPFA Radio in Berkeley, California. Born and raised in Nablus, Palestine she first moved to the US in 2009 to work as a Research Associate with the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Initiative at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Although originally a BS in Computer Science, Nabulsi continued her work in AMED as a Graduate Assistant and then pursued her MA in Communication Studies at SFSU. Her objective is to leverage her multi-disciplinary education and experience in research to produce thorough research and multimedia on different areas centering those most vulnerable. She is interested in social movements, news, rhetoric, ICT and much more.
Amy Nelson
UN-Chapel Hill
Amy Nelson is a Muslim mother, educator, journalist and filmmaker which has long influenced her interest in the representation and misrepresentation of Muslims in American Media. Her background includes eight years as a reporter in public radio, nine years as a Montessori educator, and two years as a Fellow and master’s candidate at UNC’s School of Media and Journalism. She looks forward to connecting with this team of experts and their collective body of knowledge to help shape, inform, and improve her work as a journalist.
Mozart Pastrano
Columbia University
Mozart Pastrano is a graduate student at Columbia University's Journalism School currently exploring how Muslim communities in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao are trying to go around the emerging restrictions brought about by the rise of radical Islam in the island-region. Recently selected by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism as the recipient, for the academic year 2017-2018, of the competitive Morton Mintz Grant for an international reporting project on a social policy issue. Pastrano has also received recognition from the U.S. State Department, World Urban Forum 2014 at the UN-Habitat, Philippine Press Institute, Asia Society and many others.
Charlotte Prud'Homme
American University
Charlotte Prud’Homme is a master’s student enrolled in the Global Media program at the American University in Washington, D.C. She also completed her undergraduate work there, focusing on sustainable development, food security, gender issues and global health. Her diverse global background has led her to work in countries such as Kenya, Guatemala, Antigua, Croatia and Tibet whilst her work experience includes things such as the American University's Office of Sustainability, UDC College of Urban Agriculture, Food Tank Summit and AU Hydroponics Initiative.
Layla Quran
Broadcast News Assistant, PBS NewsHour
Layla Quran is a MA candidate of Journalism and Near Eastern Studies at New York University and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied International Relations and Journalism. Her experience in Journalism includes PBS Newshour, WNYC Newsroom, the Associated Press in Jordan, Al Jazeera English and more. In the past she has also attended the Duke University Center for Documentary Studies and interned for investigative units.
Pooja Singh
Columbia University
Pooja Singh is a master's student at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she focuses on the study of art and cultural issues, including gender, immigration, Renaissance art and human rights. Her previous educational experience includes Sardar Patel College of Communication & Management in Delhi and the College of Vocational Studies at Delhi University. She has over 10 years of experience in print and online journalism and before attending Columbia University, she was working as a features writer for Mint, one of India’s leading newspapers, where she covered culture, politics, women's rights, health, and technology. As part of the job, she closely followed and documented how women are depicted and treated at workplaces, in their homes, and in their everyday lives.
Aviva Stahl
Independent Journalist, NYU School of Professional Studies
Aviva Stahl is an investigative journalist and graduate of the NYU School of Professional Studies, London School of Economics and McGill University. Her B.A. in International Development Studies from McGill would lead her to LSE where she would complete her M.Sc. in Sociology: Race. Ethnicity and Postcolonial Studies writing her dissertation called “Of Moazzam Begg, Afghan Women and Amnesty International: How the framing of ‘rights controversies’ in the context of the War on Terror forecloses the emancipatory potentialities of human rights”. Her past work experience includes The Nation magazine, Solitary Watch, CAGE and more.
Kelsey Whipple
Doctoral Student, University of Texas at Austin