MAHA SYED

non-profit advisor

Maha Syed is a lifelong women’s rights advocate who has worked with underserved groups domestically and abroad. She currently serves as faculty, coach, and consultant on various projects with the Shriver Center where she designs and conducts training for nonprofits to approach their work with an anti-racist lens.

Her previous work ranges from serving in the Peace Corps as an Economic Development Advisor in the Dominican Republic where she worked with a coop of women furniture makers to improve business practices, to the Director of Programs at Chhaya CDC, a small nonprofit serving the South Asian diaspora in housing stability, asset building, and civic engagement. She also served as the Executive Director of the statewide New York Legal Services Coalition, where, among other roles, she spearheaded the Coalition in legislative meetings, budget hearings, and substantive advocacy.

Outside of work, Maha collaborated in writing and performing in a New York Times critic's pick documentary theater production on first-hand stories of the Muslim experience in America and coming of age after 9/11. This production toured the country and opened up conversations about Muslims in America for thousands of audience members over five years.

Maha holds a master’s degree in International Affairs, Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in International Studies from the University of Chicago.