Peace, welcome

I am Nama—a child of North African immigrants, an American Muslim, a woman of color, a mother, a creative, a change-facilitator, an educator, a social justice advocate, and a breath-worker; my journey is ongoing, and here is part of my story…

I was constantly put in a box of stereotypes because of my identities, so I sought out ways to resist.

I began as a photographer and mixed media artist crafting stories to disrupt the status quo. after a few years, I yearned for more learning, and pursued a PhD in sociocultural anthropology, studying media and social activism.

I was also blessed with a child during this time--motherhood initiated an unexpected healing journey.

equipped with bell hooks’ framework that education is a “practice of freedom,” I started my academic career, eager to teach, research, and write about social change. I was blessed with another child. Then came COVID. a lot changed during this time, including myself. With guidance, I got out of my head, grounded outside, and started connecting my mind, body, and soul; my healing was germinating.

I started unschooling my children. Instead of studying change, I leaned into change-work. I facilitated anti-racism trainings with RISE for Racial Justice, completed a MuslimARC fellowship, and an intergroup dialogue certification.

I continue learning, and sharing what I learn through anthropology courses at CCAD, and social studies, art, and nature based offerings to children in our homeschool group. with some friends, I co-founded amanah outsiders, a nonprofit that provides nature based programming to muslim youth.

pause, breathe, reflect,

pause, breathe, reflect,

now, my healing is fruiting—I work towards aligning my purpose, values, and life-choices. Pausing, breathing, and reflecting became central to sustain my spiritual practice, which nourishes my justice education work. my mentor introduced me to the power of our breath. Practicing breath-work invited more inner peace and intentional change. I completed a Flow Breath-work certification to bring to reclaim our essence.

By bringing together breath-work, justice facilitation, and creative expression, I hold space for women of color to release, relearn, and rewrite their story, so we can work towards the change we want to see in the world.