Personal History: 

I was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. My family immigrated to America when I was a baby. I grew up in New York City in Jamaica, Queens. I grew up in poverty, which means I lacked experiences, support, and opportunities that many of us take for granted, such as the privacy of your own room! I am currently living in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the Frogtown neighborhood.

Current Volunteer/Organizing History:

abusmall.jpg

  • Boardmember of the Frogtown Neighborhood Association
  • Homework Tutor Volunteer at Rondo Community Library
  • Community Activist/Organizer [currently focused on Community Safety]

Education History:

  • John Hopkins University
  • MS Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, (2013)
  • BS Economic Analysis w/Honors & BA Environmental Economics, SUNY Binghamton (2010)
    • Graduated w/ Summa Cum Laude

Recent Work History:

775075_10208206107180859_4102167182609818069_o

In the public sector, I was the Education Data Analyst for South Washington County Schools for over three years. I worked under the IT department and the REA (Research Evaluation Accountability) department. This put me in an interesting situation, where I can interact with teachers/ principals directly and administrative. I was both the designer and  (SQL) programmer, which meant by imagination was the limit. My big projects include the Vision Card, Progress Trajectory Map, and “DFI” report [See the Data page]. Here are some lessons learned:

  • Design: Encourage staff/user to become “data detectives”
  • Design: Create individual reports to assist on everyday tasks for specialized
  • Design: Proactive vs Reactive Reports. It is important we support students BEFORE they fall under the cracks
  • Accountability: Create new fairer metrics beyond state requirements.
  • Data: Transform data to see inequities in student performance
  • Organization: Building trust with others within and outside our department
  • Organization: Build relationships with authentic communication (i.e. Don’t Email)
  • Organization: How can we build a more positive culture and authentic communication with colleagues