Mehlaqa Samdani is the founder and director of the Community Alliance for Peace and Justice in Massachusetts, focusing on South Asia and Middle East policy advocacy. She previously led Critical Connections, educating the public on Islamophobia, civil rights, and U.S. foreign policy, and served as a peacebuilding associate at the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding, addressing sectarian violence in Pakistan (2016-2018). She previously served as an adjunct fellow at CSIS, researching civil society’s role in Pakistan’s stability, and a research analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations, studying women’s impact in the Muslim world. She has also been involved with peace initiatives between India and Pakistan. Her writings have appeared in Foreign Policy, the Huffington Post, Foreign Policy in Focus, Express Tribune, and she’s been a guest on NPR. She has a graduate degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University)