Kroc Institute Mediation Program Director Laurie Nathan is pleased to announce that Fiana (Syeda) Arbab has been appointed as a student associate with the Mediation Program. This appointment will strengthen the Program's efforts to promote social justice at Notre Dame and in the South Bend community.
Arbab is a rising second year Master of Global Affairs student at the Keough School, with a concentration in sustainable development and a graduate minor in peace studies.
As a Bangladeshi-Muslim-American woman, Fiana sits at the intersection of several complex identities. She is the board secretary of Rising Voices of Asian American Families, an organization and network that allows her to engage in authentic conversation and transformative work with people who are directly affected by Asian identity politics and systemic oppression.
She also serves as a board member for the Michigan Student Power Alliance, helping to build progressive student power across the state of Michigan. Formerly, she was the Statewide Youth Organizer for the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion (MRDI) in Detroit.
In 2017, Arbab graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn with a double major in women’s and gender studies and psychology, and a minor in sociology. In addition to serving as Student Body President of UM-Dearborn, Arbab was the President and Co-Founder of the Social Justice League, a campus community organization dedicated to educating and mobilizing students around social justice issues.