Sinthia Shabnam is the director of RISE, a community for college students and young professionals at the Islamic Association of Raleigh. She also is a public speaker, policy advocate, community organizer, policy researcher, spoken word artist, and an avid community member at her local masjid and Muslim nonprofits. She has written for NC Policy Watch, Al Jazeera News, ABC 11, and more as part of her work in social justice, activism, and advocating for young Muslim Americans in civic engagement and service. Sinthia has worked in state, local and federal government, including for Rep. Ilhan Omar’s office in Congress, the NC Supreme Court Chief Justice and the NC State Legislature. She helped bridge the gap in policy education for Muslims as senior field organizer at MPower Change with Linda Sarsour. She double majored in Political Science and Sociology and earned a Masters in Public Administration at North Carolina State University.