In this episode, Raeshma talks to Selma Abinader, an organizational consultant who has dedicated her career to working with nonprofits and public institutions. Hers is also a journey of self-discovery, from her upbringing in a small coal mining town to embracing her Lebanese heritage…along the way finding power in the significance of ancestral wisdom, and community.

Selma shares some strategies that have helped her cultivate belonging.

You can learn more about Selma's work at abinadergroup.com.

Sometimes soup is much more than soup. In this episode, Shalini Agarwal describes how her creative practice blossomed beyond the conventional confines of architecture, leading her to the heart of her ancestral heritage through cooking.  Along the way, we’ll spice this conversation with talk of decolonization, imposter syndrome and affinity spaces. 

More about Shalini:
Shalini Agrawal is informed by the diversity of her roles as architect, designer, facilitator, teacher and mother of 2 daughters. She brings over 25 years of hands-on experience in community-engaged practice in design and architecture. She is Director of Pathways to Equity, a design leadership program for social equity. Pathways to Equity was a recipient of the 2020 NOMA NAACP SEED Award for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She is Director of Programs for Open Architecture Collaborative; founder of FIELD Design Network, a collective that builds capacity for women of color in design and architecture. She is also founder and principal of Public Design for Equity.

Shalini is Associate Professor in Critical Ethnic Studies, Interdisciplinary Studio and the Decolonial School at California College of the Arts, and teaches at the intersection of creative practice and community engagement. Shalini’s research and practice focuses on revealing the historical legacies of colonization in architecture and design and dismantling its lasting impacts. She is faculty and core organizer for Dark Matter University and sits on the board of Architects, Designers, Planners for Social Responsibility.  Shalini a contributing author to Design for Democracy: Techniques for Collective Creativity and Public Interest Design Education Guidebook, and is the recipient of 2019 AIA San Francisco’s Community Alliance Award for Education.

Have you stopped and smelled the flowers today? Today’s guest most definitely has! In this episode, Raeshma talks to Barnali Ghosh about her art and activism, more specifically her project 'Unfaithful Re/creations,' a series of self portraits that honor California native flowers using sari fabrics and Odissi dance from India. Barnali Ghosh (@berkeleywali) is a designer, artist, storyteller, and transportation justice advocate based in Berkeley, California. Her work attempts to bridge homes and homelands, and create spaces for belonging.

More about Barnali:
Barnali Ghosh co-founded the award-winning Berkeley South Asian Radical History Walking Tour, which uses storytelling and theater to share narratives of local South Asian American resistance movements, from immigrant freedom fighters in the 1910s, to queer and feminist organizing a century later.

Ghosh's latest project is a series of photographic self portraits that highlight the beauty of California’s native flowers, and the fabrics of South Asia. You can see her work on instagram @berkeleywali and @berkeleysouthasian. Prints, posters and 2023 calendars of her flower recreations are available at www.barnalighosh.art