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Work Background
MNC & GSA Affordable Housing Development Finance Consulting FirmsDirector of Operations
Aug. 2023Encinitas, California, United StatesI returned to my love of math and found a cool finance niche in affordable housing development. It's big picture & community impact oriented which I love. Plus my mentor is a badass who convinced me to work for her because she saw how smart I am. She didn't care about my lack of experience in the field. She saw in me an intelligent, creative problem solver and non-traditional thinker. In short, I was capable and refreshing. So she's investing in me and I'm helping her woman owned businesses in California, Washington and Oregon grow. A lot. Pretty bad ass to be working with and for a woman and an immigrant in a male dominated field. We are growing quickly and I'm scaling us up to expand our impact.
M&M DEI ConsultingDEIB Consultant
Jan. 2023Encinitas, California, United StatesAnti-racism & DEIB training, strategic planning & consulting Leadership Development esp for women, POC, young or emerging leaders Coaching https://mirzamelissam.wixsite.com/m-m-dei-consulting
Pollyanna_DEIFacilitator
Jan. 2023 - May. 2024
Klingenstein Center, Teachers College, Columbia UniversityLeadership Mentor and Consultant
Aug. 2020 - Jun. 2021*Mentor graduate students as they progress through their master’s program in education leadership. *Consultant to Klingenstein director on various passion projects.
The Bay School of San FranciscoDean Of Faculty (VP of People)
Jul. 2019 - Jul. 2022San Francisco Bay AreaHired to supervise 55 full time faculty + 10 adjunct faculty, lead them in professional growth and evaluation, diversify faculty and be a strategic thought partner on senior leadership team. *Recruited and hired the most racially diverse cohort (71% faculty of color) in the 2022 hiring season in the school’s 18 year history. *Lobbied for the creation of the school’s first Assistant Head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging role that would have strategic positioning and a direct working relationship with the board of trustees. *Redesigned hiring processes to increase efficiency by 100%. *Implemented anti-bias hiring practices among faculty, staff and administration and trained supervisors & search committees in anti-bias hiring protocols. *Created more equitable leadership pathways by standardizing a process and increasing transparency and communication which led to diversifying leadership at the school by 16%. *Revamped new faculty orientation and onboarding to provide more support, decrease overwhelm and increased retention by 20%.
CATDCWorkshop Facilitator & Conference Organizer
May. 2018 - Jun. 2021*Designed annual statewide Women and Leadership Conference on a committee of 5-7 women for 80-120 participants. *Expanded access to trans women & gender fluid participants through more inclusive, targeted marketing and conference programming. *Increased representation of women of color keynotes by 100% and women of color committee members by 100%. *Collaborated with another woman of color to guide one of the organization’s most popular workshops (maxed out at 25 participants two years in a row) in recent years.
Bay Area Middle Eastern EducatorsFounder
Jan. 2014 - Jun. 2018San Francisco Bay Area*Developed dozens of workshops for educators (25-400 participants) on M.E.N.A. (Middle East and North Africa) and Islam related topics at local, state, and national conferences and at schools including San Francisco University High School, Prospect Sierra, Menlo School. *Delivered keynote speeches at UC Santa Barbara and Katherine Delmar Burke School.
National Association of Independent SchoolsAffinity Group (ERG) Facilitator & Workshop Presenter
Dec. 2012 - Dec. 2017Selected to lead workshops from an applicant pool of thousands on MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) and Muslim topics to audiences of 50-90 participants. *Launched campaign to increase MENA representation at People of Color Conference which led to a 600% increase in MENA representation between 2016 and 2017 in keynote speakers and workshop facilitators. *Guided MENA affinity groups (ERGs): 10-40 participants.
San Francisco University High SchoolTeam Leader, Committee Chair, Conference Organizer, Mentor English Teacher
Aug. 2011 - Jun. 2019San Francisco Bay Area*Chaired 3 committees of 7-12 colleagues to educate faculty on DEIB & anti-racism. *Co-planned 6 annual conferences that offered over 30 workshops and dozens of world renowned keynote speakers for 500 participants (students, faculty, staff, administration). *Managed a team of 7 colleagues across disciplines to address pace and workload of faculty and students which resulted in a radical redesign of the school’s daily schedule. *Innovated curricular redesign in English department (12 members) to increase representation of people of color by 200%, LGBTQIA+ by 100%, immigrants by 150%, and women by 200%.
San Francisco State UniversityTeacher Assistant
Jan. 2008 - Jun. 2009San Francisco Bay Area
UC IrvineStudent Parent Orientation Program Coordinator
Jan. 2004 - Aug. 2004Irvine, CA*Interviewed, hired, trained and supervised volunteer staff of 110 undergraduate students in cultural competency, academic advising, campus resources, community awareness and team building. *Directed one-day and three-day orientation programs on a team of 5 coordinators for over 3,500 new students and parents/ guardians
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