Introducing the 2019 APF Fellows

August 2019

The American Pakistan Foundation is proud to introduce the 2019 APF Fellows.

The APF Fellows Program is designed for U.S. based students and professionals who are committed to creating positive socio-economic change in Pakistan. The 2019 class is the third cohort of the APF Fellows Program which launched in 2017.

For eight weeks during the summer, fellows work on Pakistan-based development projects managed by the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP).

Serving over 3.5 million households in need through 216,000 community organizations, NRSP projects teach APF Fellows how to foster social mobilization of rural communities while also providing them valuable professional skills and a rich cultural experience.

Sign up here to receive the 2020 APF Fellows Program application once it's released.

Meet the Fellows

Fatimah Alyas will begin graduate school at the University of Oxford in Fall 2019. She currently works as a Project Coordinator at the American Pakistan Foundation. She previously served as a Peacekeeping Adviser at the United Nations Headquarters with the Permanent Mission of Pakistan, and as an Editorial Intern at the Council on Foreign Relations. She has conducted field research in India, South Africa, and Brazil, and is passionate about political science and development studies. She graduated with a degree in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies from Columbia University.

Aatqa Azhar graduated from the University of Washington where she majored in Global Studies, and Law, Economics, and Public Policy. She was a Digital Communications Intern for the U.S. Department of State, where she worked to strengthen ties between the U.S. and Pakistan through government-sponsored exchange programs. She was a Political Campaign Intern with the Washington State Senate and Event Coordinator for the University of Washington Muslim Student Association. She plans to pursue graduate work in International Relations or Public Policy.

Syed Daniyal is a recent Yalow Scholar graduate of CUNY Hunter College, where he majored in Human Biology and served as the President of the Pre-Health Organization. He worked as an educator at Al-Iman Saturday School and has also volunteered with the Heart to Heart campaign for three years, actively combating health inequalities in New York City. He is interested in global health, human rights, and combating health inequities in Pakistan.

Madiha Faisal is an undergraduate student at the University of Houston pursuing a double major in Marketing and Entrepreneurship with a minor in Sales. She seeks to create companies that will benefit women worldwide. She volunteered on a National Geographic Service Project to Fiji where she helped create a community center for local villagers. She is currently enrolled in the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, where she runs an Amazon business and is creating a start-up with NASA. Madiha volunteers with Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston and Amaanah Refugee Services.

Sabah Hussain is a Quantitative Economics and Econometrics major at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is interested in the intersection of economics and public policy to address political and socio-economic inequality. On campus, she is involved in the Illinois Business Consulting, Enactus, and Business Council groups. Sabah's long-term career goal is to become an environmental economist and conduct research on issues surrounding the use of sustainable resources and economic growth in South and Southeast Asia.

Omar Ilyas graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a degree in Public Health. As a student, he was dedicated to decreasing health and economic inequities within disenfranchised communities. He worked on programs to resettle refugees; volunteered in free health clinics in Detroit; provided digital literacy skills to formerly incarcerated individuals; and was involved in the creation of Paani, a non-profit organization focused on alleviating the growing water crisis in Pakistan. Omar is the recipient of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Spirit Award. He is interested in expanding his work to focus on international inequities.

Areej Jahangir is pursuing a M.A. Degree in Global Policy at the Pardee School of Global Development at Boston University. She received a B.A. in Environmental Science and Policy from Smith College. In 2017, Areej was a Berkeley Urdu Language Program (BULPIP) Fellow in Pakistan and reached an advanced level of Urdu language proficiency. She plans to focus future research on water security in Pakistan. Areej also works with abuse survivors, the homeless, and disability groups in the United States.

Ghazal Javaid is a pre-medical student majoring in Human Biology and minoring in Human Rights at Hunter College. She is the President of the Pre-Health Organization at Hunter College and serves on the executive board of the National Alliance on Mental Health on campus. She volunteers at the New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Emergency Department. Last year, she served as a Research Intern at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service. Along with her dream of becoming a doctor, she seeks to advocate for under-served communities in Pakistan.

Laila Jiwani is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree candidate studying International Development with a focus on economics. Prior to this, Laila worked at the Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas and served as a Fellow with the Aga Khan Foundation, focusing on rural development and civil society programs in Kenya. She taught French and English in Morocco. She is interested in the ability of micro-enterprise development to spark sustainable socioeconomic change.

Aqdas Khudadad is an undergraduate student studying Political Science and Religion at Centre College. She is interested in women's empowerment, international development, and human rights. As a campus Bonner Leader, she is dedicated to community service and civic engagement. Through UndocuPeers, she advocates for undocumented students on campus. She studied abroad in Morocco and Spain and previously interned at the Court Appointed Special Advocates; the Law Enforcement Action Partnership; and the D.C. office of Congressman Andre Carson. Aqdas hopes to attend law school after graduation.