SHABNAM

Community Activist

Shabnam has been an active speaker and volunteer for the Liberty’s Promise organization. Liberty’s Promise supports low-income immigrant youth, ages 15-21, by providing them with means to become actively involved in civic life, pursue higher education, and embark upon meaningful careers.

In 2014, Shabnam initiated the No Three Terms movement in response to a Prince George’s County referendum (Question J), calling for an increase of term limits for the county council. More information about this initiative can be found on: http://www.nothreeterms.com/. The movement raised a great deal of awareness and was a success in defeating Question J. 

Lobby Delegates is a platform that Shabnam co-found in 2016 to enable constituents to contact super delegates during the Democratic National Convention. She is a big believer in providing citizens a platform to remain civically engaged and close the barrier between the public and their elected officials. More information about her work with this platform can be found here: http://lobbydelegates.com/. 

As an undergrad, Shabnam worked on a Health Literacy Campaign in Capitol Heights MD per a seed grant provided by the state of Maryland. She spoke with local steering committee members in capitol heights to understand how health literacy could be best promoted in the community. She supported the promotion of a Health Literacy booklet and plan of action that provided community members the resources necessary to better understand their health system and their role in it.

Shabnam served as a participant and trip leader for the Maryland Alternative Breaks Program. She spent the year learning about a variety of social issues. Simultaneously she would work with local community partners in leading community service trips to better understand and connect with those particular social challenges. Her first experience took her to Knoxville, TN to better understand domestic violence, it’s trends, and it’s effects. She then volunteered there at the Family Justice center. Shabnam led a trip the following year to Nashville, TN to engage with Immigrant and Refugee communities and understand the challenges that are raised with immigration in our country. She served in various DACA clinics and worked with resettlement programs in Nashville and D.C. She also served in Pine Ridge, SD the following year to connect with the Oglala Lakota community and better understand their history, rights, and challenges in our current day and age.

Upon entering the University of Maryland, Shabnam’s passion for education and socioeconomic equity drove her to co-find the organization Moneythink Maryland. This organization paired college mentors with local high school students in Eleanor Roosevelt and Northwestern High Schools. Mentors would work with students bi-weekly during school hours and mentor them on personal finance, and college & career readiness.