She is an award-winning author of five novels and a journalist who was based in the Middle East, Africa and Russia. She founded two nonprofits, the Afghan Women’s Writing Project and the Camel Book Drive. Previously, she was Vice President of Communications for Concern Worldwide and Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul Afghanistan. She has been awarded literary fellowships at Yaddo, MacDowell, Dora Maar Brown Foundation Fellows Program, and others.
Authored Content
Jun 01 2023 Field Note Meeting Two Crises—Hunger and Climate Change—With Lake Turkana Fish The promise of ice broke the ice with semi-nomadic pastoralists living in the harsh, arid desert around Kenya’s Lake Turkana. Traditionally, the pastoralists relocate their homes two or three times a year, chasing the short rains in November and the long rains from April to June with their cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. But recurring […]
May 18 2023 Blog Post On the Frontlines: Fighting Climate Change Editor’s Note: Cyclone Freddy formed on Feb. 5 in the Australian Region Cyclone Basin, moved into the South-West Indian Ocean Basin, traveled almost 5,000 miles, and unleashed winds up to 165 miles per hour before dissipating on March 14. Freddy was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded. It pummelled Malawi, where the president declared a […]
May 18 2023 Blog Post A Historic Storm Shatters Lives Superlatives are necessary when talking about Freddy, the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded anywhere in the world.
May 18 2023 Blog Post Entering the Storm Zone From Lilongwe, I travel five hours by road to Malawi’s commercial hub, Blantyre, which was battered by the intense winds and rain that accompanied Freddy and caused catastrophic flash floods.
May 18 2023 Blog Post Life is Not Yet Returning to Normal The coordination meetings are underway. Those of us who have never met before are getting to know one another even as we assess the situation here in Malawi.