Ayesha Islam is a Bangladeshi-American Muslim writer and public servant from Queens, New York. She is an Open City fellow with the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and currently works for the Urban Institute, an economic and social policy research organization dedicated to developing evidence-based insights that improve people’s lives and strengthen communities. She was also a former NYC Urban Fellow for the New York City Department of Small Business Services, and previously served on the executive board of a nonprofit organization serving Muslim youth. Ayesha studied Political Science, Creative Writing, and Middle Eastern Studies/Arabic at Bryn Mawr College.