Roja Heydarpour was a Muslim Communities Fellow of Open City. Born in Iran and raised in New York City, she has worked for The Daily Beast, The New York Times, Al-Monitor, Columbia Global Reports, and Devex, among others. She has taught citizenship classes at various branches of the Brooklyn Public Library, as well as the YWCA in Brooklyn. She was a writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook and is currently working in the void that is long-form writing.