I am a social psychologist and educator whose work bridges research and practice to understand how people grow in connection with one another.
My research integrates social psychological theory, developmental science, and cultural frameworks to examine how identity, belonging, and purpose develop across contexts. I study the social environments through which adolescents and educators build meaningful relationships—and how those connections shape civic engagement, motivation, and well-being. M
y work uses qualitative and quantitative approaches to illuminate the relational pathways through which individuals and communities grow, connect, and contribute to the greater good. I currently serve as a Research Scientist and Program Specialist at Stanford SPARQ, an Islamic Psychology Research Fellow at the Alkaram Institute, and the Research Director of Muraqaba Education, where I lead studies on educator well-being, character development, and social and emotional learning.
I earned my Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia University, my dissertation introduced a social network framework for understanding religious and civic identity development among Muslim adolescents. Before joining Stanford, I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and an Assessment and Efficacy Scientist at BrainPOP, leading large-scale studies on student engagement and learning in K–12 education.