MEET THE TEAM

Raeshma Razvi (she/her) is an Indian/Muslim/American filmmaker, writer and producer of transformative community arts projects.

She has partnered with Cal Shakes, Cal Humanities, the International Museum of Women, Islamic Cultural Center of Northern CA, SOMArts and others on collaborative, multicultural, original programming.

She was awarded a 2009 Schwartz Prize for outstanding work in the public humanities in CA; in NYC she collaborated with refugee teens on award-winning documentary work made possible by an Open Society Institute Fellowship. Recent film productions include “Sailor, Sufi, Spy,” a documentary about a Sufi boat-builder in Sausalito, and a video series of shorts based on the poetry of Hafiz.

Raeshma holds a BA in comparative literature and an MFA in Film. She currently lives in Connecticut and northern California.

Parisa Parnian (she/they) is an Iranian-American visual artist, designer, and culinary creative. She uses art, food, design and storytelling to build bridges and connect communities.

After a significant career in the NYC and LA fashion industries, Parisa expanded her creative and design reach by launching Savage Muse, a radically inclusive design studio, and Savage Taste, a multi-faceted food, culture + community building hub.

Parisa’s focus is on the colorful intersections of ancestral traditions meeting the very modern and often subversive world that she inhabits.

This outlook informed her design of the Shahrazad Squad's Conversation Cards + Website.

She recently launched her own spice blend called PÉRXICAN- which is a celebration of cultural fluidity and the marriage of Persian + Mexican flavors. Parisa lives in Los Angeles, on Tongva territory.

Maddie Rostami (she/they) is an Irish-Iranian theater artist who recently served as the Squad’s first Line Producer through Cal Shakes.

Maddie is now serving as the Program Manager at CO/LAB Theater Group, a New York-based theater company that offers individuals with developmental disabilities a creative and social outlet through theater arts.

Maddie also spent twelve years at the Portola Valley Theatre Conservatory, most recently as the Associate Artistic Director of Inclusion. Maddie’s favorite dramaturgy credits include shows at the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Victory Gardens Theater (Chicago), and 3Girls Theatre (San Francisco).

Maddie is a proud alum of Northwestern University and Berkeley Rep’s Fellowship program. Raised in the Bay Area, Maddie is currently based in Brooklyn, the unceded land of the Lenape people.

Leila Buck is an Arab American playwright, actor, and intercultural educator who came to this project as a co-author of Cal Shakes’ commissioned ‘1001 Nights: A Retelling.’

She has performed and developed her work at the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop (Drama League nomination), Culture Project, Cleveland Public Theatre, BRIC Arts, Mosaic Theater at Arena Stage (Best Performances, DC Metro Theater Arts 2016), and the Wilma Theater (Barrymore Award).

A State Dept Speaker Specialist and Cultural Envoy fluent in French, Spanish and Arabic, Leila has taught theatrical tools for literacy, conflict resolution, and intercultural engagement with NYTW and Lincoln Center and to youth, educators, aid workers, UN delegates and others around the world.

She holds a Master’s in Theatre for Cross Cultural Education from NYU; and lives in Brooklyn on unceded Lenape land.

Visit webste: LEILABUCK.COM

Sonia Mehrmand (she/her) is an Iranian-Italian creative producer. Her projects are grounded in inclusive storytelling, reciprocity, collaboration, mentorship.

She works at StoryCorps as a Field Manager on the One Small Step project, which brings people from different ends of the political spectrum together to have facilitated conversations that remind us of our shared humanity.

In 2016, Sonia moved to Sydney, where she was Assistant Executive Director at Diversity Arts Australia, a national organization that advocates for racial equity in Australia’s creative industries. Sonia regularly serves as panelist for California Arts Council grants, and participated in the CAC’s Creative Corps panel for the Central Valley.

She received her Master’s degree in Public History and Museum Studies at UC Riverside. Sonia lives on Yokuts land in Visalia, California.

Tulin Chang-Maltepe (she/her) is a Chinese and Turkish-American student and artist. She is currently a senior at the Urban School of San Francisco. There, she is a co-leader of the Middle Eastern and North African affinity space, where she works to create a space for MENA identifying students in addition to organizing school-wide events to highlight various aspects of MENA culture.

Additionally, she is the Editor in Chief of her school newspaper, The Urban Legend. Her introduction to the Shahrazad Squad was through Golden Thread Productions.

Tulin has been a longtime follower of Golden Thread Productions, and has worked as a production intern on their plays Scenes from 71 Years* and the ReOrient Festival. Tulin currently resides in San Francisco, California.

Emma Farry (she/her) is a Lebanese author and entrepreneur who lives in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Her award winning books Beloved and Freedom Song have been used as resources for wellbeing by social service and mental health providers. They are designed to provide comfort and support to those navigating difficult times.

She teaches mindfulness and meditation to women in crisis, through her work with Shakti International, a care group for migrant women facing domestic violence and also through Women’s Refuge NZ.

Emma is currently at work on her second novel. Her first, Redemption, was published in New York in 2001. She is an alum of Otago and Canterbury Universities where she gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism. She has worked in the UK, Malaysia and, New Zealand and taught creative writing at St Joseph’s College in Brooklyn.

Emma came to the Squad through her friendship with founder Raeshma Razvi. They share a love for community, sisterhood and empowering women’s stories.

Emma acknowledges the Māori kaitiakitanga (guardianship and conservation) in Aotearoa and enthusiastically invites her ancestors into her work and her life.

Visit website: https://www.emmafarry.com/

Samer Mahdy Ali - is an Associate Professor in the Department of Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan and is the Former Director, Center for Middle Eastern & North African Studies.

He’s been teaching 1001 Nights for 21 years. His interests include documenting communication breakdowns and cultural mis/understandings, and positing alternative approaches.

He has published two volumes, co-edited The CALICO Journal: Special Issue on Hebrew and Arabic and authored ‘Arabic Literary Salons in the Islamic Middle Ages: Poets, Public Performance and the Presentation of the Past.’

The book introduces performance theory to classical Arabic studies, illustrating how people enjoyed literature in their everyday lives.

He has a PhD in Arabic Literature, an MA in Arabic Studies, and a BA in psychology.

Samer at ACADEMIA.EDU

Samer at U of Michigan

‘Inspired by these incredible creatives? Yeah we are too!

Please reach out and contact us if you want to bring your particular talents to the Squad