Board of Directors

M.S. Political Science, Master of Educational Administration,
MSW. A member of the Massachusetts Governor's Advisory Council on Immigration and Refugee Policy.

National Association of Social Workers, MA Chapter. Producer & Documentary Film Maker, Rohingya: Atrocity Against Women. First Muslim Female Delegate of the Massachusetts Electoral College.

Chairwoman Muslim Voter Registration Project in MA.

Denise received her BA in English from UMass Boston,  a law degree (JD) from Suffolk University Law School, a Master’s in Public Affairs -International Relations from UMass Boston, and a PhD in Global Governance and Human Security from UMass Boston.  She is currently the Director of the online BA in Global Affairs in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston.  Her research interests include: human security, gender equality, women’s empowerment, and the higher education of women, especially at all-female institutions with a focus on Bangladesh.

Mary Byrne, PhD, LICSW faculty emerita and Advisory Board Member of the School of Social Work, Salem State University, has served as Chair, MSW Program Director and MSW Field Education Coordinator. Mary has had a seasoned practice and leadership career in family and children’s Services. Academic and professional interests include pro-resilient practices for staff and organizations and collaborative work with multi-stressed, trauma-experienced families and systems. Having served on many non-profit boards, Mary serves on the NASW-MA Board Member, Legislative Action and Therapy Matcher Commission, Board of MA Network for Foster Care Alums, and Foundation for Muslim Women Civic Engagement & Leadership

Nadia B. Ahmad is an Associate Professor at Barry University School of Law. Professor Ahmad’s research explores the intersections of energy siting, the environment, and sustainable development and draws on international investment law and corporate social responsibility. She has published over 30 scholarly articles and book chapters. In 2016, she was recognized by the Orlando Business Journal as a 40 Under 40 honoree for her leadership and community involvement.

Her undergraduate thesis examined representations of tradition and modernity in Indo-Anglian literature from 1947 to 1997. She completed her law degree (J.D.) from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she was a Virgil Hawkins Fellowship recipient. At UF Law, she served as executive editor of the Florida Journal of International Law and wrote about women’s property rights in Post-Partition South Asia. Later, she earned a masters of law (LL.M.) in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she explored the legal barriers for the deployment of advanced renewable technologies in the Global South and worked on the editorial review of the Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law.

Went to UMass Boston and graduated with bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. This started with a Law degree in Makerere Uganda.

Originally from Bangladesh, Rumel received a BA in Government & Politics and a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland, a Master's in Political Science from Washington University, a Master's in Science and PhD in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Rumel has worked as an Economist for the Federal Government, foreign policy, and international development. For the past decade and a half he has worked in healthcare, from IT and research support to electronic medical record extraction and aggregation. Rumel's interests are in healthcare disparities research and social justice causes.