Arooj Sami is a Council Graduate Fellow at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Liberia and the Angie Brooks International Centre for Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security. She is pleased to have the opportunity to work on peace-building and women’s economic empowerment in the country that elected the first female head of state in Africa and where a women-led peace movement brought an end to a 14-year civil war.
Arooj studied Social Policy and Social Work at Columbia University and International Relations at Wellesley College, concentrating on gender and development. She has worked with civil society organizations in Boston, MA, the Bronx, NY, the Middle East, and South Asia, advocating for marginalized women and children. In Pakistan, Arooj conducted research on systemic barriers facing rape survivors. She has also served as a consultant to non-profits in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan for program evaluation, strategic analysis and planning.
Her other academic and professional interests include: reproductive and sexual health rights and programming, international child welfare, food justice, and reconstruction of social services and rule of law issues in crisis prone and post-conflict regions.
