Samina Ali

Samina Ali is an award-winning author, curator, and popular speaker. Her debut novel, "Madras on Rainy Days," won France’s Prix Premier Roman Etranger Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award in Fiction. Poets & Writers Magazine named it a Top Debut of the Year. Ali has also been a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department and curated the global exhibition "Muslima: Muslim Women’s Art & Voices." Her work as a curator and speaker often focuses on the representation of Muslim women's voices and art.

Ali's commitment to advocacy and education is evident in her role as a speaker on complex themes of faith, identity, and women's rights, which resonate with diverse audiences. She was a featured presenter at the Nobel Women’s Initiative 2017 International Conference and has spoken extensively at prestigious institutions, including Harvard and Yale Universities. Her insights have been featured in major publications like The Economist, The Guardian, Vogue, and on National Public Radio (NPR).

Currently, Ali is writing a nonfiction book focused on women’s equality and justice. She continues to speak on crucial issues, including maternal mortality in the U.S. and the meaning of "hijab" in Islam, offering clarity on common misconceptions about the term. Her personal experiences and challenges as a Muslim woman immigrant in the U.S. further enrich her presentations, making them impactful to a wide range of audiences.