Firdaus Arastu

Firdaus Arastu is a communications strategist who works to build the collective communications capacity of the movement fighting for racial justice and civil rights of communities of color in the United States. For the last decade, she has worked to shift media narratives around Muslims and those impacted by Islamophobia. As the Rights and Inclusion Program Director at ReThink Media, she leads a team that builds and supports the strategic communications capacity of leading experts, creative professionals, and organizations from Black, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian (BAMEMSSA) communities in the United States. The R&I team’s portfolio covers over 150 advocacy organizations and 100 arts and cultural production projects.

An experienced and engaging trainer, with over 8 years of experience designing and leading trainings, she has trained hundreds of people across the United States and internationally. Before joining ReThink, Firdaus was a magazine editor and writer for altMuslimah and Winnovating, covering women, gender issues, and Muslim American culture. She previously worked in public health, in Global Health and Development at The Aspen Institute, and in Infectious Disease at the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Her writing has been published in Al Jazeera English, Teen Vogue, The Huffington Post, Patheos, and The Tribune India, and she has been interviewed on See Something Say Something podcast and Justice for All Now. Firdaus earned her B.S. in Anthropology and Psychology from Syracuse University.