The Chicago Muslims Green Team is excited to announce and welcome Dr. Rohany Nayan as our new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Dr. Nayan has over two decades of experience as an educator and administrator. Her love for education, community work, and social and environmental justice led her to initially volunteer at CMGT as the Education Coordinator. In this role, she actively designed educational programs and provided professional development as needed. When asked to comment, Dr. Nayan said, “It is a great honor to be asked to lead CMGT in this position, and with gratitude and humility I accept the offer. I look forward to working with the wonderful, inspirational and dedicated CMGT’s team, and realize my beloved mother’s precious advice to me ~ Always leave a place better than you found it. We know that changes do not happen over night. As a Malay saying goes – Sikit-sikit, lama-lama jadi bukit (a little bit at a time builds a great mountain).”
Currently as the CEO, Dr. Nayan is focusing on nurturing and growing the vision of CMGT, especially in raising awareness of and planting the seeds for a more mindful, eco-friendly lifestyle based on Islamic principles in the Muslim community and the larger society at large. Dr. Nayan holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Literacy Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also holds a master’s degree in Language Education (TESL) and a bachelor’s degree in English Education (ESL) from the Indiana University-Bloomington. Her work focuses on minority and immigrant families, and their children’s experiences in their adopted country and how the interwoven issues of culture, language, and meaning-making act upon their identity and literacy development. Her work has appeared in several academic volumes.
Dr. Nayan describes herself as an “accidental immigrant” who came to the U.S. to study, but ended up making it her home. In her free time, she enjoys being a foodie who loves diverse cuisines. She also loves reading, studying languages and making paper arts and crafts (e.g., origami and kirigami). She is passionate about building bridges across communities by developing interfaith dialogues and collecting resources especially on Islam, diverse cultures, literacy development and researching cross-cultural awareness. Currently, her immediate goals in life include being more mindful in her choices and lessening her carbon footprint on Earth by adjusting her lifestyle and daily habits. She can be reached via email at: rohanynayan@chicagomuslimsgreenteam.org.