Sienna S. Abdulahad, M.A. Ed.

Sienna Abdulahad is a scholar, activist, author and practitioner focused on equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Her work started at the intersection of communications, experiential marketing, and higher education. With more than a decade of experience working with diverse groups of college students in, and outside, the classroom, Abdulahad strives to impact the lives of students by exposing them to various frameworks, theories and practices grounded in Black feminist thought. Sienna is focused on equitable outcomes that support the retention and holistic development of marginalized students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members. She also works to equip students and colleagues with the tools they need to reimagine and realize an antiracist and fully liberated society. She is a co-author of The Table: Stories from Black Women in Student Affairs, Navigating COVID-19: Perspectives and Strategies from Women of Color in Academia, and Anti-Racist Community Engagement: Principles and Practices.

In her role as Director of Finance & Operations, Abdulahad is responsible for financial management, human resource management, strategic communications, and operations management of the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking.

Sienna also serves as an adjunct professor teaching the following courses.

SISE 3310 Facilitating for Social Justice I and SISE 3315 Facilitating for Social Justice II which is a one year curriculum focused on understanding oppression at various levels in our society and facilitating around the topics to disrupt systems that marginalize people in our society. This experiential courses is practicum based and requires applied work in facilitating social justice dialogue. The student facilitators in this class will participate in weekly experiential sessions: to observe, practice, learn and prepare for their work as peer-to-peer facilitators and student leaders working for collective impact; to strengthen their own understanding of social justice, identity development and multicultural education in the context of community engagement and service learning; to further develop their community and co-facilitation relationships and experience; and to continue their own personal growth and development in the areas of facilitation and social justice. This course is required for participants in the Community Engagement Advocates Program and open to all students.

SISE 4950 Speculative Fiction for Social Change a course which engages with literary, musical, and cinematic works of speculative fiction with a focus on works by artists of color, who are using speculation to challenge the status quo and combat marginalization—such as those by N.K. Jemisin, Janelle Monae, Jordan Peele, Nia DaCosta, Juel Taylor, Octavia Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ted Chiang, and more, to understand the lessons they offer us for social change. Students will also produce their own original world-building works through short stories, reflections, poems, drawings and/or prototypes. Through this project they will have an opportunity to offer perspectives race and/or ethnicity as social constructs in the United States.

TIDR 1725 Black Culture, Power, & Leadership which is a one-credit course that complements the experience of students living in the 1963 Collective Residential Learning Community (RLC) by providing them with an equity oriented interpretative framework grounded in Black thought, experience, and history. The modular survey course was designed for first-year students interested in exploring Black history, culture, and knowledge across the African diaspora. Through this first year seminar, students will develop an appreciation and understanding of the contributions of Black people in a globalized context.

TIDR 1983 Us v. Them which is a one-credit course that complements the experience of students living in the Kaleidoscope Residential Learning Community and serves as an incubator for students from diverse backgrounds to develop their understanding of the complexities of cultures, identities, and power dynamics. We simultaneously explore everyday practices for world building beyond “Us. Vs. Them”, using Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Freire.