Meet our new fellows!

Meet our new fellows as Central Desi expands! What’s next for this venture:

1. Weekly publication begins Dec. 1: More writers means more content! Expect hard hitting reporting, personal essays, reflections on our startup growth journey & more.

2. Membership is back: Get access to member perks & support local journalism. We’ll be hosting our 1st member meetup in December: Sign up and stay tuned!

3. Ongoing experimentation: We’re learning and iterating as we go along. Tell us what you like and what you don’t: This is your community!

Meet our reporting fellows

These reporters will be covering the South Asian community in New Jersey over the next 6 months. Here’s a bit about them and what they plan to produce:

Sofia Ahmed is a multimedia journalist reporting on immigration, equity and race in New York City. She was trained at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and has previously worked at Reuters as an immigration reporter, fact-checker and podcast producer. Sofia will be writing about labor organizing, surveillance and policing, and caste discrimination in the community.

Ifrah Akhtar is the founder and editor-in-chief of MODEST Magazine and is based in Southern New Jersey. She is a contributing writer for Edible Jersey, authors a blog and Substack newsletter, and has written for Muslim Girl. Storytelling and collaborating on creative projects make her heart sing. Ifrah will be covering the small business beat, writing primarily about two of her passions: food and fashion.

Selena Patel is a senior at New York University studying Global Liberal Studies and Print Journalism. She is based in New York City but was born and raised in New Jersey. She previously wrote at smaller papers including College Magazine, Global Law Media and is an editor of her school's international relations journal, IR Insider, under the South Asian section. Selena will be covering student life at Central Desi and exploring intersectionality within the Desi community.

Hailing from northern New Jersey, Mariyum Raina Rizwan is a Philadelphia-based investigative journalist with a particular interest in covering politics and policy. She is currently an intern for Sen. Bob Casey, working in constituent services. The Temple University senior has formerly interned as a reporter for Resolve Philly and the Trentonian. She has obtained extensive editorial skills through her experiences serving as the features editor for the Temple News and currently as the copy editor for the Templar yearbook. She is passionate about advocating for menstrual hygiene equality as well as celebrating her vibrant Sri Lankan-Muslim heritage. When Mariyum isn’t writing, you can find her spending time with her family or trying new restaurants in the city. Mariyum will be writing about politics and culture.

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