Voice of Witness was thrilled to welcome new board members to our team earlier this year.
To build connections and get to know our newest collaborators, VOW staff conducted oral history interviews with each person. Thank you to the board members for sharing your experiences and perspectives so generously with us. Get to know Fariha, Kelseanne, Tasliym, and Uzma below! We’re sharing short quotes from each of their interviews.
Interested in joining the VOW Board of Directors? Learn more here and don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to hear from you.
Fariha Tayyab
Fariha Tayyab is a multidisciplinary storyteller and facilitator who explores identity, radical reimagination, and liberation through trainings, writing, and photography. She is also a lifelong educator and equity facilitator who works closely with K-12 schools and youth experiencing trauma through incarceration, foster care, and migration. Fariha leads storytelling and artivism workshops as well and has done so with University of Iowa’s International Writing Program, Netroots Nation, Writers in the Schools, Girl Scouts National, Alley Theatre, and others. As a lover of culture and language, Fariha believes we must dismantle the stories and systems we were taught to obey; immerse ourselves in the stories of others; and curate our own stories and models that move us toward freedom.
“I’m a firm believer that our life revolves around stories, including the stories we tell ourselves about one another. The brain constructs stories as a way of processing…As a storyteller, as a poet, I often hope to use my writing as a vehicle for my own understanding, trauma, healing, all of that. But I also use it to continue to move in the direction of building a liberated society.”
Kelseanne Breder
Kelseanne Breder is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with a clinical and research focus in mental health disparities. She received her PhD from Columbia University, and her work uses qualitative research methods to promote untold stories and voices of historically marginalized groups. Kelsea has served the homeless and formerly homeless population of NYC as a nurse practitioner at Center for Urban Community Services. She is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing where she is building a teaching protocol that uses oral history methods to improve mental health care for homeless and formerly homeless older adults. Kelsea is a trainee in psychoanalysis and is interested in using the arts to explore the psyche, foster empathy, and encourage mental wellness. Her personal artistic pursuits are in music, theater, and creative writing.
“I’m a nurse with a research background, and some of my research has been focused in qualitative methods. In fact, that’s what I like most about research, listening to people’s narratives and trying to understand their stories… I am interested in learning the ways that oral history can be applied to understand people’s lived experiences, to inform research perspectives about health and culture, and also to transform education.”
Tasliym Morales
Tasliym is the Chief of People & Culture at Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) and has more than 15 years of experience shaping organizational culture with a focus on fostering unity. She has a BA in Urban Planning from Metropolitan College of NY, an MS in Organizational & Strategic Leadership from Neumann University, and ongoing doctoral studies in Business Administration with a focus in HR Leadership at Thomas Edison State University. Tasliym currently serves as an elected member on the Chester-Upland School Board, various committees promoting youth legal system reform, and as a VP Director at Large for the National Association of African Americans in HR for DEI and Talent Acquisition. She enjoys exploring music, reenacting movies, and embracing lifelong learning.
“[With oral history], somebody won’t have to hear my story from someone else. They’ll be able to hear it from me. You won’t have to worry about pieces being lost or being changed, because it’s coming directly from the person who’s telling the story. I love hearing people’s stories. I will sit and listen to someone talk all day about who they are, what’s important to them.”
Uzma Rahman
Uzma has an MA in International Relations, along with a JD from the California Western School of Law. She has studied all over the world and brings extensive experience as a grant writer, journalist, editor, and advocacy consultant. She is an unapologetic lifelong activist. Since graduating, Uzma’s work has centered on using her legal experience—which spans the private, non-profit, and government sectors—to affect positive change within her communities through the lens of social justice, civil rights, access, and equity. Her advocacy efforts are now focused on economic equity and access to resources for all Californians. When she is not working at her desk, she can be found on nature walks (or runs) with her kids, cooking with her husband, traveling with her family, or practicing and teaching yoga in her community.
“My parents are really into mushairas, which are in Urdu, my native language—it’s the native language of Pakistan and also spoken by many Muslims in India, especially North India. Mushairas are like poetry slams. It’s like a concert. Each poet takes turns performing— sometimes original work or interpretations of famous works. Some of them are more melodic, with instruments and drums, and others are just spoken word. My grandmother used to host them at her house, so it’s very rooted in our family’s identity… a core part of our culture. It’s in me, in a lot of ways.”
