Aliza Kazmi
Aliza Kazmi is the Executive Director or HEART Women and Girls. From the San Francisco Bay Area and is a second generation Shia Muslim of Pakistani and Muhajir descent. Her lifelong passions for social justice come from being a survivor of domestic violence, a daughter of immigrants, a daughter of an educator, and a former educator herself.
Aliza has organized around race and social justice in a number of regions including Alaska, Michigan, New Mexico, and communities across California. She has created partnerships with numerous advocacy collaboratives, including convening grassroots community organizers and supporting their radical change-making and policy engagement, and mobilizing thousands of people to vote in various elections and take part in the 2020 Census. Aliza has also been featured in various outlets including Al Jazeera, The Independent, Mic, Rewire News Group, and The New Arab. Aliza is an alumna of UC Berkeley’s Peace & Conflict Studies and Gender & Women’s Studies programs and the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy, where she received the Rackham Merit Fellowship. Aliza is also a trained survivor advocate and certified in conflict resolution and mediation. She is also a voting member of the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women, and is a (mostly) vegan who loves biking, hiking, and dance.