Alia Abbas

Director of Resources, Lead at Project Refugee-Security, Co-Director of CVP

Alia is a rising senior in middle college. She proposed and now leads the refugee security project under project-visualization in order to create comprehensive coverage of refugees in the MENA-AP region. She recently started to co-direct the podcast with Scott Blender and the incredible production team as well as direct and create the new plans for propelling the expansive resource Airtable that CVT holds for the general public.

Why are you in CVT?

I joined CVT as a means to learn more about how I could contribute as an excelling journalist. Now I contribute more than just that. I am able to mobilize the work CVT conducts and provide it as an essential resource to other organizations and people working or suffering in the front-lines of the pandemic.

What are you learning in CVT?

Everywhere I look and everyone I see on the team is incredibly enthusiastic about their work and impact. CVT has been trailblazing. The intellectual challenges of creating impactful visuals has led me to deepen my knowledge in data analysis and python. I’ve gained so much insight on how to create substantial partnerships, the process of research heuristics, and how to lead a team.

What does creating clear and meaningful content mean to you?

As a journalist with experience in policy, I’ve had a chance to create and add a dialogue that had gone missing by mass media. The resilience, strength, and perseverance of refugees has led me to spearhead my first tangible and meaningful project that can clearly bridge the gap between research and policymaking. Being able to provide evidence-based proof can shift any narrative from its track, and the meaning of shifting the track with this team for the betterment of this world during the infodemic is something I look forward to everyday.

Follow Alia on Instagram at @_aliaabbas or email her at alizaahmed406@gmail.com.