Zeenat Rahman is the Deputy Director of the Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Initiatives at USAID.  She was previously the Director of Policy at the Interfaith Youth Core where she worked closely with the White House and various federal agencies including the US State Department, USAID, and the Corporation on National and Community Service to advance programs related to youth, religious identity, interreligious engagement and interfaith service. Zeenat is a regular contributor to the Chicago Tribune, and has appeared in the Washington Post, National Public Radio, and CNN speaking on issues related to Muslim identity, civic engagement, and international affairs.  She previously built and managed international programs for IFYC in over a dozen countries and travels abroad frequently to speak about the importance of interfaith youth leadership in promoting civic engagement and healthy integration amongst youth.  She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Fellow with the American Muslim Civic Leaders Institute at the University of Southern California, and a member of Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.  She is also a member of the Transatlantic Network 2020 which is a program sponsored by the British Council that seeks to create sustainable, multilateral networks that engages future leaders from North America and Europe to collaboratively address global issues.

Zeenat is passionate about advancing positive narratives of Muslims in the West.  In that vein, she is co-founder and co-creator of a play named The Hijabi Monologues, which presents the true life experiences of Muslim American women, told in monologue format.  She completed her Master's Degree at the University of Chicago where her graduate work focused on Muslim youth identity, an issue close to heart as a second generation Muslim American.