An educator from Austin, Texas, Banafsheh Madaninejad, PhD, works as a professor at the university level. Since 2018, Dr. Banafsheh Madaninejad has also worked as a consultant and launched two advocacy organizations.
Dr. Madaninejad was a visiting assistant professor in the Religious Studies Department at Middlebury College for a year beginning in 2011 and a visiting assistant professor of Philosophy and Religion for Southwestern University for six years beginning in 2013. In 2018, she launched Madaninejad Consulting. As CEO, she conducted anti-racism trainings, mediations, and consultations related to conflict and hate crime resolution. In 2019, she was a member of the Diversity and Outreach Committee for the Travis County Democratic Party, and, in March 2020, Councilmember Jimmy Flannigan appointed her to the Commission on Immigrant Affairs for Austin.
In 2019, Dr. Madaninejad launched the Bulbul Collective, which works toward collecting the stories of Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslin, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities. In addition, as director of the podcast The Defining Moment, she covered issues of anti-blackness, internalized racism, colorism, being mixed-race, and religious diversity. She also addressed US foreign policy, as well as the label “cultural Muslim” as an identity marker, spirituality, and AMEMSA positivity.
In 2023, Dr. Madaninejad founded Progressives for Iranian Democracy, an organization comprised of grassroots leaders from 11 states. The group routinely meets with members of Congress, and other DC stakeholders to advocate for the Iranian people. As of 2024, Dr. Madaninejad has taken a position as an University Expert and Associate Professor of Philosophy at United Arab Emirates University.