My career started in civil society and think tanks in Washington, DC where I worked with local governments and open government advocacy groups around the world. I watched politicians and advocates make deals for our lives in rooms that most of my friends and family didn’t know existed.
After 10+ years, I decided to shift gears, working with local, grassroots groups in Houston who are building the new world for ourselves, with passion and dedication to transforming our communities.
After managing teams ranging from 3-25 people at national nonprofits, designing multi-million dollar national learning networks and advocacy programs in “tech for good”, and being an early member of 3+ interdisciplinary collectives working across arts and organizing, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.
You can learn more about my data justice work at peoplesdataproject.org
My parents immigrated from Colombia and Armenia when they were in their late teenage years. Being raised by parents from collectivist cultures while growing up in Texas taught me both about the beauty of relationality in family and community, and the pain so many of us feel living under a dominant culture built on complicity, repression, and violence.
I’ve channeled my experiences into collaborative practices that I hope will ultimately help people connect to their unique spiritual and intrinsic gifts, leading us all to show up as more capable members of our communities in collective work.
Katya Abazajian ~ 