I am Faiaz and I am passionate about learning, social impact, improving public policies and translating research into policy practice to empower people. My defining values are curiosity, collaboration, and compassion. My research interests include public policy, public health, political economy, gender, development, and technology policy.

Currently, I am at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at University of California San Diego (UCSD) as a merit fellowship recipient to pursue my Master's in Public Policy (MPP) degree. I received my undergraduate degree from University of British Columbia (UBC) as a recipient of the International Leader of Tomorrow (ILOT) award.

Currently, I am working as a Graduate Student Researcher in the EMERGE (Evidence-based Measures of Empowerment for Research on Gender Equality) team, which is a Gates Foundation funded project focused on gender equality and empowerment measures to monitor and evaluate health programs, and to track progress on UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: To Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Girls. EMERGE is one of the largest repositories of measures and resources for survey researchers and practitioners.

Previously, I worked in public sector consulting and for different public sector organizations, from the United Nations to the municipal government of the Town of Hinton in Alberta, Canada. I believe in the vital role that public and non-profit organizations play in defining the quality of life for people in our communities.

Having lived and worked in three continents, I enjoy meeting new people, visiting novel places and learning about diverse cultures and their histories. Outside of work, you can find me catching up with friends, reading voraciously, listening to podcasts, running long distances, hiking beautiful trails, or writing for my blog.