Zara Ahmed
EMAIL ME
Photo credit: leila mansour
About Me
Hello! I’m Zara (they/them), a non-binary Pakistani consultant, connector, and creator. I’m seeking collaborations that enable me to amplify indigenous wisdom and rituals through healing spaces and community building.
I’ve held leadership roles in in various fields, including documentary filmmaking, youth media, public school education, food service, and small business operations.
I’m deeply passionate about building intergenerational community within the Queer and Trans South Asian diaspora and you can check out the work I’ve done through my collective, Queer Mango.
Through all of these experiences, I’m proud to have cultivated a strong sense of empowerment among my collaborators, holding space for vulnerable conversations, and utilizing storytelling as a tool for healing.
design by aab-e-shams
Project Manager
2023 - present • Program Management Consultant
Support with chef recruitment process, curriculum design, and chef pop ups, operational support, and grantwriting
2020 - present • Co-creator, Event Producer, and Organizer
Various joy & food centered events amplifying trans and queer ancestral wisdom
2016 - 2020 • Co-creator, Chef
Created a cheese themed food truck, offering accessible artisan-cheese based dishes. Chef and operations lead: head of event + class programming, vendor relations, and staff recruitment & management
2020 - 2023 • Recruiter
Hired 15+ staff members for the film studio and academy
2012 - 2016 • Program Manager
Managed and taught project-based after-school filmmaking programs for 200 youth, ages 11-17
Photo credit: Marissa Leshnov, KQED
2024 - present • Collective Member / Grant Writer
Grant writer for projects that platform and pay activist artists fighting oppression, and rejecting funding from genocide enablers.
2024 - present • Funding Manager
Grant writer for projects amplifying agency around wellness choices for the Queer, Muslim, Indigenous, and Black communities.
May 2024 • Grant Writer & Organizer
Cooking class and supper club funded by API Cultural Center in San Francisco
Ramadan 2024 • Co-Grant Writer and Co-Organizer
Grant Writer
In my experience, Zara is skilled at bridging cultural work, healing, art, and
ritual to create moments of real belonging for trans and queer South Asians.
Queer mango Supper Club Participant
Past Offerings
