Najah Casimir

Najah (they/them) is a Black disabled woman who was raised in the Muslim faith tradition. Originally from Philadelphia, Najah’s approaches are deeply informed by the experience of being nurtured in a city of communities that prioritize joy, celebration, and liberation.

As a Program Officer on Barr’s Climate team, Najah’s work focuses on the Mobility strategy and assisting with program-wide activities related to advancing racial equity. Before joining the Barr Foundation in 2021, Najah worked at the City of Cambridge and focused on community-centered approaches to engagement and using technology to improve constituent services. Prior to that, they were a member of Boston’s Active Transportation team. Through projects and programs designed to make streets safer for people using low-carbon transportation options, Najah’s work focused on infusing equity into decision-making processes.

Najah holds a degree in Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a proud graduate of the J.R. Masterman School. They live in Boston with their husband and his two cats. Najah lives with the knowledge that everything in our society is a made-up choice and enjoys doing things differently to make the parts of the world they touch safer for people.