Arif is a social and environmental justice advocate, grassroots urban planner, and community activist with more than 20 years of experience in designing and managing community development programs, establishing diverse alliances, and co-creating campaign strategies around local, state, and national issues.
Prior to joining South Bronx Unite, Arif was Director of Programs at an organization that supported hundreds of grassroots groups every year in their self-determined efforts to improve the quality of life in under-resourced neighborhoods across NYC. Before that, he worked as an immigrants’ rights advocate with American Friends Service Committee where he helped establish a local alliance of immigrant advocates, contributed to a national campaign for immigration reform, and designed and led workshops on community organizing. He currently serves on the NY-NJ Harbor and Estuary Program Management Committee and has been on the boards of ioby, Farm School NYC, and NY Immigration Coalition. He is a co-founder of Bangladeshi Americans for Political Progress and a core member of Malcolm X Community Garden. Arif graduated from Hunter College and has a Master’s in Public Policy from Duke University. In his free time, he grows food and keeps honeybees at his community garden.
Arif believes in the power of frontline communities and he is committed to building systems that support their health, creativity, wisdom, and leadership.
