Zahra Golshani (she/her)

About Zahra's Community Action Project (CAP)

My Community Action Project aims to integrate civic and environmental education into immigrant-serving and faith-based organizations. The project supports these organizations in becoming more civic and environmentally engaged while remaining aligned with their core missions and responsive to the needs of the communities they serve. Through my community partner, the Roya Institute for Global Justice, we are collaborating with faith-based and immigrant-serving organizations in New York and New Jersey to co-design contextually grounded environmental and civic education programs. The current goal is to launch a pilot across six partner communities in these two states. Working closely with each organization, I will use a participatory action research approach in which learning and action are developed collaboratively with organizational leaders to understand their unique contexts, priorities, and organizational structures. Together, we aim to embed civic and sustainability literacy and action into existing programs and practices in ways that feel relevant and achievable for each community. The participatory approach ensures that environmental learning is responsive to each community’s cultural, linguistic, and spiritual context.

About Zahra

I am a multidisciplinary environmental social science scholar-practitioner who works across roles as a researcher, educator, and project manager. Impact matters deeply to me, and these roles allow me to connect academic knowledge to real-world community action. I began my academic journey in the quantitative world of environmental economics, spatial analysis, and GIS, drawn to the clarity of numbers and models as tools for understanding complex environmental problems. While this training gave me strong analytical foundations, it felt too narrow for the kind of social and environmental impact I wanted to create. Near the end of my PhD, I was introduced to environmental education, an experience that changed the trajectory of my professional life. This shift led me to continue my postdoctoral work in civic ecology, environmental education, and community engagement. I am currently a visiting instructor collaborating with the Civic Ecology Lab at Cornell University. With over a decade of experience bridging academia and civil society, I have co-designed research, capacity-building, and education initiatives that empower communities in diverse contexts. In collaboration with Cornell University and SUNY Albany, I have designed and facilitated professional development programs for over 400 participants, including community leaders, academics, and environmental activists, 70% of whom are women. Working with underserved communities has been central to both my scholarship and community-led projects.

More About Me

What is your favorite memory of being in nature? 

My favorite memory of being in nature is fruit picking with my cousins. It was joyful and unstructured being outdoors together, moving through orchards, tasting fruit straight from the trees, and feeling a deep sense of connection to both family and place.

What are three environmental values you try to emulate? 

Care, responsibility, and connection.

What influential environmental book or author would you recommend other people read?

I would recommend The Lion and the Sun: Environmental History and the Formation of Modern Iran by James Gustafson. This book explores Iran’s relationship with the environment over centuries, blending environmental history with social and cultural change. It offers a rich perspective on how environmental challenges and human decisions have shaped Iran’s landscapes and societies, making it meaningful reading for anyone interested in sustainability from an Iranian context.