Akhir (she/they) is a storyteller and researcher from Washington D.C. They worked with Williams College’s Office of Diversity for three years. Their projects included: collecting, organizing, and analyzing data on punitive discipline responses and policies within school districts; reporting on the institutional history of the Office of Diversity and Equity from 1972 to 2019; and (re)writing an inclusive history of Williams in collaboration with the Committee of Diversity and Community. 

 

In 2020, Williams College Special Collections awarded them the John A. Lowe III Special Collections Fellowship. During their tenure, Akhir worked to increase the visibility of underrepresented voices in Williams’ archive by conducting interviews for the Oral History Project, assisting in the organization of the Sterling A. Brown collection under the guidance of Jessica C. Neal, and editing the College’s Wikipedia page to highlight the achievements of women and people of color. 

 

In addition to their career at Williams, their extensive research on the first wave of digital humanities programming was critical to the acquisition of a significant grant for the Research and Academic Program Department at The Clark Art Institute. As of 2024, they serve as an Archives & Oral History Assistant and Researcher for Vanguard Archives Consulting.

 

They undoubtedly owe their research ability to the rigorous training provided by the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and The Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Institute. They received their MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College.