Meet Zain

about me

Read my resume

Zain is a second-generation Pakistani-American Queer Muslim passionate about leveraging design thinking for positive community impact.

He has worked for offices and non-profit organizations in Washington DC, Japan, Ghana, Pakistan, and France, and has worked across a range of scales and disciplines such as architecture, tech, healthcare, industrial design, real estate, curation, and fashion.

He currently serves as the International Fellow for Domaine de Boisbuchet, a French arts and cultural non-profit, and the Chair for the US chapter of Hidayah LGBTQ, a non-profit organization providing support and welfare for Queer Muslims across the world.

Zain holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Carnegie Mellon University and is pursuing a Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Art in Design Leadership from Maryland Institute College of Art.

His design and research work has been featured in several news articles and publications, as well as presented at conferences across the country.

Zain builds human-centered experiences and strategies that connect public civic, corporate, and non-profit stakeholders with products  to meet both community and business needs. Leveraging his background and skills as an empathetic designer, Zain uses his work to envision better and more equitable futures for all communities and ecosystems.

Read my resume

partners

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Achievements & mentions
EDUCATION
WORK
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
ACTIVITIES

2022
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2019

Graduated from Carnegie Mellon Unviersity
Bachelor of Architecture

May

May

- Teaching Assistant -
- Lab Monitor
Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)

December

Design Associate at buildingcommunityWORKSHOP (Washington, DC)

2017

August

Teaching Assistant - Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)

June-August

NKA Foundation (Yeboahkrom, GHA)

2022

Maryland Institute College of Art
- Master of Arts in Design Leadership
- Expected Completion: May 2024

August (started)

Johns Hopkins University
- Master of Business Administration
- Expected Completion: May 2024

August (started)

September

- Graduate Teaching Assistant at MICA (Baltimore, MD)- (STILL IN IT, CURRENT)
- Digital Fabrication Lab Student Technician at MICA (Baltimore, MD)- (STILL IN IT)

September

- PRIDE Business Association- Member,
- Design for America- Design Director,
(Baltimore MD)
(CURRENT, STILL IN IT)

2021

September

502 Jersey Avenue (Hamilton, NJ)
- Position: Project Coordinator

March-May

Hidayah US (Remote) - Volunteer: Joined March
- Programming Chair: Started May

2020

Graduated from Carnegie Mellon Unviersity
Bachelor of Architecture

May

June

Design Associate at buildingcommunityWORKSHOP (Washington, DC)

July

Designer at To Be Done Studio (Washington, DC)

2018

January

Lab Monitor - Carnegie Mellon University Digital Fabrication Lab (Pittsburgh, PA)

May-July

Domaine de Boisbuchet (Lessac, FRA)
Position: General Staff
Position (August): International Fellow (STILL IN IT)

2016

May-June

Intern - Arcop Associates (Karachi, PAK)

July-August

Intern - emmanuelle moureaux architecture + design (Tokyo, JAP)

2015

May-August

Intern - Marina Rubina, Architect (Princeton, NJ)

2014

Started at Carnegie Mellon Unviersity
Bachelor of Architecture

August (started)

May

Intern - Cosmic Stone & Tile Distributor (New Brunswick, NJ)
Activities& mentions
EDUCATION
ACTIVITIES/ VOLUNTEER
WORK
AWARDS / MENTIONS / RECOGNITION

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202322
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2019

August

Ended work at Fidelity Investments
Iterated on re-designs of existing investing products to adapt them to future-forward trends using the design thinking process, conducted user testing with target segments and competitive analysis of existing AI and robo-advising options.

June

Started as Product Design Strategy Intern at Fidelity Investments
Internship  |  Jersey City, NJ

May

Named Chair of Pride Business Association
Student group at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School advocating and hosting professional-social events for LGBTQ+ business students

April

Winner of the Hexcite Digital Health Pitch Competition
Awarded first place by panel of healthcare innovation experts for a service connecting patients and clinicians to improve emergency room experience and wait times

February

Started as Indoor Cycling Instructor at Johns Hopkins University
Part-Time Position  |  Baltimore, MD

January

Joined Hexcite
Early-stage medical software accelerator program hosted by the Johns Hopkins Medicine Technology Innovation Center in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures

202222
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2019

December

Named BIPOC scholar by the Point Foundation 
Award that provides financial, coaching, and community support to LGBTQ+ BIPOC students

September

Joined “Design For America – JHU/MICA Chapter” as Design Director
Co-led student consulting team to craft growth and marketing strategy for local Ed-Tech venture; managed internal communications of chapter

September

Started work as Digital Fabrication Lab Monitor at MICA
Part-Time Position  |  Baltimore, MD
Started work as Graduate Teaching Intern at MICA
Part-Time Position  |  Baltimore, MD

August

Started studies at Johns Hopkins University & the Maryland Institute College of Art
Masters of Business Administration & Master of Art in Design Leadership

August

Awarded Roothbert Fund Fellowship
Awarded scholarship for students whose daily actions are guided by spiritual motive
August:  Awarded Reaching Out MBA Fellowship 
Sole fellow for Johns Hopkins Carey Business School class of 2024; Fellowship is between university and Reaching Out to develop the out LGBTQ+ business leaders of tomorrow

July

Ended work at 502 Jersey Avenue
Coordinated acquisition of $45M worth of real estate, oversaw management of 150+ units of multifamily and mixed-use development, setup company technology and organization systems

June

Co-Chair for Hidayah USA
Facilitated 501(c)3 filing process for US chapter with fundraising +$1.5K

202121
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2017

December

Named Grant Reviewer for National Endowment for the Arts
Review proposals for Our Town creative placemaking grant program

September

Started as Project Coordinator at 502 Jersey Avenue
Full-Time Position | Hamilton, NJ
Ended work at To Be Done Studio
Managed program logistics for a national creative placemaking program with over 40 rural communities, worked in design and project management roles for architectural projects for marginalized communities

May

Programming Chair for Hidayah USA
Crafted and executed social, educational, and faith-based virtual programming for Queer Muslim

2020
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2022

July

Started as Architectural Designer at To Be Done Studio
Full-Time Position | Washington, DC
Ended work at buildingcommunityWORKSHOP
Worked on multiple phases of design and management for affordable housing projects, conducted research to inform policy and community development studies

June

Presenter at 108th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting
Presented research on earthen construction for panel on “Ecological Elements”

2019
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2021

December

Started as Design Associate at buildingcommunityWORKSHOPFull
Time Position  |  Washington, DC

May

Graduated from Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture
Bachelor of Architecture |  Minors in Intelligent Environments & Architectural Design Fabrication 

April

Recipient of Two Awards for Artistic Excellence by Carnegie Mellon University 
Researched contextualizing earthen construction to post-industrial cities, and hybrid resin textiles for fashion industry 

201722
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2018

January

Lab Monitor - Carnegie Mellon University Digital Fabrication Lab (Pittsburgh, PA)

May-July

Domaine de Boisbuchet (Lessac, FRA)
Position: General Staff
Position (August): International Fellow (STILL IN IT)

201622
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2016

May-June

Intern - Arcop Associates (Karachi, PAK)

July-August

Intern - emmanuelle moureaux architecture + design (Tokyo, JAP)

201522
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2015

May-August

Intern - Marina Rubina, Architect (Princeton, NJ)

201422
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14

2014

August (started)

Started at Carnegie Mellon Unviersity
Bachelor of Architecture

May

Intern - Cosmic Stone & Tile Distributor (New Brunswick, NJ)

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∙ زین اسلام ہاشم ∙ (z·ay·n is·laam huh·sh·mee) ∙ Zain Islam-Hashmi

∙ زین اسلام ہاشم ∙ (z·ay·n is·laam huh·sh·mee) ∙ Zain Islam-Hashmi

∙ زین اسلام ہاشم ∙ (z·ay·n is·laam huh·sh·mee) ∙ Zain Islam-Hashmi

∙ زین اسلام ہاشم ∙ (z·ay·n is·laam huh·sh·mee) ∙ Zain Islam-Hashmi

∙ زین اسلام ہاشم ∙ (z·ay·n is·laam huh·sh·mee) ∙ Zain Islam-Hashmi