Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.― George R.R. Martin
Welcome to my website and thanks for being here.
From Pristina to Sarajevo, Asheville to Clinton, from New York and Paris to Bursa, from Istanbul to Wellesley, and now to Washington D.C. I moved a lot throughout my life, from place to place and country to country. My roads were sometimes traditional and sometimes routes less travelled.
My story includes a first-hand experience of militant ethno-nationalism in the Balkans, as a Bosniak whose nation has been repeatedly persecuted throughout history. But, my personal story is also one of an exciting adventure of growth, through scholarship chases and educational escapade ventures into The Asheville School and Hamilton College (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in the United States, of European homecoming to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and of exhilarating departure to a Ph.D. expedition to Galatasaray University in Turkey. The adventure is also filled with godsend moments, like that of hearing an author and public intellectual Mustafa Akyol speak on TV, before encountering him and discovering love and marriage with him in Istanbul.
I am an entrepreneurial multimedia journalist and professional with a passion for building impactful media products, facilitating meaningful conversations and organizing various sorts of virtual and in-person events. I pride myself on my dedication to learning, hard work and successful project management track.
As you can see on this site, my essays on topics related to Bosnian genocide, broader politics and culture in the Western Balkans, Southeast Europe and Turkey were published in the most prominent global and regional media outlets. I am always excited about acquiring new skills, and I remain committed to a long-term exploration of the diverse ideas behind individual and systemic resilience, what they mean in different contexts and how they manifest and matter for the stability of peoples and societies.
Most recently, I worked as a Contributing Editor and then as Strategic Initiatives Editor at New Lines Magazine. Check out some recent writing, weekly “Good Talk” live series of Instagram conversations and Wider Angle audio and video podcast launched in November 2022. On April 12, 2023, it was announced as a finalist at the 15th Annual Shorty Awards in Arts and Culture category. Please also feel free to browse a collection of episodes from my first entirely self-produced podcast, Dignified Resilience. I will try to update the site as frequently as possible.
I live in Washington D.C. area with my husband and our lovely three sons.