Zahra Chowdhury

Zahra Chowdhury is a senior at Southern Methodist University majoring in Public Policy, Economics, and Political Science, with minors in Arabic and PPIA through the Tower Scholars Program. On campus, she serves as Strategic Director for the Human Rights Council, Chair of CORE (which organizes SMU’s annual Women’s Symposium), and a student representative to the SMU Board of Trustees. Zahra has conducted archival research on death penalty jurisprudence at the Library of Congress and has researched indigent defense in Texas as a Deason Scholar. She has pursued her commitment to public service through opportunities such as the Maguire Public Service Fellowship and the Cooper-McElvaney Peace and Justice Fellowship, and has studied abroad in Oman, Jordan, Morocco, Spain, and France. Following graduation, Zahra plans to work in public policy focused on criminal justice reform and advancing equitable legal systems.