Dr. Nina Shoman-Dajani, assistant dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness at Moraine Valley Community College, was recently accepted into the 2024-2025 Cultivate: Women of Color Leadership cohort.
Shoman-Dajani was invited to apply for the cohort after volunteering as executive director of the Chicago Palestine Film Festival, an annual cultural event that serves as a platform for showcasing the rich and diverse narratives of Palestinian cinema.
In response to being selected for the cohort, she shared, “This was a competitive process that required a rigorous application and, while I was invited to apply because of my volunteer role with the Chicago Palestine Film Festival, I am confident that the transferable skills I will acquire and executive coaching I will receive will benefit me in my role as an assistant dean at Moraine Valley Community College.”
Cultivate is a joint effort of the Crossroads Fund, Chicago Foundation for Women, Woods Fund Chicago, Walder Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust. It has built a key group of emerging women and nonbinary leaders of color engaged in social, economic and racial justice movements to create a shared vision of the Chicago region’s future.
As part of the eight-month Cultivate program, Shoman-Dajani will participate in individual coaching and attend program sessions that support personal and professional development needs. The aim of Cultivate is to build institutions by cultivating an intentional gender and racial equity lens and lead to the development of other women leaders within the organization and at the community level.
Shoman-Dajani received Moraine Valley’s Embracing Diversity Award in 2015 and was awarded the Outstanding Commitment in Education Award from Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs in 2017.
For news media inquiries, contact Madisson Younglove, Moraine Valley assistant director of communications, at (708) 974-5281 or younglovem2@morainevalley.edu.
