Rise Beyond the Margins: Empowering Inclusive Scholarship

Dear Friends, Colleagues, Family, and All,

My name is Dr. Elsa T. Khwaja, and I am an independent public policy scholar, writer, consultant, and advocate. This August and September, I am excited to present three papers at the American Political Science Association (APSA) conferences in Cambridge, MA and Vancouver, Canada.

These opportunities are critical steps in my journey as a scholar-educator to elevate underrepresented voices, including my own. Currently, as an independent scholar, I do not have access to the necessary funding to move this critical research forward.

I am raising approximately $3,500 to cover travel, lodging, registration, and other conference and research-related costs so I can share this work and keep building the research through future publications, while pushing forward on the academic market.

Your support - through a donation, sharing this campaign, or kind words - helps bring this work into conference halls, classrooms, and beyond.

Please scroll down to read my full story, my research topics, conference details, and my funding breakdown, along with further explanation of why supporting this fundraiser is important, not just for me, but for the larger narrative for equity, inclusion, diversity, and belonging in Academia.

Thank you so much for believing in me!

In Solidarity and peace,

Dr. Elsa

UPDATES (Aug 29, 2025):

Substack article about PolNet-PaCSS Conference experience:

On the Road to Rising: From Self-Empowerment to Community Empowerment

Here is a Medium article about the campaign:

Rising Beyond the Margins: Fighting for Belonging and Inclusion in Academia

My Substack Newsletter about the campaign:

Rise Beyond the Margins: A Call for Community, Solidarity, and Inclusive Scholarship

A Formal Funding Proposal - PDF Document

Abstracts of Papers - PDF Document

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Rise Beyond the Margins: Fuel Dr. Elsa's Mission to Empower Inclusive Scholarship

Dear all,

I would like to invite you to support this campaign to help sustain a crucial phase in my research, resilience, and academic journey. This crowdsourcing campaign primarily aims to cover APSA conference expenses, academic job market efforts, book preparations and continuity in vital research.

Below you can learn more details about me, the conferences, the research and mission you will be supporting.

About Me:

My name is Dr. Elsa T. Khwaja. I am an independent scholar, writer, consultant, artist, and public policy researcher focused on international development in fragile and conflict-affected spaces, social inclusion and justice, decolonization, and qualitative & mixed-methods research.

I have a PhD in Public Policy from George Mason University and I specialize in International Development Policy in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Spaces. You are welcome to learn more about my background on my professional website HERE. I am also a writer and blogger on Medium and Substack. I have a Substack academic newsletter dedicated to exploring qualitative methods and building community with other scholars, writers, and practitioners, called "The Qualitative Inquisition."

I am also an advocate for Equity, Inclusion, Diversity, Justice, Accessibility, and Belonging (EIDJAB). As someone committed to mental health advocacy, I believe this expanded acronym reflects a more holistic vision for inclusive spaces. I hope to share more on how EIDJAB can push the DEI field forward in an intentional and impactful way.

Fundraising Purpose - The Research Projects and Conference Details:

My research, pedagogy, and advocacy aim to represent and elevate silenced or unheard voices (both research scholars as well as the populations they represent and study) across global professional, communal, and academic spaces.

This August and September, I have the honor of presenting three research papers at the 2025 American Political Science Association (APSA) conferences:

APSA Political Networks Conference and Workshops - Cambridge, MA – (Aug. 11–14)

APSA Annual Meeting - Vancouver, Canada – (Sept. 11–14)

APSA Teaching & Learning Conference - Vancouver, Canada – (Sept. 13–14)

These presentations reflect an incredible academic and professional journey grounded in rigorous research, critical reflexivity, and real personal and professional experiences.

My papers include:

My participation at the conferences will include attendance at the Teaching and Learning and APSA Convention sessions, the exhibition hall, potential job talks/interviews, networking with scholars, and conversations about my two book proposals/manuscripts with future book publishers.

This campaign seeks to raise at least $3,500 to support for travel and research continuation:

Personal and Broader Impacts

This research speaks to global justice, gender equity, and mental health in academia... reimagining what inclusive, decolonized scholarship can look like.

It contributes to important conversations on decolonizing development, advancing equity in academic institutions, and centering gender justice in fragile states. By amplifying lived experiences and underrepresented perspectives, these papers challenge dominant narratives in global policy, push for mental health recognition within scholarly spaces, and offer frameworks for inclusive, community-based solutions. Collectively, this work contributes to a more just, empathetic, and responsive academic and policy discourse.

Over the past two years, I published over 100 articles on Medium, launched my Substack newsletter The Qualitative Inquisition, and continued mentoring, tutoring, and writing, while being underemployed, freelancing, and without a current affiliation with academic institutions.

In early 2025, I performed the pilgrimage to Makkah, a requirement within Islamic faith, and began wearing the headscarf (the hijab), a personal decision connected to my faith and solidarity with the global Muslim community.

This transition, the experience of minorities and women of color in academic spaces, became an embodied extension of my research on Belonging in Academia, which I presented at APSA TLC in February 2025. The paper is now a manuscript in progress for publication.

As a Muslim woman, a new hijabi, an active supporter of Indigenous voices, including Palestine, and an independent scholar, educator, and practitioner, without formal institutional support, I feel that I have directly lived the very challenging dynamics I study: invisibility, erasure, vulnerability, fragility, disempowerment, and ultimately the emotional toll of working at the margins of academia.

Therefore, my research cannot be separated from my personal and professional experiences connected to my identity. As someone navigating both faith-based visibility and invisible disabilities, I’ve encountered systemic barriers that continue to marginalize those who speak out, especially on topics like Palestine, mental health, women of color, and Muslim women’s agency.

Still, I continue, not just for myself, but for all those surviving and resisting in silence.

As the Stoic Philosopher, Epictetus, once stated, "Persist and Resist."

This effort reflects many of our stories that are left out of dominant narratives... stories that I hope to continue to reveal and amplify in my research, scholarship, advocacy, professional, and writing endeavors.

How You Can Support This Mission

This campaign is not about charity.

I see this as an opportunity to support a member of your community, in mutual aid, community and solidarity.

If you believe in:

• Making space for underrepresented voices

• Centering mental health, spiritual belonging in scholarly spaces, for people of all backgrounds and faiths, and academic and policy work

• Supporting scholarship that honors the Responsibility of the Intellectual, a personal, collective, and political truth...

... Then please consider supporting this campaign through a donation or a share in your network. Even a kind word can go a long way!

Your support will directly help me bring this work forward, not only into conference halls, but into classrooms, publications, and wider public discourse as I continue my academic journey.

Previous Success and This Year’s Goal

Last year, with the help of a Fund My Travel campaign (supported largely by my family - Thank you!), I was able to attend the APSA Political Networks Conference and Workshops at Florida State University, and present my work on Afghanistan. Unfortunately, I could not attend the APSA Annual Convention, which was a painful limitation that I am striving to overcome this year.

I believe this also connects to my research and personal observations on Belonging and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academia.

With my research on diversity, equity and inclusion, there are challenges that reflect broader issues of exclusion and performative solidarity in some academic spaces.

My experiences have contributed to my motivation to continue supporting underrepresented scholars, starting with putting the oxygen mask on myself through my own presence, as well as in this vital research.

This year, I’m reaching out to communities that truly believe in elevating underrepresented voices and supporting scholars like me.

Looking Ahead: A Community-Funded Postdoc

If this campaign extends beyond the initial $3,500 goal, I plan to make the next phase of this journey into what I call a community‑funded postdoc - a model for community‑driven scholarship when there is a lack of institutional support for advancing our work forward. I am in the process of writing an article about this so please stay tuned!

Donor Acknowledgements

Similar to my past fundraisers, I do hope to gift all my individual donors with my original paintings. These are gifts rather than incentives. This also connects to my other TLC 2025 paper, on Arts-based Pedagogy and research (which I hope to share in the near future). You can learn more about this initiative here:

Paintingheals.elsatkhwaja.com. (I aim to update this website and provide more details in future fundraisers).

With the goal of advancing the research and publications, I hope to have the opportunity to give proper credit in the acknowledgements to individuals and institutions for the support in all my published work.

Concluding Remarks

I hope that with my continued resilience and success, I will be able to serve as an example to other dreamers and scholars, to never give up, to keep fighting, and to continue exploring ways to give back and pay it forward. I realize how important it is that I stay the course, in the larger narrative for those facing similar challenges.

I am choosing to remain resilient in the efforts to redefine academic excellence and rise as a change-making scholar, writer, and educator.

I know my journey represents what some may consider an "Underdog story," but it’s not just about being a fighter. I’ve made the efforts, conducted the research, earned the qualifications, and continued to show up. This is about finding the opportunity to keep moving it forward and supporting others with similar challenges along the way. Your support will help me get there, and I believe stories like mine can inspire others to keep going, too.

This campaign is for anyone who has ever been made to feel invisible… and chose to rise anyway.

Thank you so much for your generosity and support!

With heartfelt gratitude, solidarity, peace and sincerity,

Your sister,

Dr. Elsa T. Khwaja, PhD

Social Scientist | Independent Public Policy Scholar | Writer | EIDJAB Advocate

www.elsatkhwaja.com

qualinquisition.substack.com

Funding Breakdown (UPDATE)

This section comprises a current estimates as of Aug 29, 2025. The final cost of PolNet-PaCSS has been finalized. I was unable to attend the workshops, so it saved me the workshop attendance and one extra night's stay in Boston. Some expenses have been finalized for Vancouver.

Updates to this budget and fundraising page are made regularly to ensure full transparency.

Item Estimated Cost (USD)

Lodging – Harvard (4 nights, hotel) $630.36

Lodging – Vancouver (5 nights ($150/night + tax, hotel) $1100

Travel – DC to Harvard (driving, gas/parking) $250

Meals in Boston ($15/day) $75

Travel – DC to Vancouver (round‑trip flight) $400.89

Airport taxi to and from Dulles ($50 x2) $100

Luggage (3 ways $30, $35, $35) $100

Conference registration (both events) $309.49

Poster printing & materials (36x48, accessories) $85

Meals ($25/day) & local transport ($30 - 6 days) $330

Contingency (unexpected expenses, research continuation) $200

Subtotal $3,580.74

APSA Travel Grant (To be reimbursed after conference): -$200

GoFundMe processing fee (≈2.9% + $0.30/donation):

~$120 (estimated based on fundraising goal and typical donations)

Final Total: $3500.74

Confirming $3500 for conference Fundraising goal. This was reduced after the actual costs were estimated.

This budget reflects the participation in two major conferences. I’ve rounded costs slightly to ensure I can cover unexpected expenses.

I will continue raising funds for reimbursements and contingency expenses as noted in the proposal. If I receive more than the goal, funds will go toward continuing my research, book manuscript preparation, and advancing all efforts connected to this journey. I will be sure to update on how I use those funds going forward.

This campaign is intended to offer a buffer to advance my research, while I continue exploring more formal opportunities on the academic market. This is a public crowdfunding grant application to meet immediate needs and stay afloat.

Depending on the situation, I may close the campaign or redirect funds when and if I have secured funding from more official avenues.

Your contributions would not only cover these upcoming conferences but also create some space that allows me to continue advancing this important research, writing, and book work in the months ahead, while I work towards securing my next formal opportunity.

Once again, thank you so much for your generosity and support!

"All your scholarship would be in vain if at the same time you do not build your character and attain mastery over your thoughts and your actions." - Mahatma Gandhi

Campaign Author's Note: While I have launched this fundraiser, I will continue to update it with photos, videos, articles, budget refinements, and more going forward. So please return for the updates, and thank you for your patience and encouragement as I continue to strengthen this mission and campaign!

Relevant Videos, Articles, and Blog Pieces:

This section will include links to YouTube videos, blog posts, and articles from Medium, Substack, and my blogs over the course of the campaign. You will find them shared across my social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and other spaces. Please do return for updates. Thank you!

Campaign Medium Article:

Rising Beyond the Margins: Fighting for Belonging and Inclusion in Academia

Campaign Substack Qi Article:

Rise Beyond the Margins

Post-PolNet Conference Article on Substack Qi Newsletter:

On the Road to Rising: From Self-Empowerment to Community Empowerment

A Formal Funding Proposal- PDF Document

Abstracts of Papers - PDF Document

YouTube Short Update:

Campaign YouTube Short:

Campaign YouTube Video:

YouTube Short on Hijab: