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. I began this community-powered educational crowdfunding campaign this July (2025) to help sustain a crucial phase in my research, resilience, and academic journey.

With the support of family and friends, I was able to successfully attend and present three critical papers at the American Political Science Association (APSA) conferences in Cambridge, MA, and Vancouver, Canada.

Thank you so much for your generosity and support. That meant so much to me. I am excited to be able to continue using the valuable skills, resources, and experience I gained to pay it forward as I continue my academic career.

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

This fundraiser began by covering conference-related costs for Polnet and APSA (2025), in order to share my work and keep building the research, while pushing forward on the academic market. I am now moving on to the next phase of the campaign.

More details about the next phase will be shared soon. For now, I am continuing my academic work as an independent scholar. One of the papers I presented at APSA is now moving toward publication, with the full manuscript due this month, alongside several other pieces in progress. I also recently received an acceptance to present my USAID research at the upcoming Social Capital 2026 Conference in Dubai (March 2026).

With the conference taking place in Dubai, I am exploring the possibility of returning to Karachi, Pakistan, for a short period of fieldwork to support my ongoing book and research projects. It would be 7 years since I returned from Pakistan from my final doctoral fieldwork trip (March 2019) before I completed my degree (August 2021). So, it would be an important and meaningful return.

I am actively seeking sponsors, grants, and institutional partners to make these two trips possible.

In the meantime, your support helps sustain this journey - through the job market, the completion of publications, and the preparation for these future conferences/travels - during a time when I am working entirely without institutional funding or salary.

Thank you for standing with me as I continue this important work.

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

You can scroll down to read my full story from the first phase of this campaign, my research topics, conference details, and more.

In this story, along with the linked writings (with some forthcoming essays), I provide 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

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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). Yes, that's a new, necessary, more comprehensive acronym I thought to contribute myself! 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.

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.

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 Islam. Soon after such a transformational experience, I 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.

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.

A Community-Funded Postdoc

As noted in a recent update below, this campaign allowed me to complete my primary goal of making it to APSA and participating in the job market. I am truly appreciative, humbled, and excited about having been able to accomplish those very difficult tasks, especially as an independent scholar. The next phase of this journey will continue what I have called 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 providing more details on the next phase and writing an article about this concept, so please stay tuned!

Concluding Remarks

I hope that with my continued resilience, 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 creative and resourceful ways to maintain momentum, give back, and pay it forward.

And I realize how important it is that I stay the course in the larger narrative for those facing similar challenges. It is easy to get crushed by your circumstances and challenges through personal and collective crises.

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, regardless of the challenge. This is about finding the opportunity to keep moving forward and supporting others with similar challenges along the way. Your support during this transition will help me stay the course and get there, and I believe stories like mine can inspire others to keep going, too!

Ultimately, this campaign represents 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

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UPDATE (12/2/2025): A Giving and Doing Tuesday Update:

Friends, I’m relaunching my community-powered research fundraiser today on Giving Tuesday! Earlier this year, your support helped me attend Polnet 2025 and APSA 2025, and one of the papers connected to that conference is now moving toward publication! Something I couldn’t have done without your encouragement.

Today, on a global day of generosity, I’m reopening this campaign to support the next phase of my research and writing, including a newly accepted international conference presentation, potential mini-fieldwork expedition to Pakistan, and ongoing publications.

If you feel called to support or share, I would be so grateful.

Thank you for keeping this work alive!

Here is my most recent Substack Newsletter about the APSA experience in Vancouver:

The Politics of Visibility: Reflections on a Memorable Academic Pilgrimage

I hope to share my next newsletter, regarding the community-powered scholarship and the intellectual justification for crowdfunding, soon! In light of Giving Tuesday, you can also gift a subscription (paid or unpaid) too.

It is an important reminder that there are many ways to show our generosity, compassion, and care to all those who need our support.

You can subscribe here: The Qualitative Inquisition.

Thank you!

The final budget from the APSA conferences has been updated below as well. A new budget estimate for my future research endeavors will be shared in the coming weeks.

UPDATES (November 1, 2025):

Sharing Reflections on my APSA experience! I made it (Also check out recent Updates sent to donors below. Be sure to click on see more to see the previous updates. Here is the reflection piece in The Qualitative Inquisition:

The Politics of Visibility: Reflections on a Memorable Academic Pilgrimage

UPDATES (September 5, 2025):

Linking Painting Heals Initiative to the Campaign (see update note)!

Painting Heals: https://paintingheals.elsatkhwaja.com/

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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First Phase: 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 on the conferences, the research and mission you will be supporting.

Fundraising Purpose - The Research Projects and Conference Details:

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.

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.

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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.

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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) $360

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 $2,840.74

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: $2640.74

Confirming $2680.74 for APSA and PolNet conference total. This was reduced after the actual costs were included.

I will add updates for the budget for the next phase soon.

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.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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 public crowdfunding for educational purposes 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 support for academic 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!

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ALL 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 Articles on Substack Qi Newsletter:

Politics of Visibility: Reflections on a Memorable Academic Pilgrimage

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: