Hannah Mesouani ’11 Announced as 2024-2025 Obama Foundation Leader
Mesouani, the director of mission and equity consulting for the YWCA of McLean County, Illinois, is one of 100 participants from the United States who were selected for the program.By: Emma Northrop ’27 Wednesday, December 4, 2024 09:51 AM
Hannah Mesouani ’11Hannah Mesouani ’11 came to Muhlenberg from Tangier, Morocco, as one of only three international students in her class. For the majority of her time on campus, Mesouani, a film studies and media & communication double major, was the only Muslim student. Working with others on campus, Mesouani developed the Muslim Student Association in order to create community and celebrate Muslim cultures. She also took a formative class with Paul McEwan, professor and chair of media & communication, where she was encouraged to “dive into queer theory and film representation.”
These experiences at Muhlenberg, where she was also involved in student government, a member of the sorority Phi Mu and a resident advisor, continue to influence her work at the YWCA of McLean County, Illinois. As the director of mission and equity consulting, Mesouani specializes in DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility) advising and works closely with the LGBTQ+ population and other marginalized groups.
“Part of what I do [in my job] is help people be less awful to each other, to realize that a person who is different from them is also a person, and that it’s okay to have disagreements so long as those disagreements aren’t about each other’s humanity.”
—Hannah Mesouani ’11
“Part of what I do is help people be less awful to each other,” she says, “to realize that a person who is different from them is also a person, and that it’s okay to have disagreements so long as those disagreements aren’t about each other’s humanity.”
On the basis of her professional accomplishments, Mesouani was selected as just one of 100 participants for the Obama Foundation Leaders USA Program.
Now in its second year, the Obama Foundation Leaders USA Program was inspired by former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Meeting every Friday and every other Tuesday on Zoom, Mesouani and her cohort will work with mentors and each other to tackle important topics such as “engaging diverse perspectives, building collective power and making tangible, sustainable progress towards a better world,” according to a press release about the program.
“I also want to connect with leaders from a bunch of different fields so that I can do DEI work more sustainably. The average career length [in DEI] is about a year to a year-and-a-half because people burn out so quickly. I’ve been at my organization for about three years so we’re crushing it — twice as long as expected! But it’s very real that it’s the kind of work that is exhausting and unsustainable.”
—Hannah Mesouani ’11
Through this program, Mesouani hopes to forge even more bridges between people in her community. “[Where I live] there’s a lot of more rural areas around that I don’t think get enough love,” she says. “I want to be able to respectfully connect with rural communities, because I think there’s a need for DEI conversations everywhere that there’s people.” Additionally, she wants to continue working against the stigmas around homelessness and incarceration in her area.
“I also want to connect with leaders from a bunch of different fields so that I can do DEI work more sustainably,” says Mesouani. “The average career length [in DEI] is about a year to a year-and-a-half because people burn out so quickly. I’ve been at my organization for about three years so we’re crushing it — twice as long as expected! But it’s very real that it’s the kind of work that is exhausting and unsustainable. It’s being so politicized, so I love that the Obama Foundation is nonpartisan and committed to creating sustainable connections. My goal is just to learn as much as I can.”
