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OUR FOUNDING STORY
CSIDC emerged from a moment of profound clarity
CSIDC came from the bond between a mother and her child.
When her son Ali was born, Noor Masood (a Harvard-trained educator with a decade in multilateral and non-profit leadership) felt a deep urgency for a more hopeful future. Holding a child as the world fractured under wars, pandemics, climate change, and inequality, she asked:
"How do we shift this reality? How do we move toward abundance, interconnection, and peace?"
Her meditations revealed a core issue: the people we rely on to create a better world; movements, organizers, development practitioners are often constrained by the very mindsets they seek to undo. Extractive systems live not only around us but within our institutions and ways of working in distrust, scarcity, exhaustion, and constant crisis.
To help shift this and to enable leaders to respond with wisdom, Noor founded CSIDC.
CSIDC seeks to answer the core question of:
How can those committed to social good help shift humanity from scarcity, extraction, and violence to abundance, interconnection, and peace when we too have internalised the very mindsets we seek to change?
What began as a two-person team providing international trainings on organizing, soon expanded into something larger. CSIDC became a leadership institute with a distinctive heartbeat holding a profound vision that a reality rooted in wisdom, trust and abundance is possible. CSIDC started to shape as a regional home where social change leaders could pause, reflect, unlearn, and strategize for the world we believe in.
CSIDC NOW
These years of work revealed a deeper truth,
one that now grounds everything we do.
Our team embodies the feminist ethic that grounds us and transforms our work into a practice of joy, trust, and abundance.
Here's our growing tribe of educators and organizers!
Noorulain Masood
CEO | FOUNDER
Noor is a Global South educator, strategist, and writer working at the intersection of movement building, feminist leadership, and community-led systems change. As Founder and CEO of CSIDC, she draws on multilateral experience, grassroots organizing, and executive leadership to bridge worlds with clarity and purpose. A former Harvard leadership educator (2013–2020), she has trained over 2,000 practitioners globally, and her roles at Teach For Pakistan, the World Bank, and UN headquarters ground her understanding of both community power and institutional opportunities and constraints. Known for her rigorous yet deeply human approach, she carries intentionally into every space she leads. Other than this, she is a meditator, a musician, and a mother.
Muneeb Naveed Khan
MANAGER | GENDER JUST
TRANSITION COLLECTIVE
Muneeb is an advocacy practitioner committed to gender justice, inclusive policymaking, and people-centered climate action. At CSIDC, he leads the work of Gender-Just Energy Transition where he ensures that renewable energy expansion in Sindh centers the lived realities and leadership of communities most affected by energy insecurity. Before joining CSIDC, Muneeb worked with NOWPDP, The Hunar Foundation, and the Legal Aid Society, leading advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building initiatives focused on social justice. Outside of his work, he is found video gaming or watching anime.
Syeda Aliza Sajjad
MANAGER | CAMPAIGN
STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP
Aliza is community oriented development practitioner working at the intersections of gender and culturally grounded research. At CSIDC, she works with grassroots campaigners to strengthen collective power, organizing infrastructures and cross-movement solidarity, supporting leaders advocating for social, economic, and gender justice. Aliza holds a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Washington and prior to CSIDC, she contributed to digital transformation at UNDP and led education technology initiatives at The Citizens Foundation, bridging technology, youth engagement, and equitable access. Outside of work - she is an avid reader and poet.
Murk Larik
RESEARCH MANAGER | GENDER JUST TRANSITION COLLECTIVE
Murk Larik is a portfolio specialist, researcher, and public policy analyst working at the intersection of gender and broader development policies. Her work at CSIDC contributes by championing inclusiveness where diverse and marginalized voices can meaningfully shape inclusive policies and programs. Before her role at CSIDC, Murk has experience with organizations such as AXIOS International, FRDP International, the Aga Khan University Hospital and provincial government departments in Sindh and led key programs and contributed to the development of various initiatives When she isn’t immersed in her professional work, she can be found coding, cooking, watching films or spending quality time with her family.
Manish Kazmi
ASSOCIATE MANAGER | LEADERSHIP
FOR JUST FUTURES
Manish is a development practitioner at CSIDC, working towards social change and gender equity across Pakistan by supporting initiatives that center marginalized voices, foster inclusive leadership, and create spaces for collective impact. She draws on over five years of experience in policy advocacy, program design and project management across organizations including Itad, Zindagi Trust, and the Sindh Commission on the Status of Women. Outside of her professional work, Manish is an avid reader, loves swimming, solving puzzles, and drawing quietly exploring how creativity and reflection inform wisdom in her approach to building more equitable ecosystems.
Umaima Jameel
OFFICER | PEOPLES AND
SYSTEMS
Umaima is a graduate of Karachi University in Zoology but found her way in the development sector as a feminist and peace-builder from Orangi Town, Karachi. She brings a strong commitment to community development and a mindset of giving back to society. Known for her care, resilience, and exceptional work ethic, she works to strengthen structures and systems, creating meaningful impact within CSIDC and the communities we serve. She is an expert biker, and inspires lots of children in Karachi as a teacher, mentor, and role model.
Nida Afzal
ASSOCIATE MANAGER | MOVEMENT & SOLIDARITY BUILDING
Nida is a feminist movement builder committed to rights-based politics at the intersections of gender and climate justice. At CSIDC, she is building the tier of local and regional feminist movement building to foster transformative solidarity and cross movement knowledge building. Since seven years of convening regional feminist solidarity spaces, she dreams to create communities rooted in care, abundance, and collective resistance. Before joining CSIDC, Nida contributed to global forums including COP, the Asia Pacific Feminist Forum while serving as a Movement Builder at Fearless Collective. Outside her political work, she is an avid reader, cinema enthusiast and is quietly building a small home library of her own.
Muneeba Hafeez
PROGRAM ASSISTANT
GENDER JUST
TRANSITION COLLECTIVE
Muneeba is a political worker and organizer committed to class, gender, and ethnic justice. At CSIDC, she leads the tier of organizing and alliance building with the indigenous communities of Sindh. She began her journey in student politics at Sindh University and is a founding member of the Women Democratic Front, advancing socialist feminist organizing and amplifying women’s voices within social and political movements. Before joining CSIDC, she worked with women displaced during the 2022 floods in Sindh and conducted field research with Rozan, FCDO & World Bank projects, WHO, VTT Global, and the Alliance for Urban Rights. Outside her political work, she enjoys painting, sleeping, and reading feminist histories.
Anum Afra
PROGRAM ASSISTANT
LEADERSHIP FOR JUST FUTURES
Anum is a recent graduate from Habib University and a researcher. At CSIDC, her work centres helping teams of social justice organizations grow by strengthening collaborative leadership practices, shaping long-term strategy, and creating spaces that encourage continuous learning and development. She recently completed her BSc in Social Development and Policy at Habib University, carrying forward a combination of academic grounding and practical engagement with the communities she aims to serve, guided by a commitment to people-centered, sustainable change. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring places with a timeless, old-world feel and making new memories with the people she loves.
Ali Hassan Laghari
PROGRAM ASSISTANT
GENDER JUST
TRANSITION COLLECTIVE
Ali Hassan Laghari is a community organizer shaped by the social and ecological realities of rural Sindh. At CSIDC, he assists organizing and alliance building with the indigenous communities of Sindh. His political journey began in student organizing in Mirpurkhas, leading campaigns for accessible education and public transport. He has previously worked with NOWPDP on disability inclusion and Climate Reach on climate-induced displacement. Grounded in community experience, Ali focuses on climate justice, youth leadership, and collective power. Outside work, he studied English Literature, reads working-class poetry, and facilitates community spaces for young boys.
Mukesh Goheel
OFFICE ASSISTANT
PEOPLES AND
SYSTEMS
Mukesh is an operations officer who joined CSIDC in October 2024 as a support staff. Before joining CSIDC, he worked as a seaman, and his transition from sea to land has been truly remarkable. Mukesh plays a vital role in the day-to-day functioning of the office, ensuring that operations run smoothly and that the organization continues without disruption. His dedication, reliability, and hands-on support make him an invaluable member of the team. Outside of work, Mukesh has a keen interest in collecting and buying new watches.
Wajahat Hussain
PROGRAM OFFICER
GENDER JUST
TRANSITION COLLECTIVE
Wajahat Hussain is a political organizer and a community-based researcher. At CSIDC, he works closely with grassroots groups, students, and local communities to document lived experiences, support collective learning spaces, and strengthen people-centered narratives around climate, development, and public policy. Wajahat has been actively involved in student and progressive movements, contributing to political education, research, and organizing initiatives. His practice is grounded in solidarity, historical consciousness, and a commitment to building democratic, just, and sustainable futures.
CSIDC FUTURES
CSIDC is looking to grow with value-aligned partners for funding and collaboration that believe in;
Sustainability
We find sustainable and responsive processes to be most effective for what we do.
Community
We best partner with organizations, with communities and decolonize at the heart of their work.
Collaboration
We believe in collaborating on a shared purpose with mutual respect and integrity.
As a women-led team, we are growing our reach and deepening our roots, and we’re seeking allies who want to build power with wisdom, trust and abundance. We heartily invite you to join us holding trust if you’re committed to feminist future.
We aim to build:
Power
Host key debates on power, gender just transition, and liberation. Elevate the wisdoms of communities excluded from global policy discourse.
Solidarity
Facilitate spaces for collective learning, celebration, and strategization to foster cross movement learnings
Leadership
Train the next generation of Global South organizations;
not just to fight, but to lead with vision, discipline, and care.