Asma Abdi

In her role as a PANA Policy Associate, Asma focuses on affordable housing, equitable development, and tenant protections. She serves as Co-Chair of the Equitable Development Coalition, a regional coalition working to advance affordable housing, a fair transition to a zero carbon economy, and transit.

Prior to joining PANA, Asma was a Legal Rights Organizer at Alliance San Diego, providing direct services to the immigrant community to advance human rights priorities. While in college, she interned for Pillars of the Community, the American Federation of Teachers, UCSD’s Center on Global Justice, and the Center on Policy Initiatives as part of their Students for Economic Justice program.

A native San Diegan, Asma was born in Southeast San Diego and raised in East County. Her parents are refugees who immigrated from Somalia in the early 90s. She received her Associate's degree at San Diego City College and a B.A. Literature with a minor in Ethnic Studies from the University of California San Diego (UCSD), where she was a Chancellor’s Associates Scholar.

Asma has had her writing published in A Community of Readers: A Thematic Approach to Reading, Eighth Edition, and Reclaiming Our Stories 2. During her free time, she enjoys photography, yoga, exploring new places, being by the ocean, and spending time with loved ones.