Team Spotlight: Sadaf Patel, Director of Education & Prevention
1. How has your team's work impacted the community?
Sadaf Patel, Education & Prevention Director: Our education team has made a lasting impact on the community by delivering relevant, culturally sensitive, and age-appropriate programs that empower youth and families with knowledge and life skills. Through our work in schools, masjids, and community spaces, we’ve created safe environments for critical conversations that often don’t happen anywhere else.
We focus on key topics like emotional regulation, helping students recognize and manage big feelings in healthy ways; communication and conflict resolution, teaching families how to express themselves respectfully and navigate disagreements without harm; and knowing yourself, which encourages self-awareness and identity.
We also address digital dangers, including online grooming, sextortion, game-based radicalization, and the mental health impact of social media—equipping both kids and parents with tools to stay safe online. Our Protecting Our Children workshops offer parents and caregivers insight into the hidden risks children face and how to build strong, protective relationships.
The impact has been powerful: students are opening up more, school staff are requesting repeat sessions, and families are reaching out for deeper support. Most importantly, we’re seeing young people make healthier choices and adults becoming stronger advocates for their children’s safety and emotional well-being. These conversations are planting seeds of change across the community. So far this year we have had about a dozen presentations reaching over 600 community members of all ages.
2. How does your team stay motivated to create impactful and/or relevant learning experiences for others?
Sadaf Patel: Our team stays motivated because we see the need — and the impact — every single day. We know that for many students and families, no one else is talking to them about emotional regulation, healthy communication, or digital safety from a culturally respectful and trauma-informed lens. That sense of responsibility keeps us grounded in our purpose.We also stay connected to our community — listening closely to the concerns of youth, parents, and educators. This helps us design sessions that are not only informative, but relevant and relatable. Whether we’re adapting material to meet a specific school’s needs or responding to a growing issue like online exploitation, we are always evolving to meet people where they are.What truly fuels us is the feedback: the middle schooler who finally found the words to express their feelings, the parent who left a workshop saying “I wish I had this when I was growing up,” or the teen who realized they were in an unsafe relationship and asked for help.We’re not just teaching content — we’re opening doors to healing, protection, and growth. That’s what keeps us going.
