About Ms. Naderi
Marjan Naderi is an Afghan-American educator, poet, and neuropsychology researcher who uses her voice and scholarship to bridge art, cultural memory, and trauma-informed care. D.C. Youth Poet Laureate Emeritus and seven-time National Poetry Slam Winner, Naderi has performed at The White House, Madison Square Garden, The Library of Congress, The Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center.
Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, NPR, NBC News, and more. She has collaborated with global and national institutions such as Nike, the United Nations’ Girl Up Campaign, and the National Endowment for the Arts, channeling her poetry toward advocacy for refugee empowerment, mental health awareness, and gender justice.
Naderi’s debut chapbook, Bloodline, sold out shortly after release and is now included in curricula at institutions like the University of Virginia, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Brown University. As an educator and curriculum designer, she has led youth-centered workshops with L.M.S. voice, and founded the Washington International Academy Library in 2016 and continuing to expand library access in underserved communities.
Her research at the University of Virginia spans Islamic psychology, contemplative neuroscience, and trauma recovery among Afghan refugee populations. She is developing clinical models that integrate Dhikr (Islamic rhythmic remembrance) with evidence-based PTSD treatments, combining cultural traditions with contemporary neuropsychological frameworks. Her interdisciplinary work engages psychology, religious studies, and community health, with the aim of building trauma-informed care that is both scientifically rigorous and culturally rooted.
Currently, Naderi is advancing this research while continuing to design county wide English and Language Arts curricula, mentor emerging poets, and build community-centered arts and healing initiatives across the U.S. and Afghan diaspora.
CGTN
America
CGTN America
(2025)
Full Frame: CGTN America Network
“We’re all living in our constructed worlds. It’s all interpreted worlds. My interpreted world meets your interpreted world. There are these tools of language that connect us in some theoretical way as if we have a real understanding of what’s going on in your world and my world… Poetry becomes a vehicle for this love to be shared between us,”
“Feeling outcast as a minority in America and yet somehow too American to be accepted by the Afghan community, Naderi’s poetry reconciles her family’s roots with that of her American upbringing. In so doing, she has forged a path for healing and understanding.”
“I write because I know the narrative that I hold and how often the narrative of Afghan women, a Muslim woman is shoved to the back of the closet,” she says. By elevating the voices of Afghan American women, Naderi has proven herself a force of nature.”
(2020)
Muslim-American Teen Uses Slam Poetry to Elevate Community
NowThis News
“In a world where the teen isn't 'American' or 'Afghany' enough, this Muslim spoken word poet found solace with a pen and microphone. Meet Marjan Naderi, a Muslim American teenager creating her own space in the spoken word space and elevating the stories of her community.”
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