We’re excited to share that Dalia Othman has been selected by our Board as The Engine Room’s other Co-Executive Director, to lead the organisation alongside Paola Mosso from mid-March.
Dalia is a digital rights advocate who has long worked on the intersections between technology, feminism and social justice. Prior to joining The Engine Room, she co-founded and led Jeem, a feminist media organisation that produces knowledge in Arabic on issues related to gender and sexuality.
While at Jeem, Dalia worked on embedding feminist values within the organisation, and worked towards creating healthy organisational structures. She also spent two years as a research fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society researching online communities in the Arabic-speaking region and how technology can enable narrative building and storytelling.
The Engine Room has been developing a model for co-leadership over the last year and a half, and this is the first time the organisation will officially have two Executive Directors leading the organisation together.
“I’m really delighted that Dalia will be joining the incredible team at The Engine Room – we’re looking forward to working with her, learning from her, and seeing how she and Paola take the organisation into its next phase. Dalia’s been a founder, a researcher, a leader and a builder, and we are excited for her and The Engine Room’s incredible staff and leadership.
– Elizabeth Eagen, Chair of the Search Committee
Dalia and Paola will share more about their joint vision for The Engine Room at a later date – for now, Dalia says:
“I have been a fan of The Engine Room’s work for many years, and to now have the opportunity to join Paola in co-leading the organisation is a pleasure and honour. We are facing expansive socio-political shifts that threaten social justice movements globally: recent trends from a pandemic that saw the increased use of surveillance technologies; global conflicts and migration trends that have unleashed an unprecedented use of technologies such as AI for military and border control; a growing anti-feminist backlash and the threat of climate change. This is precisely why I find the work of TER more important than ever.
I am looking forward to this role, in working closely with Paola and the team in growing The Engine Room further and to help more communities in their fight for social justice.The Engine Room’s shared leadership model is based on mutual support and solidarity, that allows for collaboration, as well as the sharing of ideas and responsibility; fostering a healthy environment built upon diversity.”
We’re all looking forward to this new stage of The Engine Room’s growth, and welcome Dalia to the team!