Contact Us

Ghonva Ghauri is the Coordinator for Multiracial and Native American/Indigenous Student Involvement and Advocacy at the Office of Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy (MICA)

She is an interdisciplinary artist and psychological anthropologist. Ghonva is a UMD Alumna; she received her B.A. in Studio Art with a concentration in oil painting and also completed the Pre-Medical Track. She earned her M.A. in Medical Anthropology from the George Washington University, with a focus on mental health and identity-formation within adolescents, especially those from immigrant communities. As a second-generation South Asian American Muslim woman, she is passionate about uplifting women of color, facilitating intergenerational dialogue, and creating discussion around stigmatized topics. In her academic work, Ghonva conducted ethnographies on the ethnoreligious identities of South Asian American youth and on the identity maintenance of Muslim women practicing unorthodox sexuality. Ghonva is determined to break the cyclic violence of community-wide silences around stigmatized issues—like mental illness or physical & emotional abuses—that undoubtedly affect mental wellness. She is a firm believer in empathetic listening practices and the power of storytelling, especially when exploring a diaspora. Her research interests include: intersectional feminism; sexuality and cultural gender roles; ethnoreligious identities; intergenerational trauma; empathy and narratives; hybrid identity negotiations; and mental wellness in children of immigrants in the US. In her free time, Ghonva likes to eat cheese, teach herself new art mediums, read feminist philosophy, and record a podcast! Contact at: gghauri@umd.edu 

Ava Lamberty (she/her/hers) is a junior General Biology major and Asian American Studies minor. She joined the MICA office as the Multi-biracial COSI in Fall 2022. In this position, she hopes to learn more about her own multiracial identity being half Japanese and half Puerto Rican, along with educating the general UMD community about these identities. Along with working for the MICA office, Ava works as an undergraduate research assistant in an entomology laboratory working with mosquitoes and moths. She is passionate about advocacy for the APIDA community and is involved with the Asian American Student Union as the Co Vice President of Advocacy which manages the APIDA Social Justice Task Force. The APIDA Social Justice Task Force works with administration and faculty on a list of critical issues that are pertinent to the APIDA community at UMD, one of which is expanding the Asian American Studies minor into a major. Ava is also the treasurer of the Multiracial Biracial Student Association along with being part of the editorial team for this year’s Disorientation Guide. In the future, Ava hopes to incorporate her passion for social justice and advocacy with a career in scientific research. Outside of work and school, she enjoys hiking, reading, baking, crocheting, sewing, and spending time with friends. 

Please feel free to reach out to us at mica-contact@umd.edu or at 301-314-8600