Mariama N’Diaye ’13 is pursuing a passion that, while rooted in her native Harlem, is taking her all over the world. From her graduate studies and the fellowships she’s received to her entrepreneurial endeavors with her sister, Mariama is dedicated to uplifting marginalized communities by addressing complex social issues and partnering in the designing of human-centered solutions. Her upbringing, coupled with her professional experiences in the public sector and as a project manager, have culminated in her unique approach to the question: How do we best serve individuals and communities?
Mariama’s love of learning extends back to Riverdale and its abundance of offerings, as does her ability to juggle dual roles that tap into her varying interests. “Riverdale taught me how to be a great speaker, a great writer, and very engaged on campus. It taught [me] how to see [myself] as an engaged participant in the world [I’m] living in, whether it’s through class or through [my] classmates.” Along with balancing yearbook, volleyball and soccer, photography classes, and her mandatory course load, Mariama’s scholarly focus narrowed on the duality of the roles she balanced off campus, as well. “I will say that the experience at Riverdale, while also living in Harlem, has defined my career path and my academic path,” says Mariama, “the reason being that a big part of my experience was asking: How can we live in the same city yet have such different experiences based off economic wealth?” To Mariama, this was a fascinating disparity –– that Riverdale and Harlem can coexist so closely within New York City yet be worlds apart. After graduating from Williams College with a degree in political science, specializing in comparative politics with honors in global studies, that very question planted a seed for a broader thought that would be at the heart of Mariama’s expansive work.
Beginning as a research intern for Bloomberg Associates, an international consulting service and philanthropic venture, Mariama engaged in opportunities that put her at the forefront of impactful initiatives. As a local government consultant and project manager for Bloomberg’s Social Services, Mariama led multifaceted global projects, such as providing policy recommendations to local leaders in the City of Paris based on the first-ever count of their unhoused population and streamlining support services for migrant populations in Milan, Italy. Across the globe in Lima, Peru, Mariama was instrumental in working with the capital city to create a domestic violence awareness campaign during the first year of COVID-19, while back in the States, she focused on reducing on-campus student arrests in Houston, Texas. There is a common thread woven into every role Mariama has taken on: she applies a design thinking lens to reimagine the potential of initiatives intended to amplify the development of people.
Along with drawing from her experience as a Riverdale student, Mariama finds inspiration in the culturally rich enclave she calls home. “Growing up in Little Senegal, in Harlem, defined who I am. I introduce myself, no matter the occasion, with that fact because it’s the “foundation of who I am,” says Mariama, “Being in a country within a city, in a Harlem within a Manhattan, made me constantly wonder how one preserves a culture while also being open to entering new doors.” Entering new doors became a norm for Mariama, who in 2021 was named an EU-Schuman Fulbright Scholar, receiving an opportunity to conduct independent research on how moderately large municipalities work to support non-EU migrants across city agencies, particularly while collectively facing a health crisis.
This ethnographic study allowed Mariama to delve into government systems and explore how practitioners utilized human-centered designs to better support marginalized communities, like immigrant communities in Milan, Paris, and Dresden. During her study, Mariama met with practitioners to discuss their designing of new public programs, policies, and places, asking about their processes, potential bottlenecks, and the lived experiences considered when making
decisions that impacted populations at large. When reflecting on how she engaged with the people she hoped to serve, Mariama says, “The way I navigate it personally is by entering [a space] as if I know absolutely nothing. My job is to listen, to be a part of, and to engage with. Even as a designer, I don’t have the answer; I don’t have the solution. We may not have the solution. But we can spend a lot more time focusing on the problem and understanding its impact and unpacking that, and then working with communities to define what the solution can be.”
A self-professed lifelong learner, Mariama prides herself on being on an ever-growing quest for knowledge, often considering how she invests her time in fulfilling her purpose and engaging in activities that contribute to the life she wants to live. Mariama says, “I’ve learned this very recently, or came to the realization that it is okay to jump around. There are different roles and levels that play into everything we do, and we don’t have to have one role for our entire lives.” As for how those roles feed into the greater good, including sustainable solutions for vulnerable populations, Mariama believes the key is consistency and a genuine want to support the efforts of changemakers through service learning. Mariama shares, “I always say that if you say there’s no way, then the next person will also say there’s no way, and nothing will ever happen. A lot of work can happen on a small scale. You have no idea how your support, at any level, will open doors or who will be served by your engagement.” Mariama also notes the importance of acknowledging privilege, one’s adaptation to a different environment, how communication plays a role in the delivery of actions, and ultimately supporting an impact that extends beyond the moment.
Mariama is currently a design fellow at the MIT Morningside Academy for Design, pursuing a dual master’s degree in urban planning and business administration at the MIT Department
of Urban Studies and Planning and the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is looking forward to defending her thesis this spring, noting that it is the culmination of her Fulbright work and representative of what she hopes will be her life’s work. Along with being a Fulbright Scholarship recipient, Mariama was named NYU Fellow for Emerging Leaders in Public Service and a Student Design Fellow at IDEO.org. Along with her studies, she currently sits as the Chief of Staff for Ami Colé, a clean beauty brand founded by her sister, Diarrha, inspired by Senegal in celebration of melanin-rich skin. When considering the initiatives she hopes to apply her unique skillset to following spring commencement, Mariama says, “I’m passionate about economic development, immigration support, and providing quality jobs. I’m very focused on the international space. I’m passionate about how human-centered design, storytelling, and negotiation can be utilized in a government capacity.” Mariama is also looking forward to traveling, specifically to Mexico City, known for its advanced level of urban planning and development. From there, she hopes to go further to visit Fiji, New Zealand, or Thailand and live a remote nomad life.