Dr. Soraya Ahyaudin works at the intersection of faith, leadership, and institutional formation. She serves as Assistant Director of Learning Design and Programs at the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC), where she directs the American Muslim Civic Leadership Initiative and leads the development of CRCC’s leadership initiatives, training programs, and public programming for faith and community leaders across diverse religious traditions. Her work advances public understanding of religion and equips leaders to build resilient, just, and equitable communities.
Dr. Ahyaudin holds a Doctor of Education from the USC Rossier School of Education. Her doctoral research examined the resilience of American Muslim women leaders in nonprofit organizations and explored how institutional structures and intersecting identities shape leadership experience and professional sustainability. She also holds a Master of Public Diplomacy from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, a Master’s degree in Science and Environmental Journalism from Universiti Sains Malaysia, and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication (Journalism) from MARA University of Technology, Malaysia. In addition, she holds two ijazah from Rabata in the Forty Hadith of Imam al-Nawawi and the Forty Hadith of Palestine.
Her professional experience spans public diplomacy, educational exchange, and public-sector institutional work. She previously contributed to institutional program development at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, supporting high-level convenings and executive training initiatives. Earlier in her career, she held administrative and public-sector roles within the international office at Universiti Sains Malaysia and the Public Service Department of Malaysia, engaging in cross-border academic collaboration and governmental institutional processes. Collectively, these experiences shaped her sustained interest in faith-informed leadership, diaspora narratives, and the civic role of religious institutions.
In addition to serving on Rabata’s board, Dr. Ahyaudin serves on the PBS SoCal Community Advisory Board and has served since 2017 as a member of the Advisory Board of Masjid Al-Fatiha of America, the first and only masjid established by Muslims from Thailand in the United States.