Marjana Chowdhury

Marjana Chowdhury was born in Sylhet, Bangladesh in 1993. In 1994, her family left Bangladesh and settled in New York City, United States. She is the second of four daughters.

Chowdhury attended the Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem, New York from 2005 to 2011 and graduated as valedictorian of her class. In 2011, she received first prize at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair and represented New York as a finalist for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair with her peer Maryama Diaw.[9]

The pair's winning project assessed the reproductive success of the Gambusia holbrooki, used as a surrogate to the darter species. Results from this inquiry were important to the reintroduction of the formerly endangered species, the Okaloosa darter, into suitable stream systems to ensure population success.[10] Chowdhury and Diaw's efforts in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Biology Department of Loyola University,[11] the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and other students from the Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem helped to reclassify the Etheostoma okaloosae from the status of endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act.[12][13]

Chowdhury earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College, Columbia University, in 2015. In 2013, she participated with a team consisting of other Columbia University and Cooper Union members in the International Genetic Engineering and Machines Competition. Her team took home a bronze prize for their project on a synthetic biology approach to etch copper in order to redefine the manufacturing of printed circuit boards.[14]

Chowdhury was also a Gates Millennium Scholar and Albert Shanker Scholar. In her final year at Columbia University, she received a King's Crown Leadership Award[15] distinguishing her as a Senior Marshal, an honor bestowed upon members of the graduating class who have demonstrated achievement in their academics and extracurricular activities. She was also distinguished at graduation with a graduation cord presented by the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA)[16] Recipients of this cord have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to diversity, social justice, and multiculturalism through the OMA, campus leadership, community involvement, academic endeavors, and/or personal dedication.

Chowdhury is a member of the Student Leadership Network (SLN)[17] and its CollegeBound Initiative (CBI).[18] She graduated as a SLN and CBI alum in 2011 and has been volunteering with the organization since then as a mentor to underprivileged middle and high-school students undergoing the college admissions process. She is also a member of the organization's junior board, Next Gen.[19] In 2019, Chowdhury was an honoree at the Collegebound Initiative Gala for her work with the organization.

Chowdhury is also a member of the Robin Hood Foundation's young professionals' network, PYT.[20] She serves as a liaison for the program at the asset management firm where she works, assisting in the organization and coordination of different charity projects volunteering with many of New York's notable philanthropic organizations with members of her firm.

In 2016, Chowdhury served as an assistant facilitator with Rikers Story Bot,[21] one of several programs offered by the Rikers Education Project,[22] a collaboration of the Center for Justice at Columbia University[23] and the Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University.[24] The program allowed teenage inmates at Rikers Island to work alongside Columbia University members and students to learn the basics of the programming language Python, to tweet about their personal experiences, and to contribute code to Rikers Story Bot.[25][26][27]