Kenja Hassan

Guided by ASU's mission to be measured not by whom we exclude, but rather by whom we include, Dr. Hassan works to forge relationships between ASU and diverse communities throughout the state.  Kenja has brought college preparation programs to American Indian youth on reservations, orchestrated national dialogs on pressing issues in the Nation’s capital, guided student service projects across Arizona, and launched a series of reports on the status of Arizona’s diverse communities, including the State of Black Arizona which went on to thrive as an independent community based non-profit. She is currently a liaison to civic leadership organizations and community leaders representing the voices of minority populations.

Kenja has been recognized by several organizations for her work to strengthen Arizona communities, including the Phoenix Business Journal, the City of Phoenix Human Relations Commission and the Arizona Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee, the Black Board of Directors Project, the Phoenix Suns and PetSmart, the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity, the NAACP, the Arizona Commission on African American Affairs, and Asian Corporate and Entrepreneur Leaders (ACEL), and Phoenix HerStories: celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and women’s constitutional right to vote.

Dr. Hassan holds an A.B. in Religion from Princeton University and a M.A. in Religious Studies from Arizona State University both with an emphasis on American Indian traditions. Her Ph.D. is from the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation with an emphasis on health disparities related to HIV and the influence of patient / provider relationships on health outcomes.