A native of upstate New York, Mariam graduated from Hamilton College with honors in world politics. She has volunteered with refugees, worked for Joe Biden, a Washington DC-based political think tank, and at Albany’s ABC-affiliate newsroom. She produced corporate media as a consultant at Mercer. She is inspired by film and its capacity to encourage feeling, action, and progress; to elevate viewers to better understand themselves, their world and their actions through its lenses.