Shaheen Pasha

Shaheen Pasha is an Associate Teaching Professor at the Penn State Bellisario College of Communications, specializing in mass incarceration, prison education, and journalism ethics. She co-founded the Prison Journalism Project (PJP), a nonprofit empowering incarcerated individuals to tell their stories through journalism training. Previously, she launched a groundbreaking jail-based journalism course at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Pasha’s career spans 20 years in international journalism, including roles at CNNMoney, Thomson Reuters, and Dow Jones Newswires, covering legal issues, Islamic finance, and global markets.

Education:

• Master's Degree from Columbia University

Research Interests: Pasha’s work focuses on bridging academia and incarcerated communities through journalism, addressing systemic issues in mass incarceration. She explores how media representation impacts marginalized groups, particularly through her writings on Islamophobia and gendered narratives. Her dual focus on practical journalism training and critical research has led to innovative collaborations, such as the PJP’s cross-campus journalism programs.

Awards and Recognition:

• 2022 Emerging Faculty Award for Engaged Scholarship
• Fulbright Specialist Designation (curriculum advising)
• Harvard University Knight Nieman Visiting Fellowship

Grants & Advocacy: Pasha’s work has been supported through fellowships and institutional collaborations. Her research extends to analyzing online Islamophobia and its political implications, as evidenced by her Penn State-led studies on social media bots and hate speech targeting Muslim Americans.

Labs & Initiatives: Central to her work is the Prison Journalism Project, which operates as a living laboratory for teaching, research, and community engagement. The PJP has expanded nationally, training over 500 incarcerated writers and producing award-winning journalism.