Dawood Yasin

In September of 2009, Dawood Yasin was appointed the Muslim Life and International Service & Education Advisor at the William Jewett Tucker Foundation. In this role Dawood provides spiritual and religious support, offers educational seminars, and leads congregational prayers for Muslim residents at Dartmouth College and in the greater Hanover area. Dawood also works to foster understanding and dialogue amongst the diverse campus groups by building and maintaining interfaith relations. In addition, he assists students in the Service and Education program (SEP). In this area Dawood works with students on issues of civic engagement, ethical decision making in short-term service projects and, value-based leadership, within a globalized community.

Dawood began his studies in international relations at Southern Connecticut State University. However he chose to interrupt his studies in 1991, accepting a job in the advertising industry allowing him to work in Paris, London, New York, Milan and South Africa for five years.

During his residence in South Africa Dawood converted to Islam and returned briefly to the United States. He then spent five years in Damascus, studying Arabic, Islam, and spirituality. Upon completion of his studies he returned to New Haven, CT where he served as the imam of a local mosque.

While in New Haven, Dawood also served as a teaching assistant and engaged in research at Yale University. In that role, he taught Elementary Standard Arabic and Modern Standard Spoken Arabic to undergraduate and graduate students.

Most recently, Dawood served as Director of Outreach at the Zayed Center for Islamic Culture in the United Arab Emirates. While there he gained considerable insight and experience in interfaith relations. He also engaged in public speaking within the U.A.E. and abroad, emphasizing ethics and tolerance in addressing misconceptions within and between the Islamic and non-Islamic communities. Dawood spends his summers as an Arabic language instructor at Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California.

Dawood was born and raised in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Dawood is currently completing a master’s degree in Globalization at Dartmouth College. Dawood lives with his wife and daughters in Vermont.