Dania Fawaz

Director of Programs; Art Therapist, Project Create

Washington, DC, United States

Dania Fawaz is the Director of Programs within a DC-based non-profit, Project Create, where she leads the development and implementation of programs that focus on offering arts-based support groups for children and families experiencing homelessness and poverty. Dania works in partnership with social service organizations that offer emergency, transitional and long-term housing to homeless families, as well as with out-of-school-time programs in underserved DC neighborhoods. She is also in the process of co-founding an international development firm that focuses on monitoring, evaluation, research, and capacity building of local organizations working with vulnerable communities across borders.

Dania is an Art Therapist & Program Director with a demonstrated history of working with trauma, focusing on child and adolescent mental health. She has worked with local and international non-profits, providing a creative safe haven for children, youth, and families experiencing displacement and fleeing conflict zones. She focuses on applying a strength-based approach across her work, both in direct service provision with communities facing adversity, and when working systematically on policies and procedures that frame non-profit work.

Drawing on her technical expertise in mental health and development, Dania has conducted several program and curriculum evaluations, focusing on child-friendly and rights-based approaches. She supports organizations by designing programs for psychosocial support in marginalized and underserved neighborhoods by emphasizing and leveraging community-based mechanisms for recovery.

Dania is a graduate of American University of Beirut, and has an MA Degree in Art Psychotherapy from Goldsmiths, University of London.