Adita Arya holds an MA in Islamic Studies and Leadership from Bayan Islamic Graduate School and a certificate in MBSR from the Susan Samuel Integrative Health Institute-UCI. Her main area of study focuses on bridging modern mindfulness with Islamic contemplative practices to synthesize practical Islamic Mindfulness for Muslim practitioners not versed in mysticism. She also holds an MS in Educational Leadership, and a B.S. in Biology. She has always been passionate about education, so for the past 14 years Adita has been engaged in teaching, directing, and developing curriculum at Islamic Schools throughout the United States and empowering children’s education for the underprivileged in Afghanistan. She is the president and co-founder of Afghan Literacy Foundation, an organization that prevents children from being forced into child labor in Afghanistan and provides them monetary support to attend school instead. As founder of AIM in 2013 she created and proposed a weekend school model for the Islamic Center of Irvine. Prior to that, she directed Pillars Academy Islamic School.