Sadaf Jaffer sworn in as first South Asian-American woman mayor in New Jersey

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Pakistani-American and Montgomery Committeewoman, Sadaf Jaffer was sworn in on January 3 as the mayor of the township, becoming the first South Asian-American woman mayor in New Jersey.

Jaffer has been a township resident for five years and was elected to the committee last year, according to a press release.

Jaffer is a scholar and activist who is focused on social justice and human rights and has experience in cultural education and government service including working for the United States Marine Corps Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning and the U. S. Department of State’s Bureau of South Asian Affairs.

She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in South Asian Studies at Princeton University where she teaches courses on South Asian, Islamic, and Asian American Studies.

She serves on the Board of Directors for Art and Resistance through Education (ARTE), as well as the Somerset County director for the South Asian American Caucus of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee and was selected to be in the inaugural training class of Emerge New Jersey, a press release says.

Jaffer earned her bachelor’s degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and obtained her PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations with a secondary field in Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality from Harvard University.