Rasmia Kirmani
Chief Program Officer for Community Safety
Executive Team
Rasmia Kirmani is a national expert on public housing and currently serves as a Senior Fellow at Hester Street, an urban planning, design, and community development nonprofit in Manhattan. She brings deep experience in the areas of urban problem solving, housing, movement building, governance design, nonprofit management, narrative development, and strategic planning, having previously served as director of the Office of Public/Private Partnerships for the New York City Housing Authority, where she developed and managed NYCHA’s strategic relationships with not-for-profit organizations, philanthropic investors, and private sector partners. She also founded a new 501(c)(3), The Fund for Public Housing, to invest in the well-being of public housing residents and their communities. In 2022, Kirmani was appointed to the City Planning Commission by Mayor Eric Adams. She earned a Master of Science degree in Urban and Public Policy from The New School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies from the College of Wooster in Ohio. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Urban and Public Policy at The New School, where she has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses.
