Wajahat Ali

Ali has worn many hats—as an author, intellectual, political commentator, columnist, public speaker, researcher, and parent of a toddler who survived cancer. His poignant and entertaining memoir, Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, chronicles his experience growing up as a Muslim Pakistani American in the Bay Area. In it he shares what it’s like to be “othered” and what it means to navigate the unrealistically high expectations society places on immigrants and people of color. And yet, even in this era of extreme partisanship and social turmoil, Ali is an optimist who hasn’t given up on his vision of a truly multicultural America. Ali has served as a Daily Beast columnist, political commentator, TED speaker and NY Times contributor.