Nuzhat Chowdhury is the Director of Democracy & Justice Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

Nuzhat previously worked at the Brennan Center for Justice, where she consulted on projects to reform elections administration in New York and to increase election security across the country. Prior to the Brennan Center, Nuzhat worked at the New York City Council, where she was legislative and committee counsel to the committees on Aging, Civil Service & Labor, and Veterans. At the Council, Nuzhat helped draft and pass laws meant to protect marginalized New Yorkers, including the City’s first ever package of legislation addressing age discrimination in the workplace.

Nuzhat is a 2015 graduate from Columbia Law School, where she focused on international human rights. After law school, Nuzhat held a fellowship at the Center for Appellate Litigation, doing criminal appellate defense work. She also has a B.A. in Political Science and Communications from the University of Missouri. She is barred in both New York and New Jersey.