Written By: Lia C.
Edited By: Niyanthri A.
On Tuesday, January 23rd, ISM alumnus Durreen Shahnaz delivered a book talk in the HS Library regarding her book The Defiant Optimist. Durreen Shahnaz is a Bangladeshi-American author, entrepreneur, and founder of the Impact Investment Exchange, a financial system for social enterprises and sustainable development, supporting women-centered advocacy and education beneficiaries.
During the book talk, Shahnaz discussed her journey to success as well as reading excerpts from her book The Defiant Optimist, which discusses her personal story as she journeys through Bangladesh and into crafting financial systems intended to assist the lives of underserved women. The book explores her personal experiences with a firsthand witness of marginalized women in communities and how it directs her inspiration for her fight for women’s empowerment by bringing women to the forefront of capital markets.
Shahnaz also answered questions from both Ms. Thompson, the host of the book talk, as well as people in the crowd. When asked about her education experience at ISM, she said “It’s an amazing school … academically and also non-academically. It’s a place that really pushes you. I think what I felt the school gave me, and the teachers, they were amazing teachers, what they gave me was really that encouragement and opportunity that I could actually push myself beyond what I even thought I could do.”
