Bangladeshi-origin communications strategist Zara Rahim has been named to New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s all-female transition team, which will guide his administration ahead of taking office on January 1, 2026.

Rahim, who has served as a senior adviser to Mamdani since February 2025, joins a diverse group of women including Maya Handa, Tascha Van Auken, and Faiza Ali — all of whom played key roles in Mamdani’s sweeping election victory on Tuesday night, according to US media reports.

A first-generation American raised in South Florida, Rahim is the daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants who moved to the United States in the early 1980s.

Before joining Mamdani’s campaign, Rahim worked under Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus at the Yunus Centre and later served as Florida Digital Content Director for former US President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.

She later joined the White House Office of Digital Strategy and held senior communications roles at Uber, Vogue, and The Wing, as well as working on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.