Seema Reza

Seema Reza is the author of two books and CEO of Community Building Art Works, an organization that bridges the veteran and civilian communities and combats social isolation through writing, art, improv, and music workshops in military and veteran healthcare settings. She holds undergraduate and graduates degrees in writing and community building from Goddard College. In 2010 Seema began working with service members, veterans, and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and has since developed a unique multi-hospital and community arts program that encourages the use of the arts as a tool for narration, self-care, and socialization. In 2015, the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore awarded Seema the Col John Gioia Patriot Award for her work with service members. In 2019, Reza was selected as a George W. Bush Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program Scholar. Reza’s writing has been published in McSweeney’s, The Washington Post, The LA Review, The Feminist Wire, The Offing, and Entropy among others. Case studies from her work with military populations have appeared in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Related Diseases in Combat Veterans.