Zaneta Rago-Craft, Ed.D., is the Director of the Intercultural Center and the Advisor to the President for Diversity and Inclusion. Previously, Dr. Z served as the Director for the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Originally from Long Branch, New Jersey, Dr. Z graduated in 2010 from the Ramapo College of New Jersey with a bachelor’s degree in history and women and gender studies and a master’s degree from New York University in higher education and student affairs administration in 2012. She also holds an Ed.D. in education, culture, and society from Rutgers University.
Dr. Z has worked in intercultural campus support for the last 10 years, including previous roles with the New York University LGBTQ Student Center, the Center for Multicultural Education and Programs at NYU, and Ramapo College’s Educational Opportunity Fund program and Women’s Center. She has a passion for infusing social justice education into her student affairs work with a particular interest in facilitating conversations around the intersectionality of multiple identities and oppression, art as activism, feminism, anti-racism, mentoring, LGBTQIA+ representations in the media, and multiracial experiences in a “check one box” world.
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.”
Audre Lorde
Jihad B. Johnson, M.S.Ed., is the Assistant Director of the Intercultural Center. Previously, Jihad served as an Undergraduate Admission Counselor working with prospective first-year students at Monmouth. Jihad is originally from East Orange, New Jersey where he grew up as the youngest of 6 children. Jihad graduated from Monmouth University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in public relations and journalism and in 2020 graduated with a master’s degree in educational counseling with a concentration in student affairs and college counseling.
Jihad is no stranger to Monmouth University community where others would like to say he was involved in “everything” as a student. As a Black man coming from a low-income, disadvantaged background Jihad knows first-hand the challenges students from underrepresented backgrounds face when coming to college, which is where he developed his passion for working with college students. The support he received as an undergraduate and graduate student allowed him to grasp a firm belief in the concept of “paying it forward” which means helping the next generation reach their full potential.
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Mufrad Ahmed, Ed.M, better known as Moofy, is the Program Coordinator for the Intercultural Center. Prior to working at Monmouth University, Moofy was a Graduate Program Coordinator for the Intercultural Resource Center at Rutgers University-Newark. Moofy is originally from Bangladesh but immigrated to America as a child and stayed in Ventnor City, New Jersey ever since. Moofy has attended Rutgers University-New Brunswick for his undergraduate where he graduated with a bachelors degree in Asian Studies and minored in South Asian Studies. He has a strong sense of social justice and has a special connection with the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community which had led him to further his education. Right after obtaining his bachelors degree, Moofy went on to obtain his masters degree in education with a concentration in College Student Affairs.
While Moofy is new to Monmouth University, he is no stranger to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) work. He will be supporting the center in various aspects one of which include supporting with heritage month celebrations. Some things to know about Moofy is that he is a fan of webtoons, anime, a passionate foodie, and loves jamming out to various genres of music. If you resonate with any of these fun facts, come by the center and say hi!
FAVORITE QUOTE: “When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it.”
Yo-Yo Ma
Student Staff
The Center also employs a small team of graduate student interns and undergraduate students across programs and class years.
The center hires new undergraduate students every academic year. If you qualify for work-study and would like to join the undergraduate staff of the Intercultural Center, please email intercultural@monmouth.edu for more information.