ABOUT ZIEDAH

Ziedah Diata is an artist, facilitator, attorney and nervous system hygiene guide who leads conversations and trainings at the crossroads of justice and healing. Ziedah curates intergenerational, interactive workshops, panel discussions and art experiences. She has collaborated with attorneys, artists, teachers and community organizers, and has been a featured presenter at conferences, retreats, schools and theater performances. 

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Ziedah's work is inspired by the recurring themes--harm, repair, trauma, empathy and transformation--that emerged in testimony during her 17-year career as an administrative law judge. In 2023, Ziedah left her role as Chief Administrative Law Judge for the New York State Department of State and now explores these same themes through  talks, art-making and story-sharing experiences that examine what it means to be in “right relationship” with ourselves and others.

 

Ziedah is a recipient of the 2024 Bethany Arts Community Multidisciplinary Residency and was awarded the 2023 Laundromat Project Create Change Fellowship. She has served as an advisor or board member for several organizations focused on creating a more just and empathetic world, including the Restorative Justice Initiative and the National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham Law. She also serves on the executive committee for the New York Association of Administrative Law Judges.

 

Ziedah is a facilitator for the Heart Math Institute’s science-based Add-Heart Program, guiding participants through heart coherence techniques that help regulate the nervous system. In her latest workshop series, she shares insights, exercises and research on nervous system hygiene with advocates, organizers and community caretakers with daily exposure to vicarious trauma.  Ziedah grew up in Brooklyn, New York and Hempstead, Long Island and received a BA in journalism from University of Maryland at College Park and is a graduate of Georgetown Law. She is currently based in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, where she lives with her husband and two children.

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