Summia Tora is the founder of Dosti Network, an organization dedicated to empowering Afghans within Afghanistan and refugees with crucial resources and education. As an Afghan refugee who has personally experienced displacement, Summia possesses an intimate understanding of the challenges faced by displaced individuals, which fuels her drive to actively engage in refugee resettlement and advocate for access to education for students affected by conflict and displacement.

In response to the fall of the Afghan government in 2021, Dosti Network launched a global effort to connect Afghans with essential resources for resettlement worldwide and to provide support to those remaining in Afghanistan. Summia has worked with organizations such as the World Bank, Malala Fund, United Nations, and Schmidt Futures. Before the republic’s downfall, her academic work centered on understanding peace perspectives within Afghanistan and documenting the viewpoints of individuals from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

Summia’s achievements include being the first Rhodes scholar from Afghanistan and obtaining Master’s degrees in Public Policy and International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. She holds a BA in Economics and Peace & Global Studies from Earlham College. She is currently pursuing a JD at Yale Law School. She is an Echoing Green fellow, listed in BBC 100 Women 2023, Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, and the Open Society Prize recipient. Her work has been featured in renowned media outlets such as The New York Times, BBC, The Economist, and NPR.