Aria Mustary

About

Entrepreneur and humanitarian famously known as the founder and president of Mai Soli Foundation. In 2018, she launched her nonprofit organization in order to empower young girls - particularly in Bangladesh - by leveraging education and entrepreneurship to combat child marriage and foster long-term independence. 

Before Fame

Growing up as the eldest daughter in a low-income immigrant family, she narrowly avoided child marriage when she was only 12 years old when her mother defied her father's efforts to marry her off to her cousin and stood in her defense. She established Mai Soli in 2018 while attending the prestigious Babson College as a Posse Scholar.

Trivia

She later went on to pursue her master's degree at Harvard University, where she was named a President's Innovation Challenge Finalist in 2024 for founding Mai Soli Foundation.

Family Life

She and her younger sister moved to an apartment with their mother Syeda in Queens when she convinced her mother to divorce her father and leave their oppressive home environment. Her mother had been forced to marry a man twice her age when she was only 16 years old.

Associated With

Both she and Fazle Abed are founders of nonprofit organizations aimed at helping the people of Bangladesh.