Commencement Profile: Ismet Mamnoon

Ismet Mamnoon has earned a master of science degree in creative studies, attaining a GPA of 4.0 while serving Buffalo State, the local community, and organizations around the world.

Mamnoon will receive the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence and the President’s Medal for Outstanding Graduate Student and deliver the student address during the 6:00 p.m. master’s hooding and C.A.S. ceremony at Buffalo State’s 141st Commencement, Saturday, May 18, in the Sports Arena.

During her time on campus, Mamnoon has continually practiced the creativity skills she acquired through her coursework. Of particular note, she served as a facilitator for the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council as it developed an economic plan that resulted in a historic $1 billion investment commitment from New York State governor Andrew Cuomo.

On campus, Mamnoon cofounded Camp UpRising (now known as the Beyonder Youth Program), a creativity camp held annually at Buffalo State for children ages 10 to 18. She has served as a facilitator for meetings of the Buffalo State Community Task Force, the School of the Professions, and the Year of the Arts Committee. In 2012, she was a presenter at the Anne Frank Project and the Student Research and Creativity Celebration.

Off campus, Mamnoon has delivered team-building workshops and training sessions at Ithaca College, Genesee Community College, the Buffalo Public Schools, and Catholic Health System.

Internationally, she launched the Initiative for Creativity in Education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), providing training, mentoring, and resources for educators as they integrate creativity into curriculum design. In addition, she facilitated the creation of a vision, mission, and strategy for Ibn Seena English High School in the UAE. She has also worked with clients in Waterloo and Toronto, Ontario.

Mamnoon has published two books, a tool kit, and four papers on topics in the field of creativity and presented her work at 11 conferences between 2010 and 2012. She has, in short, become a highly sought-after professional in the field of creativity.