First — I will start by saying thank you guys! I just found out my open rate of 65-70% is “wild” and 30% or so above average. I appreciate you all reading so much!

Second — Substack just released a video feature. So here is a quick video of my last post! This is an experiment, so I will try it a few times and see how it lands

Anyway, below is the post

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Zainab Johnson (@zainabjohnson) is a comedian, writer, and actress. 

Zainab Johnson is a comedian, writer, and actress. Zainab’s comedy is based on her unique point-of-view, which as one of thirteen siblings in a black Muslim family in Harlem.  After getting a degree in Math and Education and taking a job as a teacher, Zainab quickly learned she had a different calling. And once she started to pursue the calling — she doubled down and rose the ranks quickly.

You may have seen Zainab on the Amazon Original hit series titled "Upload"  Netflix's "100 Humans", through an appearance on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers, HBO’s All Def Comedy,  NBC’s Last Comic Standing, or one of the many gigs she has done.

  

Go watch Zainab in real life! https://www.zainabjohnson.com/

Follow Zainab 

https://twitter.com/zainabjohnson?lang=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@thezainabjohnson?lang=en

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Sidra Trajcevska founded Jasmine + Marigold (@jasmineandmarigold) on the heels of a successful corporate career. Sidra found herself on the tough end of the celebration equation as mom to a half-Macedonian/half-Pakistani child. When Sidra realized that there weren’t onesies available to celebrate Eid, she created her own. Between that moment and today, Sidra figured out how to build, scale, and automate a garment business for children. She openly talks about the nuts and bolts behind her business, and the savvy she has accrued. 

Follow Sidra at

⁠https://www.instagram.com/whatsidraloves/⁠ 

Follow Jasmine + Marigold at

https://jasmineandmarigold.com/

https://www.instagram.com/jasmineandmarigold/ 

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Sarah Ahmed is a psychotherapist 

Sarah Ahmed’s LinkedIn refers to her as an “experienced Clinical Social Worker with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry.” But Sarah, on social media, is the POC therapist. (@the.poc.therapist). Sarah’s social media presence addresses a variety of mental health related topics in an accessible way. Separately, she went from working in a large scale health system, to starting her own private practice, to employing other practitioners, to most recently enabling Canada-wide mental health services through a technology platform, Leena (@helloleena). 

Follow Sarah on IG https://www.instagram.com/the.poc.therapist 

Follow Sarah on TT https://www.tiktok.com/@the.poc.therapist?lang=en 

Follow Leena on IG https://www.instagram.com/helloleena_/

 

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When Afshan Nasseri (@lifesforliving) did not get the corporate job she thought she should get amidst a pandemic, as a fresh-COVID-grad of McGill University. So, Afshan just started her own agency (yes — just like that! The story is amazing). Aam Creative (@aamcreative) is a team is made of women of color from around the world who focus on social media strategy, storytelling, brand strategy, and cultural consulting. Aam has worked with over 41 companies. The website highlights 17 women working towards the agency’s goals. 

I love convos with self starters, so I really enjoyed this chat. Afshan goes into the weeds, tactically, of how she created an opportunity amidst global turmoil. Also, Aam’s brand is amazing: https://www.aamcreative.co/

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Sabrina Siddiqui (@sabrinasiddiqui) knew she wanted to be a journalist as a Pakistani-American teenager living in Italy, but did not realize her choices would land her a coveted position as a White House correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Sabrina covers the Biden presidency right now. Listen to Sabrina and I talk about her journey to political reporting and what a day in the life is like as a White House correspondent. Spoiler: it may include an anecdote about a recent top secret trip on Air Force One with the President. 

Get to know Sabrina through some of her writing:

‘How Will I Pump?’: When Your First Work Trip After Maternity Leave Is to Ukraine With President Biden

Reporting while Muslim: how I covered the US presidential election

Keep up with Sabrina's journey:

Find Sabrina on IG

Follow Sabrina on Twitter

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Ali Baluch (@baluchx) started his career in video on YouTube — by joining FouseyTube in its early days. Ali worked with Yousef to take the channel from 500k to 10m (and over 1.5b views), creating one of the early YouTube phenomenons (which I learned was..stunted!). Ali’s journey in production and cinematography is a journey that spans through household names like Nickelodeon, HBO Max, and MTV. And outside of those names, Ali is behind a few podcasts (The Apartment and the Fahim Anwar Dance Hour) where he chats with some of the most popular names in the industry. What is Ali up to next? More film, he suspects.

This is a chilling-with-friends-in-your-living room type of episode, with more of a hair down vibe than the typical epi. The backstory is that Ali is a friend who came by to chat about a media project on a Friday night. I asked Ali to record a pod in return, so I have the very rare in person epi. With a lot of Friday night, barely made it through the week a (childcare fell through at home, work was demanding as usual) laughs. What makes this episode even more funny is that Ali is a professional video and audio dude — and I have him sharing a mic on a MacBook pro as my setup.

Enjoy! I did.

Follow Ali on Twitter @baluchx

Follow Ali on IG @baluchx

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Ameena Soliman (@meen_mill) is a pro scout for the Philadelphia Eagles, where she also serves as Director of Personnel Operations. In this episode, Ameena breaks down her journey to scoutdom, which reveals a breakneck speed through the ranks at the NFL. Ameena provides a tactical approach to how to get into sport while revealing a razor sharp intelligence and hyperfocused work ethic. It goes without much assumption that Ameena is the first Muslim woman in her role. And she is believed to be the first female scout, period, for the Eagles. For context, the first female scout for the NFL at large was hired in 2021. By 2022, there were a total of 33 female scouts across the NFL in its entirety. In short, Ameena's path is extraordinary.

Also...Go Birds! 

Follow Ameena’s career on IG at:

Follow Ameena on Instagram @meen_mill 

Follow Ameena on Twitter @meen_mill

Photo credit: Joseph Labolito

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Amna Nawaz (@amnaonpbs) is an American broadcast journalist and a co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour alongside Geoff Bennett. Before joining PBS in April 2018, Nawaz was an anchor and correspondent at ABC News and NBC News. And before that, a foreign correspondent. Amna dives into her path to the co-anchor seat, including time in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and how her husband has played a key role in their co-parenting journey. Amna’s accolades include an Emmy Award and a Society for Features Journalism award. Follow Amna at

Follow Amna on IG

Follow Amna on Twitter

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If you’re on TikTok, you have seen the hysterical (and sometimes unhinged) Duolingo posts. And if you were interested in learning a language (like my husband was, actually), you probably converted into a Duolingo user because of the prevalence of Duo the owl on TikTok. I was stunned to find out that all 6m of us Duo stans were actually following a fresh-out-of-college Pakistani American, Zaria Parvez (@photos_zap). In two short years and with a marketing budget of 0 dollars, Zaria built a cult around the language learning app. The Duolingo account has 121.6m likes, including some from a video from just yesterday with 2m views (a figure 300,000 north of the entire population of Bahrain).

Listen to Zaria’s incredible story. This journey is especially cool because she is early in her career, but has already been recognized as a marketing genius. Experience doesn’t always equate to stature or seniority, and Zaria’s story is a testament to that reality.

Follow Zaria on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zariaparvez?lang=en

Follow Zaria on IG https://www.instagram.com/photos_zap/?hl=en

Check out Duolingo’s TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo?lang=en

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