To write a book start with a page. This is the first part of my chat with Sara Bawany. I decided to transform what was a two-parter to a three-part series. Conceptual decision. Hence the out-of-order sequence.

Sara Bawany is a social worker, a writer, and a poet with a passion for bringing to light some of the most taboo issues in the South Asian and Muslim community. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Sara received her Master’s degree in Social Work and her Bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Islamic Studies. She currently serves as a clinical social worker at the Muslim Community Center for Human Services, providing free mental health counseling and mental health education to the community. She published her first poetry book recently, titled - “(w)holehearted” which you can find on Amazon. The book touches on themes of identity, mental health, domestic violence, femininity, relationships, spirituality, forgiveness, and a variety of social justice issues.

You don't have to listen to part one to find crazy value in this episode.

Me on ig: @aminasalmost30

Sara on ig: @sara.bawany

Before I get into it, etharrelief.org: check this out. I receive no share of the proceeds. And check the episode webpage of part 2 of this conversation for specific references and attributions. Watch the ig story (@skive0) for behind-the-scenes podcasting things.

Sara Bawany is a social worker, a writer, and a poet with a passion for bringing to light some of the most taboo issues in the South Asian and Muslim community. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Sara received her Master’s degree in Social Work and her Bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Islamic Studies. She currently serves as a clinical social worker at the Muslim Community Center for Human Services, providing free mental health counseling and mental health education to the community. She published her first poetry book recently, titled - “(w)holehearted” which you can find on Amazon. The book touches on themes of identity, mental health, domestic violence, femininity, relationships, spirituality, forgiveness, and a variety of social justice issues.

Amelia is a Ph.D. student at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. An instructor for both graduate and undergraduate students at Columbia University and Johns Hopkins, Amelia pioneered and taught the first and only course on "Islamophobia and Health." She received her Master of Public Health from Columbia University with a certificate in the Social Determinants of Health.

After the 2016 election, Amelia spearheaded novel research examining the relationship between Muslim visibility, Islamophobic discrimination, and mental health among U.S. Muslims. This Master's thesis research led to invited presentations to educate mental health practitioners on culturally tailored psychological interventions with U.S. Muslims. Her timely research also received recognition from the world's preeminent psychology and public health organizations.

Presently, Amelia's doctoral training on trauma and violence among pan-ethnic Muslims in America is generously funded by the National Institutes of Health. She is under the mentorship of the world renowned expert in domestic violence, Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

Along with several notable U.S. Senators like Dianne Feinstein, Amelia is an alumna of the highly selective Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs. Amelia's media engagements include features in CBS News alongside Linda Sarsour and in several online outlets such as The Intercept.

An artist, entrepreneur, and social activist, Amelia runs a business called Rangeela: Designer Henna Artistry & Social Enterprise in her spare time, where she enjoys meeting women local to Baltimore and donating proceeds to local agencies benefitting women of color.

Leave a review if you read to these words I’m typing—you deserve free range on a white space with nonsensical emojis.

And check out her fb group, MWCCGS.

Learn more about Amelia here.

Amelia is a Ph.D. student at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. An instructor for both graduate and undergraduate students at Columbia University and Johns Hopkins, Amelia pioneered and taught the first and only course on "Islamophobia and Health." She received her Master of Public Health from Columbia University with a certificate in the Social Determinants of Health.

After the 2016 election, Amelia spearheaded novel research examining the relationship between Muslim visibility, Islamophobic discrimination, and mental health among U.S. Muslims. This Master's thesis research led to invited presentations to educate mental health practitioners on culturally tailored psychological interventions with U.S. Muslims. Her timely research also received recognition from the world's preeminent psychology and public health organizations.

Presently, Amelia's doctoral training on trauma and violence among pan-ethnic Muslims in America is generously funded by the National Institutes of Health. She is under the mentorship of the world renowned expert in domestic violence, Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

Along with several notable U.S. Senators like Dianne Feinstein, Amelia is an alumna of the highly selective Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs. Amelia's media engagements include features in CBS News alongside Linda Sarsour and in several online outlets such as The Intercept.

An artist, entrepreneur, and social activist, Amelia runs a business called Rangeela: Designer Henna Artistry & Social Enterprise in her spare time, where she enjoys meeting women local to Baltimore and donating proceeds to local agencies benefitting women of color.

Leave a review if you read to these words I’m typing—you deserve free range on a white space with nonsensical emojis.

And check out her fb group, MWCCGS.

I think this episode deserves listening without any prior textual explanation--does textual sound weird and uber weird to anyone else? Enter the giveaway here: skive0.com/events.

We’ve all come a long way. Reupload from 1/18/19.

In October, 2018 I went to the She Roars conference at my alma mater, after originally planning to miss it, ignore it. Do anything else.

Boy, was rsvping days before the deadline worth it. Or should I say gurrl, was rsvping days before the deadline worth it. This is the first of this series.

To paraphrase, quote, and build on a statement by A. McClure, hit that subscribe button “because it’s just waiting for you to [hit] it” and leave a review because that blank space is just waiting for you to fill it.

These actions aren’t just to fuel my podcasting willpower—they help women and men like you find these episodes and presumably, take something anxiety-reducing or straight-up informative from them as well.

Naba Rivzi, a 5 time-changer of majors, a Google Women Techmaker Scholar and author of the blog Technically Muslim is on the show today. In this part we talked about mental health as a woman and a minority in a male-dominated industry and how we could use our female or male voices to become better advocates for ourselves...without yelling.

Female acapella by the Tiger Lilies

Follow @skive0 on instagram/ttr/fb for sweet sound bytes—who else thought of cookies just then.

Approximate Timestamps

1: She’s a Google Women Techmaker Scholar.

5: Still, she suffered/suffers from math anxiety because of a harsh teacher in middle school.

8: Having low confidence despite winning three hackathons

13: She shares experiences with academic and workplace harassment as a woman and minority in tech.

“Imposter’s syndrome—that’s anxiety; just with a different name.”

19: Developing the ability to advocate for yourself and using your voice as a woman to better advocate for yourself.

Naba Rivzi, a five time-changer of majors, author of the blog “Technically Muslim” and a Google Women Techmaker scholar is on the show today. This is a reupload because NathanIel Hawthorne said ”easy reading is...hard writing” so easy listening must be exponentially hard editing, right..

Originally published 1/14/19

Female acapella by the Tiger Lilies

Follow @skive0 on instagram/ttr/fb for sweet sound bytes—who else thought of cookies just then.

Approximate timestamps:

Approximate Timestamps:

7: From liberal arts/actual art to engineering to comp sci—Naba talks about changing her major five times.

12: Naba talks about leaving a team that founded a startup where kids can learn to program in their own language

16: Alcohol at networking events—tl:dr: don’t go.

Book mention: Brotopia by Emily Chang

21: Inventor and investors

23: Naba’s interest in data science (e.g. the human rights data analysis group)

25: Naba talks about the perpetuation of social inequality by data science and mathematics.

Book mention: Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil

Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble

28: The questionnaire.

33: She’s a Google Women Techmaker Scholar.

Take a look at the work she is doing and you already know the impact she is making in her community. As the Founder of Muslim Women Professionals and current member of the Board of Directors of the Riordan Programs Alumni Association, which strives to promote underrepresented communities in the business sector, Sofia Haq is making it her mission to provide underrepresented communities with the tools they need to succeed. Her latest venture is at Muslim Women Professionals where she is creating spaces for Muslim women to discuss their unique journeys, build a network, and provide resources to help them excel in their careers. Sofia Haq wants to educate Muslim women on understanding their rights in their workplace, giving them the tools they need to speak out on sexism and Islamophobia in both their personal and professional lives. In this final episode, Sofia and myself go over topics including: inclusivity in Muslim communities, traditional gender norms, the topic of marriage, the future of MWPs, and the level of competition that is creating a toxic environment for a lot of Muslim women. She also discusses the role her family played in her decision to pursue fashion and business, her experience in the industry, and how she learned that failure isn't final.

Check out her website: www.sofiahaq.com and follow her on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter @sofia__haq. For all the MWPs, don't forget to follow Muslim Women Professionals @muslimwomenprofessionals on Instagram.

And follow @aminasalmost30 for a stunning gallery interspersed with nerdy research findings about workplace culture, diversity and inclusion, and increasing productivity.