A Seat at the Table: Wearing a Hijab in the Workplace

Role: Lead Producer

Context
Part of Seat at the Table, a learning and storytelling series designed to support thoughtful, values-driven conversations about social issues in the workplace.

My Role
Served as lead producer, overseeing a cross-agency production team of more than 100 collaborators across video, sound, design, and post-production. Set creative direction, narrative framing, and quality standards while coordinating execution through partner teams.

Challenge
How do we surface the lived experiences of Muslims navigating the workplace amid Islamophobia in a way that invites curiosity, reflection, and authentic dialogue—without flattening complexity or sensationalizing identity?

Outcome
One of the most widely engaged episodes in the Seat at the Table series. The episode sparked sustained client conversations, contributed to increased subscriptions and sales, and received a Telly Award for excellence in video storytelling.

Take Five: Talking with the Women of NASA

Role: Writer, Producer

Context
Take Five was a short-form content series designed to distill longer webinars, lectures, and keynote talks into accessible, five-minute learning moments for broader audiences. This episode in particular was focused on the lived experience of women and minorities in STEM fields.

My Role
Wrote and produced episodes in partnership with external designers, animators, and artists, providing creative direction and editorial guidance from concept through final delivery.

Challenge
How do we translate content created for a specific, technical audience into narratives that remain accurate and meaningful while becoming accessible and engaging for wider internal and public audiences?

Outcome
The series successfully expanded the reach and impact of longer-form content across multiple audience types, increasing awareness of partnerships, strategy, and key learnings. The work was recognized with a Telly Award.

For Starters: Belonging

Role: Writer, Producer

Context
For Starters is a Telly Award–winning series designed to demystify core DEI concepts and make workplace conversations about sensitive topics more accessible, grounded, and productive. The series translates complex ideas into shared language that enables more thoughtful dialogue across differences. This episode was also shot with remote production in mind. (My strategic team in New York was overseeing the shoot taking place on a Los Angeles sound stage.)

Challenge
How do you create meaningful conversations about lived experience when people enter with different vocabularies, contexts, and levels of exposure? How do you build shared understanding that allows stories to be exchanged with care—without flattening nuance or shutting people down?

Outcome

Gold Telly Award (2022)

Strong engagement and positive reception across client organizations

Reported improvements in cross-team dialogue, collaboration, and comfort discussing sensitive topics

Established a repeatable content model for addressing complex social issues with clarity and approachability

College Takeover: Pilot Video Series

Role: Advisor, Producer

Context
A student-created video series designed to center first-generation narratives within conversations about postsecondary education. The project intentionally positioned students as storytellers, creating space for authentic, peer-to-peer narratives while building creative and professional capacity among emerging contributors.

My Role
Advised and produced the pilot series, setting narrative direction, ethical storytelling guidelines, and quality standards while supporting student creators through the full production process. Balanced mentorship with restraint, ensuring the work remained student-led and authentic.

Challenge
How do we reach first-generation students in ways that feel genuine and affirming—while encouraging consideration of postsecondary pathways or skill-building opportunities? How do we showcase diverse backgrounds and normalize first-generation experiences so students feel empowered to step forward with confidence and agency?

Outcome
The pilot resonated strongly with students, funders, and public-facing audiences. It led to increased applications from students eager to share their stories and strengthened the skills, confidence, and creative capacity of junior contributors involved in the project.

Tunaweza Testimonial Video

Role: Advisor, Lead Producer

Context
The first-ever video produced by the Tunaweza team in Kenya, marking the culmination of a social learning and capacity-building initiative designed to support local participants in telling their own stories—for their peers, in their own voices. For many contributors, this was a first experience working on camera, using production equipment, or publicly sharing personal narratives.

My Role
Served as lead advisor and producer, setting narrative intent, ethical guardrails, and creative standards while mentoring local contributors through the production process. Focused on building confidence, technical skill, and long-term storytelling capacity rather than extracting a single piece of content.

Challenge
How do we elevate lived experience without tokenizing it? How do we create a process where participants feel ownership, pride, and agency—so storytelling becomes a tool for ongoing growth rather than a one-time performance?

Outcome

Strong engagement across peer and partner audiences, with content resonating as authentic and locally grounded

Measurable increases in participant confidence and storytelling readiness, with contributors expressing interest in continued content creation

Amplified messages beyond the initial community, leading to new connections and opportunities for participants

Established a repeatable, ethical storytelling model that Tunaweza could continue using independently

College Takeover Marketing Campaign

Role: Advisor

Context
A student-led advocacy and marketing campaign designed to encourage first-generation students to pursue college pathways, while simultaneously developing early-career contributors’ skills in messaging, storytelling, and audience engagement.

My Role
Served as an advisor to junior contributors, providing narrative framing, messaging guidance, and quality standards while intentionally leaving space for creators new to the workforce to lead the work. Focused on building confidence, clarity, and ownership rather than directing every detail.

Challenge
How do we speak authentically to first-generation students about college access and possibility—without relying on deficit framing—while also empowering emerging contributors to exercise agency, develop voice, and produce high-quality, audience-aware content?

Outcome
The campaign successfully resonated with first-generation audiences and resulted in a 16% increase in enrollment in the associated college program. Equally important, contributors gained confidence and practical experience creating values-aligned messaging with real-world impact.

Volunteer Mentor Playbook

Role: Writer, Advisor

Context
A comprehensive playbook designed to consolidate institutional knowledge across multiple functional teams into a unified, audience-centered resource for volunteer mentors. The project aligned messaging, expectations, and best practices across verticals while supporting funders, internal staff, and frontline volunteers.

My Role
Served as lead writer and strategic advisor, guiding cross-functional contributors through content development, synthesis, and alignment. Established a shared narrative framework that balanced organizational voice with practical, human-centered guidance for mentors.

Challenge
How do we translate fragmented, team-specific knowledge into a cohesive, accessible resource that supports mentors at scale—without losing nuance, context, or humanity? How do we create shared ownership across teams while maintaining a singular, consistent messaging vision?

Outcome
The playbook became a foundational resource for mentor onboarding and engagement, improving cross-team alignment and reducing duplication of effort. It strengthened mentor readiness, increased internal clarity, and provided funders with a clear, cohesive view of program design and impact.