The Ismaili Connection

Rasool Verjee, originally from Kenya, has gone through many ups and downs and different journeys throughout his life.  Having to learn to be independent early on in his education years and discover what career path he wanted to pursue through university, there have been many roadblocks as well as triumphs of success. In Rasool’s later years he was blindsided by a medical emergency. Through this ti...

Aahil and Zohran are the founders and owners of Safekids.ai, an open source that  intercepts inappropriate content and teaches children how to make safer choices. During COVID Zohran and Aahil had noticed alot of their peers consuming more of their time on their phones and on the web. They wanted to create a platform that would make the internet a safer place to use. Still being in school the two...

Ashraf is the founder and owner of the Heritage Collection, a South Asian fashion brand she started 17 years ago. In 2022, she became one of the first Ismaili fashion designers to display her work at New York Fashion Week. The event happens semi-annually and gives designers from around the world an opportunity to showcase their latest designs and work. Growing up in Pakistan, Ashraf found that hap...

Ashraf is the founder and owner of the Heritage Collection, a South Asian fashion brand she started 17 years ago. In 2022, she became one of the first Ismaili fashion designers to display her work at New York Fashion Week. The event happens semi-annually and gives designers from around the world an opportunity to showcase their latest designs and work. Growing up in Pakistan, Ashraf found that hap...

Riaz Patel serves as an Executive Producer/Director in Los Angeles, specializing in transformative and perspective-shifting TV series and media projects. With two Emmy Award nominations and an NAACP Image Award, he creatively leads shows for major networks like NBC/Universal, Lifetime, Discovery, and others. Riaz’s productions span 21 countries, distributed globally by A&E, MTV, Hulu, and Netf...

Riaz Patel serves as an Executive Producer/Director in Los Angeles, specializing in transformative and perspective-shifting TV series and media projects. With two Emmy Award nominations and an NAACP Image Award, he creatively leads shows for major networks like NBC/Universal, Lifetime, Discovery, and others. Riaz’s productions span 21 countries, distributed globally by A&E, MTV, Hulu, and Netf...

Zain A. Gulamali is a technology executive, corporate and business development leader, and venture capital / growth equity investor with nearly 20 years of experience in enterprise, consumer, and healthcare technology investing, as well as strategy, M&A, business development, and startup operations. He is currently Head of Amazon Catalytic Capital (fund-of-funds supporting underrepresented fou...

Shireen Abdullah is a foodie with a passion for problem-solving. Growing a culturally competent nutrition platform that connects individuals to dietitians. After spending most of her career as a project manager and management consultant, Shireen decided to change paths and pursue her passion to become a “nutri-prenuer.”  While managing her own illness, she realized the importance of cultural nutri...

For almost a decade now, Sohail Zindani has helped companies build and sustain learning culture through his dynamic, result oriented and focused training and consulting interventions. With the mission of “promoting learning, no matter what”, Sohail is one of the Pakistan’s most sought-after trainer, consultant, thought-leader and keynote speaker. He is arguably the most provocative, engaging and s...

Shelmina’s life purpose is to advance gender and racial equality in leadership roles. She is an author,, board member, TedX speaker, former IBM V.P., angel investor and a distinguished alumni. Shelmina comes from humble beginnings in Tanzania. Driven by her desire to lift herself out of poverty, she left home at 15 to pursue higher education. Through many trials, tribulations and triumphs, she dis...

Afzal Habib is a co-founder of a social enterprise named kidogo with his wife serving quality childcare in East Africa. Being an undergraduate from York University, Schulich School of Business, Afzal started working as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group for 3.5 years. He is currently serving as a Strategy & Operations Manager with the Central Office for Poverty Elimination (COPE). His c...

This Women’s History Month, we want to highlight and appreciate Azima Dhanjee. She is a Co-founder at ConnectHear (The Google Translate for Sign Language), recipient of the Diana Award, World Summit Award, Standard Chartered Women in Tech Award, P@SHA ICT Award, Forbes, and Pioneer Post and Board Member at SEWF Social Enterprise World Forum C.I.C. As a 19-year-old, she started a Facebook page to t...

Dr. Ali Asani is Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures at Harvard University. He has also served as the Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Director of the Prince Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program. A specialist on Muslim traditions and communities in South Asia, Professor Asani's res...

Sanah Jivani is the founder and CEO of the Love Your Natural Self Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving self-esteem with a focus on empowering individuals through events, movements and hands-on sessions. She was inspired to help others after losing all her hair to Alopecia in the 7th grade and subsequently struggling with her own low self-worth. Since then, her foundation has...

Sonya Keshwani is the Founder and CEO of StyleEsteem. Her company designs and provides fashionable head wraps to people coping with hair loss. She is a breast cancer survivor and her hair loss journey has sparked her motivation to help others live with dignity and in comfort when facing disease. Sonya is also a Strategic Communication Faculty and an ex-employee of the United States Department of J...

Galeeb Kachra is a senior environmental protection specialist at the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who has more than two decades of experience working on a number of environmental initiatives, including helping salmon and orcas with climate change to helping communities in northern Pakistan with natural disaster relief. He considers himself a steward in life, looking after the peop...

Adiba works at Aga Khan National Conciliation and Arbitration Board for the USA. In this episode, she briefly talks about what CAB is and her role within CAB. She also talks about her past work with UNICEF and HOPE and how it ties into her motivation to help people improve their quality of life. Adiba discusses her growing up years in Tajikistan, her family and the unrest situation in the early 19...

Alnoor Maherali is a former Canadian diplomat, certified mediator, and co-founder of VennMediation, which helps people have difficult conversations and resolve conflicts in a more equitable way. Before starting his company during the height of the pandemic, Alnoor spent about a decade in public service, first working as a diplomat for the Canadian Foreign Services and then later working for the Ag...

Nabeel Gillani is a postdoctoral associate at the MIT Center for Constructive Communication in Boston, Massachusetts. Nabeel focuses on analyzing and designing communications technologies to foster connections that help reduce barriers to educational, economic, and social opportunities. In Fall 2022, Nabeel will start a joint appointment as an Assistant Professor of Design and Data between the D'A...

Jazzmin Jiwa is an international journalist and documentary filmmaker. She is also the founder of Stories of Survival, an independent online project that shares the stories of survivors from all over the world. Jazzmin, who originally hails from the U.K. and now resides in California, dove into the journalism field after realizing that was her passion rather than artificial intelligence which she...

Amira Valliani is the CEO and founder of Glow, a company that helps podcasters make money. The company was acquired by Libsyn--a big name in the podcasting world--for $1.2 million in April 2021. Prior to finding success with Glow, Amira built a few other businesses, including a start-up that offered people home-cooked meals from their neighborhoods. But building businesses is just one half of Amir...

Naina Noorani is an aerospace engineer at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Naina grew up as a quiet kid who loved sports and school. She knew at a young age that she wanted to help the world and improve society in some way. A math and science lover at heart, Naina fell into aerospace after taking a chance on applying for the Pathways Program at NASA. She eventually got in and spent one...

Where did the idea for the Ismaili Connection come from? How are the episodes put together? Who makes up the podcast team? Hear about these answers and more, as special host Farhan Manjiyani chats with Sony Kassam, Kais Ali, and Sameen Jiwani about their involvement, how they balance their day jobs with volunteering, and lessons learned.    Email us at IPNPodcast@IPNOnline.net. Connect with Sony K...

Shereen Ladha is a dancer and choreographer who has performed all over the world, including Portugal, Dubai, and Australia. She began attending dance classes at the age of 4 years old. Since then, Shereen has performed on international stages, in Hollywood movies and TV shows, and in videos for her YouTube channel, which has amassed over 130,000 subscribers and more than 27 million views. Shereen...

Anar Amin is a regional academic lead for ITREB who oversees 20 Jamat Khanas in the U.S and has spent over a decade in the Secondary Teacher Education Program (STEP). She went into the STEP system after a personal tragedy put her on a path of rediscovering her faith. On this episode, we learn more about Anar’s childhood and upbringing, her travels teaching in different cities and countries—from Lo...