Tara Grammy

In the romantic comedy A Simple Wedding, comedy powerhouse Tara Grammy turned a spotlight towards the lighter side of immigrant stories, in this case a Persian family. Since then, the Iranian-Canadian creative has kept fans entertained during the pandemic, including filming the short The First Goodbye entirely in isolation and releasing viral comedy sketches like The Persian Bachelorette.

Ayad Akhtar

Obie and Pulitzer Award-winning playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtar has added another honor to his resumé: President of PEN America. In this role leading this prestigious advocacy organization, Akhtar unites writers of all walks of life and supports freedom of expression in the arts. The creative of Pakistani heritage has previously won a Pulitzer and received two Tony nominations for his works exploring the Muslim-American experience.

Alfia Ilicheva

As co-founder of the nonprofit WIN: Women in Innovation, Alfia Ilicheva is working to fix the disparity in earnings between men and women. Under Ilicheva’s leadership, the New York-based nonprofit has grown into an international effort supporting women in STEM. With roots in Russia’s Tatar community, Ilicheva is also a founding member of Columbia Business School’s Women’s Circle.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi

In a terrible twist of fate, Mohamedou Ould Slahi found himself arrested after 9-11 in the frenzied early days of the global “War on Terror.” He ended up imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for 14 years, before being released. The memoir Ould Slahi wrote while at Guantanamo has just been turned into the hit film The Mauritanian, starring Tahar Rahim, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jodie Foster. Ould Slahi, meanwhile, refuses to be a victim despite his experience – and in fact has become a big fan of American society, even hoping to secure a visa to visit soon.

Myriam Sidibe

Mali-native and Harvard fellow Myriam Sidibe conceived and created Global Handwashing Day to advance her commitment to promoting healthy hygiene as a public health necessity around the world. Indeed, Sidibe wrote her PhD thesis about handwashing and has served as the Global Social Mission Director for Unilever’s “Lifebuoy” soap. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Sidibe’s message has become more important than ever – and her work promoting soap hygiene around the world no doubt helped save many lives.

Dave Chappelle

After pointedly stepping out of the limelight for several years, comedy superstar Dave Chappelle is back. With both Grammys and Emmys already under his belt, he has boldly taken his comedy into exploring current events and social trends. His Netflix special “8:46” was a tribute to George Floyd. The most prominent Muslim comic in America, Chappelle has also returned to touring, bringing new material to fans.

Nour Wazzi

After a series of award-winning sci-fi and horror short films, including Murder Manual starring Emilia Clarke, director and producer Nour Wazzi is making her first mainstream production debut with Netflix’s highly anticipated sci-fi series The Last Bus. The Beirut-native, who financed some of her shorts via popular crowd-funding campaigns, has been hailed as a top emerging film creative.

Arash Ferdowsi

With working from home the new normal amidst a global pandemic, never before have online file-sharing platforms been more important. Kansas-native Arash Ferdowsi is an acclaimed pioneer in the space, with Dropbox, the company he co-founded, serving over 600 million global customers. The Persian-American’s co-invention (which he dropped out of MIT to launch) has been central to enabling digital collaboration in the era of remote work.

Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf

After playing packed warehouses and sold out stadiums, Pakistani-American sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf – who comprise the huge EDM duo Krewella – wanted to find a way to bring their music to fans even in the pandemic. In the last year, they have hosted multiple live-streamed shows, as well as Twitch streams to bring a bit of joy to EDM fans during the dark days of the pandemic.

Muhammad Ali Pate

The son of a Nigerian herdsman and the first in his family to attend university, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate leads several life-saving public health initiatives. Based in Washington, Pate serves as Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank, as well as Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents. The former CEO of Big Win Philanthropy, Pate runs an initiative that trains and deploys midwives and healthcare workers to rural areas in order to improve childbirth outcomes, saving thousands of infants and mothers.

Saima Chowdhury

Fashion, makeup, and cosplay emerging icon Saima Chowdhury has set out to show how creativity and passion can make cosplay and fashion more inclusive. With tutorials and advice, the 26 year-old creative from Birmingham in the UK has inspired a young generation to seek out new forms of self-expression. The British Bengali incorporates her hijab into every cosplay costume, with a focus on classic anime characters.

Robert Saleh

Former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh made history in February as the first Muslim to head coach an NFL team. After signing a 5-year contract with the Jets, he quickly attracted new talent to the franchise. One recruit, Sheldon Rankin, says he is “excited to be part of something special” with Saleh as the team’s visionary leader.

Yasmine Mustafa

A refugee from Kuwait of Palestinian heritage, Yasmine Mustafa lived in the US undocumented for a decade before eventually becoming a citizen. The serial entrepreneur had an “aha” moment after trekking solo through South America and realizing that women needed wearable self-defense technology. She founded the Philadelphia-based start-up Roar for Good to produce the “AlwaysOn” workplace panic buttons for women working as housekeepers and hotel workers. Mustafa also serves as a Trustee of the Philadelphia Award and assists nonprofits promoting youth tech education.

Tan France

Best known as one of Queer Eye’s “Fab Five,” fashion icon Tan France has helped small businesses survive the pandemic by volunteering with the “Dream Big Project” to fundraise for struggling start-ups. Meanwhile, the pop culture personality continues his ongoing mission to provide positive representation for gay and Muslim youth around the world, including hosting Facebook’s “Come Out 2020” event.

Zia Chishti

Invisalign founder Zia Chishti has the secret formula for success. The Pakistani-American investor and entrepreneur has grown three different companies into billion-dollar enterprises. In addition to pioneering Invisalign’s low-cost dental correction approach, the Maine-native has founded TRG Global and Afiniti, two companies transforming call centers around the world. When you call customer support at many major companies, your call is routed by technology Chishti first started coding at this dining room table.

Issa Rae

Actress and comedian Issa Rae got her start as the creator and star of a low-budget web series before launching an array of entertainment ventures. In October, Rae (whose father hails from Senegal) founded Hoorae Media to consolidate her growing business empire under her talented thumb. She has begun paying it forward, using her company and platform to bolster other young creatives, especially under-represented minorities.

Mohsin Hamid

Mohsin Hamid’s 2017 novel Exit West earned him a long list of accolades, including the Kirkus Prize shortlist and winner of the Aspen Words Literary Prize. Now, Barack and Michelle Obama have signed on to adapt the British Pakistani author’s acclaimed novel into a film for Netflix. Fellow Ramadan Top 30 honoree Riz Ahmed is slated to star in the movie.

Iman Abuzeid

Physician turned entrepreneur Iman Abuzeid founded Incredible Health to support nurses and other healthcare workers. Amidst the stress of a deadly pandemic, Incredible Health stepped up to help match hospitals to frontline workers, getting rid of the stressful process of resumé blasting and job hunting. IH has become the fastest growing career marketplace for healthcare workers, while Abuzeid is one of a small number of venture-backed female Black founders in the health-tech sector.

Hanni El Khatib

Blues rocker Hanni El Khatib nearly quit the music business in an epic 2018 meltdown. But after recovering from a nearly fatal car accident and sobering up from alcoholism, the Palestinian-Filipino musician finally returned in May with a striking new album FLIGHT. Re-embracing his musical roots, the San Francisco-native unleashed a rousing guitar-and-drums tour-de-force.

Syra Madad

In January 2020, Netflix debuted a documentary series titled Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak. In it, public health leaders like Dr. Syra Madad warned about the possibility of a dangerous virus sweeping the globe. When COVID-19 did just that, the Pakistani-American turned her focus to ensuring that healthcare systems could meet the devastating demand. An upcoming documentary titled “The Vaccine: Conquering Covid” features Madad and other scientists exploring the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines and the race to create life-saving vaccines.

Farhad Massoudi

In a time when Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, and other paid platforms are battling for customers’ cash, Persian-American entrepreneur Farhad Massoudi has a different model. His platform Tubi offers over 50,000 titles to consumers free of charge via an ad-based streaming service. Just as the pandemic hit last spring, Massoudi sold Tubi to Fox for $440 million, staying on as CEO to help continue to grow the company.

Riz Ahmed

Multi-talented celebrity Riz Ahmed is an actor, writer, producer, rapper, and more. The young star earned his first Oscar nomination for the hit Sound of Metal, which follows a drummer slowly going deaf. After losing an aunt and uncle to the coronavirus, Ahmed released the haunting spoken word performance “I Miss You.” He also actively advocates for more complex Muslim representation in media, even spurring some to consider “The Riz Test” to examine how Muslim characters represented in popular culture.

Ilham Kadri

Dr. Ilham Kadri made history as the first female head of a major European chemical company. As CEO of Solvay, Morccan-immigrant Kadri has shifted the Belgian company’s focus towards environmental and social improvements. Her accomplishments recently earned her a place on Fortune Magazine’s elite “Most Powerful Women in Business” list.

Hasan Gokal

When Houston physician Hasan Gokal administered extra vaccines before they could expire and had to be thrown out, he thought only of the people he could be saving. So it came as a shock when that humanitarian effort suddenly led to him being unceremoniously fired and facing potential criminal charges. Gokal’s case made headlines, and an investigation finally cleared the doctor, who immigrated from Pakistan as a 10 year-old. Gokal has still not been reinstated in his position as medical lead of the coronavirus response team.

Yara Shahidi

When actress Yara Shahidi began her role as Zoey Johnson on the show black-ish, she was only 15 years old. Now, the Persian-American Shahidi is the star of her own ABC comedy spin-off grown-ish. Still just 21, Shahidi balances these acting roles with her classes as a Harvard undergraduate, as well as running her newly-established production company 7^th Sun.

Hanif Abdurraqib

In his latest book A Little Devil in America, poet and culture critic Hanif Abdurraqib celebrates the artistic contributions of Blacks in American history. With his unique prose, Abdurraqib explores how brilliant Black artists  – some cultural icons and others overlooked pioneers – have shaped and been shaped by American society. The Columbus native and New York Times bestselling author is meanwhile already at work on his next book, a mediation on basketball in the 1990s.

Nadiya Hussain

After rising to fame on The Great British Bake-Off, UK chef Nadiya Hussain has built a cooking empire, with several television shows, multiple cookbooks, a memoir, and more. Now Hussain has followed in the footsteps of King James I and expanded her empire across the pond. In her new Netflix show, Nadiya’s American Adventure, the British food icon seeks out the most vibrant tastes America has to offer.

Taha and Omar Bawa

Recognizing how the employment landscape is rapidly evolving, brothers Taha and Omar Bawa launched Goodwall, a job search, academic, and employment platform rising in popularity among Gen Z innovators and professionals. Goodwall adapts the LinkedIn model to include more multi-media options and help young innovators collaborate and find opportunities. The Bawa’s Geneva-based company has been hailed as one of Switzerland’s best scale-ups.

Dua Lipa

After topping charts in over a dozen countries, Dua Lipa’s album “Future Nostalgia” earned her the Best Pop Vocal Grammy. With over 60 million followers on Instagram, Lipa was named by Time Magazine as one of the future’s 100 Most Influential People, with music icon Kylie Minogue hailing Lipa as a “bona fide pop behemoth.”

Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci

When the coronavirus pandemic first swept the globe, scientists scrambled to find a vaccine. Leading the way were Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci, a Turkish couple who co-lead a German company that partnered with Pfizer to produce the first effective vaccine. Thanks to Sahin and Tureci’s innovative scientific approach, there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel, with millions vaccinated daily around the world.