Jasmine Warga

New York Times Bestselling author Jasmine Warga has received several honors for her children’s and young adult books, including the John Newbery Honor, the Walter Honor for Young Readers, and the Charlotte Huck Honor. Her novel My Heart and Other Black Holes has been translated into over 20 languages.

Deena Shakir

Named one of WSJ’s Top Women in Venture Capital in ’21, Deena Shakir has headed several corporations. She is currently a partner at Lux Capital, and has been featured in print and television. Her work spans many sectors, including women’s health and health equity.

Asra Najam

After getting her start as a White House speechwriting intern under Barack Obama, Asra Najam then became one of the first hires at the Obama Foundation. Now, she is a senior speechwriter for Fenway Strategies. This company was founded by Chief Speechwriter for Obama, Jon Favreau. They collaborate with everyone from politicians to movie stars and more.

Ramin Djawadi

Emmy Award winning composer Ramin Djawadi reprised his beloved role for the score of HBO’s spin-off series, House of the Dragon. The Iranian-German composer has also been nominated for several Grammy awards during his prolific career, with credits on shows and movies such as Westworld, Clash of the Titans, and Pacific Rim.

Rina Amiri

Afghan-American diplomat Rina Amiri rose as an expert on Afghanistan, particularly with regards to human rights and the rights of women and girls. She served as an advisor to Barack Obama advisor Richard Holbrooke, and has now been appointed the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights.

Issam Freiha

With many coffee drinkers complaining about the cost of coffee, Issam Freiha set out to make a change. With his co-founder, the two brainstormed ways to offer genuinely cheap coffee. The solution: a small menu, a small space, and quality, affordable goods. Grown from a single cart in Williamsburg, Blank Street Coffee now has over 30 locations, mainly in coffee carts and shared spaces, enabling them to offer low prices on a limited menu.

Enisa Nikaj

ENISA began her singing career with covers of pop hits, and has rapidly become a viral sensation. In 2022, she released her debut EP Fake Love. The Albanian-American singer’s song “Count My Blessings” spent 7 weeks on the Top 40 charts, with over 60 Million views on Youtube.

Zoreen and Rafat Ansari

After their daughter Sonya was diagnosed with autism, Drs. Zoreen and Rafat Ansari donated to the Regional Autism Center at LOGAN, since renamed the Sonya Ansari Center for Autism. Their philanthropy has gone on to include a recent $15 Million donation to launch the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, a scholarly center dedicated to the role of religion in current events.

Tarik Azzouz

French producer Tarik Azzouz has worked with the likes of Jay-Z, Meek Mill, and many more. He was nominated for multiple GRAMMY Awards, including “Best Album” and “Best Rap Song”. A composer and producer, his beats lie behind many beloved hits, including Mary J. Blige’s album Good Morning Gorgeous.

Mariam Naficy

e-Commerce pioneer Mariam Naficy founded the beloved design marketplace Minted in 2007. With over 20 years of experience in the field, Naficy has now added her expertise to the Victoria’s Secret & Co. board of directors. Born to Chinese-Iranian parents in the US, she earned her MBA at Stanford before embarking on several successful ventures.

Mo Amer

After connected with Ramy creator and star Ramy Youssef, Mo Amer has launched his own semi-autobiographical series Mo. The Palestinian-American stand-up comedian chronicles his life in Houston, TX with acerbic wit and heart.

Maytha Alhassen

In addition to her prolific career as a journalist and host, Maytha Alhassen joined the team behind Hulu’s Ramy as a writer, co-executive producer, and social impact advisor. The Syrian-American personality also regularly appears on The Stream, and in 2012 published the essay collection
Demanding Dignity: Young Voices from the Front Lines of the Arab Revolutions.

Haroon Mokhtarzada

A member of a prolific entrepreneurial family, Haroon Mokhtarzada’s latest endeavor Truebill was picked up by Rocket Money for over $1 Billion. The tech company manages subscriptions, helping customers save on hidden fees and forgotten charges. Mokhtarzada founded his first company while still a Harvard Law grad student, and has since founded and sold several successful companies, including website platform Webs.Com.

Hadja Lahbib

Belgian journalist, TV Presenter, Director, and politician was named Minister of Foreign Affairs in July 2022. The Algerian-Belgian politician also directed the 2015 documentary Patience, Patience, chronicling the journey of 7 first generation Moroccan-Belgian women.

Sofia Samatar

With a Mennonite mother and Somali Muslim father, Sofia Samatar comes from a truly unique background. The academic, poet, and writer of epic works of both fiction and nonfiction traced her own background in the sprawling memoir The White Mosque, which chronicles her physical and ancestral journey through Uzbekistan.

Omar Mohammed

“Mosul Eye” blogger Omar Mohammed anonymously documented life in Mosul, Iraq under ISIL. The historian later came out, and continues to blog from exile. His efforts have included a project to preserve books from the destroyed library at the university of Mosul, and a recent project to plant 5000 trees in the war-torn city.

Zohrab Salamzadeh

Azeri artist Salamzadeh Zohrab draws heavily on figures and myths from Sufi folklore to capture his unique style. His remarkable art captures culture, folklore, and heritage to share with a wide-ranging audience.

Ramla Ali

After fleeing the Somali Civil War and settling in England, Ramla Ali grew to become one of the first female boxers to box in Saudi Arabia, as the first Somali boxer to compete at the Olympic Games. She is a brand ambassador for Cartier & Christian Dior, and one of TIME Magazine’s 2023 “Women of the Year”.

Yacouba Sissoko

Hailing from a line of Malian musicians dating back centuries, kora player Yacouba Sissoko has brought this great tradition to modern New York City, both performing and teaching his unique style and expertise in a revival of a proud musical tradition.

Mahshid Shirazi

Born in Iran, Mahshid Shirazi built her beauty empire from the ground up. The French influencer turned her love of art into a personal brand, building a following of international beauty fans who learn from her expertise and take inspiration from her tutorials, tips, and fresh looks on social media.

Iman Vellani

Marvel cast young Pakistani-Canadian actress Iman Vellani for the role of Ms. Marvel, as young superhero-fan-turned-hero-herself Kamala Khan. Like her character on the Disney+ series, Vellani grew up adoring comic books and superheroes, making her the perfect casting choice for this beloved role.

Amina Akhtar

Former fashion editor at NY Mag and Vogue, Amina Akhtar drew on her long-time career to craft award-winning thrillers that highlight the toxicity of these glamorous corners of the world. Her debut novel #FashionVictim was met with rave reviews and acclaim, and her wellness-based follow-up Kismet was lauded as “viciously funny”.

Emad Mostaque

Jordanian-born, Bangladesh-raised, US-based Mohammed Emad Mostaque’s first entrepreneurial endeavor used AI to help Muslim communities in their religious journey. More recently, he founded Stability AI, one of the companies powering Stable Diffusion, a deep learning, text-to-image AI. His invention is going up against the likes of Google and Microsoft, offering a disruptive alternative to ChatGPT and DALL-E.

Yacine Boulares

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Yacine Boulares founded the Habibi Festival, a gathering of brilliant musicians from around the world who come together to showcase their talent in New York City. Alongside his work with his band AJOYO and side-gigs as an accompanying jazz musician, Boulares also teaches his craft to others.

Rummana Hussain

Chicago Sun Times editorial board member and columnist Rummana Hussain has provided a strong voice and role model for Asian Americans in media. The Pakistani-American journalist made her name as a criminal courts journalist and assistant metro editor, prior to taking on the high ranking position on the editorial board and as a columnist.

Tamino

Belgian-Egyptian singer Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad, AKA Tamino, has been nominated 5 times for Belgium’s MIA Awards. The singer-songwriter has performed with the likes of Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood, and compared to greats like Jeff Buckley and Elliot Smith. His live performance of the song “Habibi” has over 5 Million views on Youtube. He is the grandson of Egyptian musician and movie star Muharram Fouad.

Maz Jobrani

Actor and comedian Maz Jobrani has lent his comedic talents to television, movies, stand-up, radio and more. He first appeared on the Axis of Evil comedy special in 2007, and has since starred in media such as Better Off Ted and Disney’s The Descendants, and co-hosts the hit podcast Minivan Men through All Things Comedy. His 2015 memoir I’m Not a Terrorist, But I’ve Played One on TV chronicles his journey as an Iranian-American in Hollywood.

Randa Mansour-Shousher

HearAide founder Dr. Randa Mansour-Shousher fits hundreds of refugee children with hearing aids each year. The physician and philanthropist operates her charity out of her Ohio clinic, and travels abroad to help children in need of hearing aides. She has been awarded the YWCA Milestone Science award and the Jefferson Award for the HearAide program.

Omar Sy

Lupin actor Omar Sy won the Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2022, a decade after earning another award for his breakout role in The Intouchables. The Senegalese-Mauritanian actor grew up in France, where he began his career on radio and television before moving to Hollywood. In addition to his acting credits, he has created such shows as Le Visiophon in France, and recently signed a deal with HBOMax to develop more programming for French audiences.

Masih Alinejad

In the 14 years of exile from her home country of Iran, activist and journalist Masih Alinejad has reported on and highlighted human rights violations in Iran and around the world. Due to her efforts, she was the target of kidnapping plots in 2021 and 2022. She was named one of TIME Magazine’s 2023 Women of the Year for her contributions and fortitude.