PANELISTS
Samia Bano
Samia Bano is a Happiness Expert & Founder of The Academy Of Thriving. She's on a mission to help people, particularly survivors of abuse and their loves ones live with inner peace, purpose & prosperity so that they can love and be loved again. From a young age Samia felt a deep need for inner peace and dedicated her life to the study of peaceful living. She took the best of the learning and tools that helped her achieved inner peace & happiness in her own life and put them together in her ‘Formula to Inner Peace’. The formula outlines a holistic 5-step approach to living with inner peace, purpose & prosperity based on the latest scientific research and the spiritual wisdom of actually happy, thriving people. For more information please visit www.AcademyOfThriving.com.
© 2013 by PAYPC
Irem Choksy
Irem Choksy is a Mental Health Clinician by profession. Irem has experience working within the county and with the National Alliance of Mental Illnesses (NAMI) on reducing stigma associated with mental health in faith communities. She also provides psycho-educational, culturally competent workshops at Islamic Centers. Irem has interned with the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland with the UNDP on promoting education for developing countries, and has interned with NGOs in Thailand and Mexico to work on peace building efforts to promote interfaith collaboration and education. She is currently an Executive Board Member of MiNDS (Medical Network Devoted to Service) – a multidisciplinary interfaith collaboration that advocates to provide healthcare for the underserved and uninsured.
Sarah Hashim-Waris
Sarah Hashim-Waris is a video journalist at the Los Angeles Times. She’s an L.A.-transplant who began her on-camera reporting career on Wall Street, where she filmed a daily web show from the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Previously, she penned articles for print and online publications, including The New York Enterprise Report and Desi Hits!. At The Times, Sarah films and writes daily news reports, interviews and video packages. She was born raised in Wisconsin, where she studied journalism at UW-Madison and earned her M.A. at Marquette University for broadcast journalism.
Irfan Khan (Los Angeles Times Photographer)
In 1988, Irfan Khan landed in New York City with his wife, three daughters and dreams of providing his children a good education and furthering his career as a photojournalist. He joined The Times in 1996. Before arriving in the United States, Khan launched his photography profession in 1973 at the Pakistan Design Institute. While working there, Khan completed a degree in international relations and political science from Karachi University. Khan’s first big move was in 1977, when he accepted a job offer in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Khan established a photo studio at an advertising agency, which was later bought by New York-based advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather. In 1981, Khan was hired by Khaleej Times, a widely circulated English-language daily newspaper in the Arabian Gulf. There, he discovered his deep passion for photojournalism as he worked on national reports, investigative stories and sports, travel and fashion features and other projects. After 12 years in the Middle East and with 16 years of photography experience under his belt, Khan went knocking on the doors of the Los Angeles Times. He was hired immediately as a freelancer and became a full-time staff photographer in 1996. His assignments have taken him all over Southern California, to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and to Saudi Arabia to cover the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj.
Omar Haroon
Omar Haroon is Deputy Assessor with the Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor. Haroon has specific responsibility over the County’s West District, Region 7, which includes Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Topanga Canyon, Calabasas, Santa Monica, West LA and a host of others territories oriented in western Los Angeles County. Haroon works as a key team member in locating all taxable properties in the County’s western sphere and identifies ownership; establishes a taxable value for all properties subject to property taxation; and aids in completing assessment rolls showing the assessed values of all properties. Prior to his current position, Omar Haroon founded Kenter Canyon Capital, LLC and served as Managing Director. Haroon spearheaded the launch of multiple private investment funds including Pacific Palisades Park Fund of Funds, LP. As well, Haroon served as Financial Adviser (2006-09) with UBS Financial Services and Construction Manager (2001-06) with IDS Real Estate Group. Haroon has significant experience in commercial and residential real estate development; engineering economics; stocks; tax depreciation; life insurance; annuities and alternative investments (including private equity funds, closed-end funds, managed futures and structured products). Omar Haroon graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles earning a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in manufacturing and design. Haroon resides in Los Angeles with his wife Mariah, along with their three kids.
Naureen Meyer
Naureen Meyer is an architectural designer and visual artist based in LA. She primarily works in the design/build industry on a wide range of projects functioning at the intersection of set design, sculpture and architecture. Her prior work includes designing retail environments for Nike, Dior and working under LA based artists on the production of large-scale sculpture. She currently works as a Designer and Render Artist for The Visionary Group in West Hollywood. Meyer's primary interest is in developing her own contemporary art practice in order to create works that exhibit a high level of conceptual and technical design encompassing themes of extremity, the provocative environment, memory, and spatial histories in the form of sculpture, print work and digital interactive media. Meyer received her BA in Studio Art from UC Irvine and her Masters in Architecture from SCIARC. Her project The Cosmetic Limit was awarded SCIARC's Distinguished Graduate Thesis Award and has been exhibited at the A+D Museum.
Sana Muttalib
Sana Muttalib is an Enforcement Attorney at the Unites States Securities and Exchange Commission. Sana's work at the SEC includes Foreign Corrupt Practice Act matters, which involve the investigation of global corruption and the bribery of foreign government officials. She also investigates and litigates insider trading cases and offering fraud cases. Prior to joining the SEC, Sana worked at the International law firm of O'Melveny & Myers in the firm's Los Angeles office. At O'Melveny & Myers, Sana was an attorney in the litigation department and primarily worked on white collar investigations and securities matters. After graduating from law school and prior to joining O'Melverny & Myers, Sana worked at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California as a pro bono staff attorney. While at the ACLU, Sana worked on a variety of civil rights matters including prisoners' rights matters and fourteenth amendment due process cases. Sana received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Michigan Law School where she was also an editor for the International Law Journal. Sana received her B.A. in Political Science and South Asian Studies from UCLA. Sana is currently an active participant in the food policy and urban farming movement in Southern California. She is also an avid marathon runner and a foodie who loves to cook for her family and friends.
Kamran Pasha
Kamran Pasha is a screenwriter and director, and is one of the first Muslims to succeed in Hollywood. Kamran recently served as a writer and producer on television shows such as “Nikita” on the CW and the “Tron: Uprising” animated series on Disney XD. Previously he served as a writer and producer for NBC’s television series “Kings.” His other credits include serving as producer on NBC’s remake of “Bionic Woman,” and co-producer of Showtime Network’s Golden Globe nominated series “Sleeper Cell,” about a Muslim FBI agent who infiltrates a terrorist group. Kamran is a published novelist as well. Simon & Schuster recently published “Mother of the Believers,” a novel showing the rise of Islam from the eyes of Prophet Muhammad’s wife Aisha. His second novel, “Shadow of the Swords,” follows the conflict between Richard the Lionheart and the Muslim leader Saladin for control of Jerusalem during the Crusades. Kamran holds a BA and an MBA from Dartmouth College, a JD from Cornell Law School, and an MFA from UCLA Film School. He spent three years as a journalist in New York City, interviewing prominent international figures such as Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, and Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Kamran continues to serve as a major Muslim voice in the media as a blogger on the Huffington Post.
Sameer Asad Gardezi
A graduate from USC’s film school, Sameer Asad Gardezi is a versatile WGA Award- Winning comedy writer who has written for several networks including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, The CW, FOX, ABC and NBC. He has worked on such critically acclaimed shows as Aliens in America, Matthew Perry’s Mr. Sunshine, Outsorced, The Goodwin Games and Modern Family, to name a few. For his work on Modern Family, he was awarded a WGA Award for his excellence in writing. Sameer started his career by being admitted into the Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship where he was one of four to be selected out of hundreds. Soon after, he wrote and produced his first short "Equal Opportunity", which won the NBC Comedy Short Cuts Film Festival and was an official selection at SXSW and the HBO Aspen Film Festival. The following year, Sameer sold a pilot to ABC entitled The 90s Were a Long Time Ago and soon after sold a pilot to FOX entitled Save Us... Then the Whales, which he acted as writer, creator and producer. Just recently, Sameer sold another pilot to FOX as writer, creator and co-executive producer entitled Beyond Repair. Currently, Sameer sold two projects to FOX and is working in development with Will Smith’s company Overbrook.
Adnan Hussain
Adnan Hussain was raised in both the U.S. and Pakistan. A childhood of writing stories lead to studying Computer Animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design. After graduation, he relocated to Los Angeles to work in Visual Effects and Animation at studios such as Walt Disney Feature Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks. Along side work on feature films, he works under his company Mad Guru, to create animated films and projects designed to provoke thought and bring diverse people together. Hussain’s work deals with human rights. His 2009 animated short film Gul was an innovative painterly computer animation which dealt with the subject of family conflict. It won several international awards, and screened at Slamdance, Patios Human Rights Festival, Tehran International Animation Festival, Anim’Est and Mill Valley, among other festivals. The musical score featured an original recording by the Girnari Jogi Group, which was later used to crowd fund an entire album for the group when they lost their homes to floods in Pakistan. In addition, the short film Gul was recently adapted into a bilingual, English and Urdu language graphic novel for the iPad. This combination of creating pieces that showcase rich culture and creative uses of mediums alongside serving social causes and benefiting artists is the work philosophy of Hussain’s company, Mad Guru (http://www.madguru.com).
Keynote Speaker: Moin Khan
Moin Khan, a twenty-four year old biker, and a graduate of San Francisco State University, has a different agenda. He wants to build bridges across cultures. He was tired of seeing how Pakistani's were being shown in the media, so what did he do? He hopped on his motorcycle and started on a 20,000 mile journey from Golden Gate Bridge to Lahore. Moin Khan spent 18 months planning and saving for the trip. His original plan was to save $15,000 by doing three jobs, and surviving on just boiled rice and ketchup. As the planned departure date approached, he was short on money. He could only save $9000; rather than wait and save more money, he decided to start his journey with what he had. He took his iPhone, GPS and a makeshift luggage rack, and a tent on his journey. His friends in the Bay Area helped him to fix the bike for the long trip. Moin opted for a sports bike (600 cc) rather than a tour bike (1000+ cc) in order to get peoples’ attention. On July 1, 2010, Moin Khan revved up his Honda CBR 600 F4i sport bike near Golden Gate Bridge and set off on his long transcontinental journey to build bridges across cultures. From San Francisco, Moin for his first leg of journey took the Pacific coast route to Canada, and then moving through the Midwestern states he arrived in New York; from there he transported his bike to Germany; from there he traveled through Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. During his journey he was the recipient of countless random acts of kindness by wayside strangers. Passing through Romania Moin Khan got into an accident, his bike was damaged. He broke couple of bones too. It took about a month for Moin to recuperate and get his bike fixed. Again strangers showed extreme kindness; Romanian motorcycle enthusiasts donated parts for the bike, had it fixed, and transported it for free to Bucharest. Praising the generosity of Romanian people Moin Khan said, “If I ever have a bike crash again I hope it’s in Romania.” From Romania, Moin Khan started the second leg of his transcontinental bike journey. Traveling through Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Iran, he entered Pakistan through Baluchistan, and finally arrived in Lahore via Karachi and Multan, on December 31, 2011. A colorful reception was arranged at the Expo Center, Lahore, too welcomed Moin. He was greeted by the Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif who said that “Moin is resplendent star of the nation…Khan has made a mark for Pakistan throughout the world and has given a message out there that the Pakistanis are a peace-loving nation.” Before starting the journey, Moin Khan wondered how people would react to him. In an interview, Moin Khan reminisced, “I never had to face racism… But I had heard stories; I thought all they know about Pakistan and Muslims is through Fox News. So, I was a little scared…But whoever I talked to, the first thing I would say is I am from Pakistan and I am going from San Francisco to Lahore.” He further recalled, “Every day I stop at a gas station four or five times and each stop turned into a 30-minute stop. A small group gathers and starts asking questions. It really is mind boggling at times how many people don’t know anything about Pakistan.” Moin Khan has said that the future of Pakistan is in the hands of its youth. He further said that during his sojourn in 22 countries many people opened their hearts and said that he could stay as long as he wished. But he politely refused their offers. He told them that clearing peoples’ misconceptions about Pakistan and Islam was the aim of his journey. Moin Khan has documented his journey on a website www.adifferentagenda.com, and Facebook.
Jahan Hamid
Jahan Hamid left his hometown of Oslo, Norway at the age of 20 to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a pilot. He quickly completed all flight training and received all required Pilot and Flight instructor certificates. In 1999, he started working as a flight instructor in South Carolina. Jahan’s passion for flying and his hard work ethic lead him to work for many large size Professional Pilot Training Academies and eventually brought him to Oakland, CA, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In 2006, Chrysler Aviation, a private business jet company in Van Nuys airport, offered him a pilot job. His meticulous nature combined with his decisive leadership is the reason he was promoted to Captain only three months later. He has more than 8000 flight hours and loves every minute he spends in the skies. Jahan’s dream of flying has taken him to almost every state and more than 600 cities in the United States. Jahan is also a leader in the Muslim community. When he is not flying across the country, he enjoys spending time with local community members. He is the president of a large Muslim organization, Meca SoCal, which works to strengthen the community through Social, Educational, and Community Service programs. He has been actively running the organization since 2009.
Marium F. Mohiuddin
Marium F. Mohiuddin has worked in communications and publishing for the past 15 years. After receiving her Bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University, Marium went on to join the staff of the Austin American-Statesman as an editor in the Features department. Besides newspapers, Marium has been the editor in chief and managing editor of several magazine publications and an international manager for the American Heart Association. Marium's work experience extends into the non-profit world, which includes being an active volunteer with Meal n Wheels and More, Muslim Youth of North America, and the Austin chapter of CAIR. Mohiuddin has spoken to many audiences about civic engagement and has appeared on many media outlets including CNN, Foxnews.com, NPR and The Hollywood Reporter.
Zulfia Ali Manely
Zulfia Ali Manely is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and International Politics at California State University, Fullerton. Based in Southern Orange County, Zulfia has been accepted into the prestigious CSU Washington DC internship program for the spring 2014 semester, where she will intern and finish off her senior year. Previous employment as a TV correspondent at B4U Network has provided Zulfia with research, writing, and hosting experience. In addition, Zulfia has ten years of experience in the banking industry and plans to expand her levels of management. Zulfia’s career objective is to obtain a challenging position in the realm of television broadcasting and politics to utilize her education and leadership experience. Furthermore, Zulfia has served as the President of the Pakistani Students Association at California State University Fullerton, actively participated as a board member for the Pakistani American Young Professionals Organization, reigned in as 2nd runner-up in a Miss CA USA preliminary pageant, interned for predominant LA based radio station 102.7 KIIS FM, and played a role in a plethora of modeling and runway shows showcasing South Asian bridal wear. Being internationally and politically aware is achieved without great effort in the Manely household. Originating as a half Pakistani/Bengali and half Afghan mix, while having parents who were raised in Bangkok Thailand, Zulfia is no stranger to a variety of customs and traditions. Zulfia’s thirst and quest for world affairs stems from her colorful multi-cultural family background. Zulfia is passionate about traveling, politics, languages and cultures, her brilliant superstar sister Sarah, martial arts, and more.
Rehan Choudhry
Rehan Chaudhry is a Senior Director for BNY Mellon Wealth Management. He currently leads BNY Mellon’s Financial Sponsors initiative in Los Angeles. In this role, he works closely with privately held and publicly traded business owners and their advisors through the lifecycle of their business. He focuses on business succession planning, personal and business lending opportunities and wealth transfer strategies in order to help business owners successfully transition from entrepreneur to investor. During the past 14 years, Rehan has worked with over 75 entrepreneurs whose companies have a total enterprise value north of $10 billion successfully make the transition to investors. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, he was a Senior Banker and Vice President for J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank where he was responsible for advising clients on investment management, financial planning, portfolio construction, asset allocation, tax strategies, credit solutions, trust and estate planning and charitable giving. Rehan also worked as an Investment Specialist, where he constructed portfolios for high net worth individuals using a broad array of assets including traditional equities and fixed income, hedge funds, real estate, private equity, structured investments, currencies and commodities. Prior to joining the Private Bank, he worked in J.P. Morgan’s Investment Bank as a Spot Analyst on their Foreign Exchange Trading Desk. Rehan received a bachelor’s degree in finance and information technology from LaSalle University. He also holds his Series 7 & 63 Security Licenses.
