Unfazed with TazzyPhe

Oakley Jennings-Fast holds a Bachelor's of Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering from University of Colorado. She spent 4 years working as a chemical engineer at BASF in roles from R&D to engineering to management. During this time, she directly saw the raw materials, energy, and passion that go into making every day "stuff". It was this experience combined with her love of nature which compelled her to dedicate her career to circular economy. This means making a more sustainable manufacturing and consumer ecosystem. With her company Level Up Planet, she educates individuals on their purchasing and disposal options and consults companies in managing their product design, production and waste in a sustainable way.

This episode is going to one of four interviews that I did with young Muslim women living in France. Today's episode is going to be featuring Lina who is currently a student and was born in France to Moroccan parents and also raised in France.

This episode is going to one of four interviews that I did with young Muslim women living in France. Today's episode is going to be featuring Najwa who is currently a student and was born and raised in France.

This episode is going to one of four interviews that I did with young Muslim women living in France. Today's episode is going to be featuring Aïssata, who was born and raised in France. When she reached out to me she said she would love to talk about her experience specifically as a Black Hijabi Muslim in France.

This episode is going to one of four interviews that I did with young Muslim women living in France. Today's episode is going to be featuring Tawama, a student in anthropology. 

Lawyer by day, writer by night, Nailah Dean reports from the front lines as she battles racism, ageism, and sexism in the Muslim dating world. Her work has appeared in Al Jazeera, Insider, and MuslimGirl. She is a regular contributor to ICNA’s The Message International, and the Salams and Muzmatch Blogs. She’s a member of the SF Writers Workshop and recipient of a 2019 Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing Fellowship. Nailah created and directed a photo series about Muslim women and the barriers they encounter on the road to love and marriage. She is currently writing a book about Muslim dating and marriage. Nailah Dean lives in the Bay Area. Catch her on IG: nailahdean28

Sumaiya Tufail is a Muslim Canadian writer, poet, and social justice activist, director of Saa Events in Mombasa kenya, She is an aspiring Human Rights Lawyer & founder of social enterprise Diasporas co. Her parents immigrated from Kenya to Canada in the early 90's to escape abuse & poverty. The transgenerational struggles of her ancestors and parents have helped shape her worldview, and inspired her writing as well as her activism. In her early 20's she dropped everything to study Islam in the US and Arabic in Sudan for a few years, seeking to find herself. This experience led her back to her parent's homeland which bridged the gap she was missing in her life. After being steeped in that rich cultural, spiritual and social experience, she returned home to Vancouver to pursue her undergrad in International Relations. She is most known for her advocacy against SGBV and women's rights. You can find her here: @sumaiyatufail 

Jasmine Fremdehake is a life coach/content creator/podcast host of LemyLazalyzekYaMadame. This was a really interesting episode for me because I got to learn some things about gender roles and feminism in both the context of Sweden, her country of residence, and in Egypt, her country of origin. You can find her @LemyLazalyzekYaMadame.

Sarah Khan is a student at the University of Washington and founder of Afsana, an American-based, student organization focused on highlighting women’s stories with education and their identities in Pakistan. As a privileged Pakistani-American who can pursue an education in the United States,  Sarah aims to humanize the statistics of low literacy and educational attainment rates by sharing Pakistani women's experiences with education. She seeks to challenge the apathy around these statistics and help affected women reclaim their right to their own narratives when discussing these issues. This mission has led her to connect Pakistani-Americans and Pakistanis to build an organization committed to sharing the stories or "afsana" of Pakistani women. Check out Afsana at www.afsanapk.org and @afsana.pk 

Hanan is a Human Rights Lawyer and lecturer. She has studied, lived, and worked across different countries in Europe. She works as a lecturer and content writer and is deeply interested in Women's Rights and issues. We had a great conversation about feminism and gender roles.

Turning 30 feels strange. This video is a reflection on what it's been like approaching this milestone birthday and how I approach taking care my mental health. This is an episode from my YouTube channel series called "Let's Get Deep" where I talk about different topics that are a bit more personal than my other videos. 

Nida Khadbai is a designer at Headed Somewear, previously known as That Hijabi. She is passionate about social justice issues, diversity, and inclusion. She currently lives and works in NYC. In this episode we talk about everything from running a modest-wear business to the controversy of large Muslim influencers taking it off. 

Mariyah Zaman is a freelance writer from Wales in the UK. Her work ranges from spoken word and poetry to news articles and features a passion for exploring Muslim youth culture and fashion. Her work has been seen on the Huffington Post UK and Buzzfeed. She focused her journalistic dissertation on “the relationship between Islamic fashion and politics.” We had an interesting conversation about the state of the Muslim fashion scene. We talked about everything from the beauty standards to the spiritual significance of it all.

Maryam Shehata is a fashion industry marketing project manager and graduate of International Development Studies from UCLA. Through her education she has gained a broader perspective on the realities, roadblocks, and impact of fast fashion and just how much consumers play a key role in it all. I reached out to her to learn more about the world of fast fashion and asked her opinion on how it all plays into the Muslim modest fashion scene. I learned a lot from our conversation and it helped me realize that it isn't really all that black and white. So here's our conversation discussing the grey and everything in between. Find her on instagram @shehaute.m

Izdihar is a historian and Ethnographer on Eastern Europe, Russia and post Soviet states. She’s an American convert of Balkan heritage who goes under the moniker "Lady Izdihar" where she educates through Instagram, TikTok and YouTube on the often overlooked and misrepresented region and people of the former Soviet bloc. We had a really interesting conversation about modesty and her experience in finding her personal style. You can find her on her social media platforms under @ladyizdihar. I hope you all enjoy the episode!

Gita Savitri Devi is a YouTuber, Author, and content creator with over 1 million followers. She is from Indonesia but lives in Germany with her husband Paul Partohop. She makes captivating and engaging content not only about her life but also about social issues. I met her back in 2017 when we were both YouTube Creators for Change fellows and we've been connected since. I have a great conversation with her and Paul, about what to expect during my wedding. 

Rahim Siddiq is the head photographer/videographer and owner of Visual Artistry Collective, which is a wedding videography and photography business based in Irvine, California. His company specializes in capturing Muslim weddings and has the goal of bringing a creative and modern touch to the Muslim Wedding industry. But a special twist to this episode’s interview, is that he was actually the wedding photographer at my wedding. Him and his team did an amazing job and I’m really happy with how the video and photos turned out. I wanted to get his perspective on weddings and what he feels is important as well as how he navigated running his business through Covid. You can find Rahim on instagram @rahvsid or on his company's website https://www.visualartistry.co/. 

Sadaf is a Registered Dietitian, nutrition blogger, and author based out of Canada who specializes in weight management, diabetes, kidney disease, NAFLD, malnutrition, and heart health, among others. She has a strong science background, with three degrees from major Canadian universities and completed extensive training at St.Michael’s Hospital, a leading teaching and research hospital in Toronto, to gain competency as a dietitian. We had a great conversation just in time for Ramadan about everything from misinformation on Tiktok to what actually happens to your body when you fast. You can find her on instagram @sadafshaikh.rd

I interviewed Zahra for this episode where we speak about her experiences trying to find a partner and tells us what it's like to weed through a sea of matches. Zahra Billoo serves as the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA) office, the oldest and one of the largest CAIR chapter offices. 

Nosheen (formerly known as OHNOSHEENDIDNT) is a former YouTuber that I met back in the day. We have a great conversation about how she met her spouse on an app as well as her experience helping her grandmother run a more traditional matchmaking service. 

Yasmin El Hady (also known as Yasguru) is a lawyer, comedian, and retired matchmaker. She has a BS in Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology from Emory University, but she read the most about relationships after experiencing a divorce back in 2012. She’s also been matching since 2007, and learned a lot doing that about compatibility & reverse engineering her process. We talk about everything from the need for counseling to toxic wedding culture in the Muslim community. 

Qamara is a photographer, mother, youtuber, and social media presence based in the Bay Area, California. Her and her husband makes a YouTube series called marriage Monday’s where they give marital advice based on different questions and topics. In the episode we talk about everything from gender roles to coping with homesickness in a marriage. 

This interview with Nushmia Khan, founder of Nikahnama, was recorded in July 2020. Nushmia is a Pakistani American artist who started a business reviving an old tradition of making beautifully designed, intricate marriage contracts for Muslims to be wed. We talk about everything from her previous career to the motivation behind starting Nikahnama 

This interview with Jannah Farooque was recorded in July 2020. Jannah is a visual artist and mother based in Colorado. We spoke about her experiences as a black woman growing up in Denver including everything from raising children to racism she faced in the South Asian and greater Muslim community.