My written work spans various topics including politics and international affairs, social and cultural matters surrounding the Middle East, human rights issues and activism, and copywriting for small businesses. I also write about user experience, design and technology.
In 2013, I joined Embassy News in Ottawa covering Canadian Foreign Affairs. I wrote a piece about Syria and Iran’s lingering links in Canada despite the expelling of diplomats. I joined the Yellow Pages in 2014 as a writer and photographer to tell the stories of local businesses and what makes them unique. I wrote about Behesht Cafe, Toronto’s top spots for eco-friendly beauty products and much more.
I have also written extensively about Iran and the Middle East, with the intent of raising awareness, triggering the imagination and creating discussion. I interview Bänoo Zan, an exiled poet about her poetry collection “Songs of Exile”, I wrote about the Iranian diaspora’s hijab taboo, and submitted an opinion piece about Islamophobia following attacks in Canada in 2014.
In 2016 I spent some time in Bosnia and Herzegovina to get a better understanding of the social, cultural and political remnants of the Bosnian war and the fall of Yugoslavia. I wrote a piece about a women-led non-profit in Sarajevo that empowers women through knitting to re-engage in every life.
I spent 2019 as head of content at UPFRONT, a startup dedicated to changing confidence by elevating and encouraging new voices on and off public stages. I curated and delivered a bi-weekly newsletter on power, confidence and public speaking, handled social media and communications, and interviewed women about their confidence story for a blog series called ‘An UPFRONT Conversation with’.
Most recently, I have been writing about user experience, design and technology – both in terms of methods and approaches used in the industry, as well as other related topics such as mentorship, diversity and lessons learned. I wrote about the importance of diversity and inclusion and tips on getting started in UX. I also craft and send out a monthly newsletter for my current company Art & Science; it’s a sneak peak into what we’re working on, celebrating and thinking. You can sign up here.