Salaam Everyone! I’m an ER nurse, currently pursuing my Nurse Practitioner degree, Personal trainer, and Program Director for a local Muslim community organization. My journey to health was not easy —I struggled with being overweight and undisciplined with little motivation to change, but one day I decided to take control of my life by diving into research and education about fitness and wellness. Through that self-discovery, I not only lost weight but also developed a deep love for living a healthy, balanced lifestyle which included becoming physically and mentally stronger.

For me, health is no longer just a part of my life; it’s the foundation of everything I do. From hiking Mountains to weightlifting, boxing, running, and competing in volleyball tournaments I’ve learned that wellness is a holistic journey that touches every aspect of life. Nutrition plays a huge role in this, and I aim to incorporate health in every food choice I make.

What drives me more than anything is my love for community work and giving back. NIYA was born from this desire—to create a space where we can grow, learn, and support each other as women on this wellness journey. My hope is to help you feel empowered to live with intention, build strength inside and out, and rise alongside a strong community of sisters.

I was born and raised in Jordan. I moved to Chicago 13 years ago! I’m a Business Analyst in the product management field. I genuinely love what I do. I’m always looking to grow, and I recently earned my PMP Certification—super exciting! And outside of work, I have a huge passion for learning anything and everything I can. It is definitely an obsession. I take a few classes in my free time at Qalam Academy. Islamic studies have been a very major part of my life. I’m also diving deeper into nutrition through a private coaching company. My goal is to become more accredited as one of the NIYA founders and expand my knowledge to help others. 

Now, that was quite an overfilled intro of what I do and want to do. It seems fun and a lot, right? But it is not realistic without balance, and it is not a flex if I end up hurting my health to achieve those goals. I’ve always been the type of person who’s chasing goals, whether in my career or personal life. But for a long time, I put all of that and everyone else first, completely neglecting my own health and wellness. Eventually, it caught up to me—by the time I was 19, I had a serious health wake-up call. That’s when I realized I needed to educate myself on nutrition and, more importantly, learn how to create balance in my life. That’s when I also learned to take it slow, and to not pressure myself with goals that technically can be achieved fast, but they come at a super huge cost. It does not matter what certificates, or degrees, I have; if I sacrifice my health to get there, it will be in no service to me or others. 

As women, our responsibilities only grow over time, which is why it’s so important to build routines that actually support us. Prioritizing ourselves isn’t selfish—it’s necessary. When we find that balance, we can continue thriving in our careers, personal lives, and any goals or hobbies we would like to enjoy. 

I’m a Pakistani, first-generation immigrant born in Karachi and raised in Rogers Park, Chicago. I graduated in healthcare administration and currently work as a full-time healthcare consultant while also being involved with multiple community-building and non-profit fundraising initiatives. 

My love for staying active began way back in elementary and high school when I joined my first cross country, track, and tennis sports teams. The feeling of competing, challenging myself to break personal records, and cheering on my fellow teammates was irreplaceable, and I continued playing different sports recreationally throughout undergrad in intramural and community league teams. 

Although I’ve stayed active since I was young, I always fell short on my nutrition and dietary habits avoiding most fruits and vegetables at all costs. These habits slowly began to catch up, causing several issues such as a lack of energy, slow metabolism, and constant mood swings. I knew it was time to make a lifestyle change and what helped me most during this process was reshifting my intentions and realizing my body is an amanah (responsibility) from Allah and I should nourish and keep it at its optimal state in every way. 

I began to care more about how my body felt rather than the way it looked and this transformative mindset, one that’s helped me stay consistent and disciplined with my healthy habits, is what I hope to spread and have women in the NIYA community adopt to unlock the best, healthiest versions of themselves.