Meet the team behind The Samovar Network

Ali A Olomi

Ali A Olomi is a writer, historian, and assistant professor of history at Penn State University Abington. He is a research fellow and scholar of Islamic throught and society who researches the formation of the “Muslim world” through the intersection of cosmology, geography, and empire with particular attention to constructions of religious identity and gender and sexuality. His Bachelor’s is from UCLA and Master’s and PhD from UCI. In addition to his academic work, he engages in public-facing scholarship and is the host of the Head on History podcast.

Nura Sediqe

Nura A. Sediqe is a postdoctoral research fellow and faculty member at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. She is a political scientist. She received her PhD in Political Science and Master in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Ghizal Adina

Ghizal is the Assistant Director of Planning and Design for a private company in the San Francisco Bay Area.  In her spare time, Ghizal works on development, transportation, and affordable housing projects, examining ways racial disparities are impacted or exacerbated in the built environment. Ghizal also examines sea-level rise hazards along San Francisco’s coastal zones and regional climate change adaptation plans. Ghizal holds a Masters in City Planning from MIT, and undergraduate degrees in Architecture and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.  

In her free time she enjoys desert landscapes, tennis, books, and hella cheese. 

Weiss Hamid

Weiss Hamid is a data privacy and litigation associate at Buchalter, APC, in Los Angeles. While attending law school, Weiss served as Editor-in-Chief of Production of the Los Angeles Public Interest Law Journal, a collaborative law journal that works across the Loyola, USC, UCLA, and Pepperdine campuses, focusing on producing academic and practitioner articles that promote social issues pertinent to Los Angeles, such as immigration, human trafficking, and civil rights for the LGBTQ community. Additionally, Weiss co-directed the New Leaders Council’s Engaged program, facilitating important dialogue regarding criminal justice, housing and education.

When Weiss isn’t lawyering, his interests are basketball, and getting into various sports-related arguments.

Sultana Mangal

Sultana was born and raised in Saint Louis, MO. She works as an Account Executive at a digital marketing agency where her role includes developing long-term relationships with a portfolio of clients in the B2B manufacturing space. Her focus is on strategic growth and overseeing the day-to-day operation of her client accounts. As a member of her agency’s strategic planning committee, she’s involved in the higher-level business decisions for the long-term success of the organization. Sultana holds an MBA with a specialty in Marketing from Webster University.

In her free time, she enjoys running, yoga, biking and lagree fitness. When she’s not working out, you can find her crocheting, riding her longboard or reading. She hopes to one day be inner-circle level attan.

Dawoud Waziri

X Dawoud Waziri was born and raised in Northern Virginia and has been in Southern California since 2006. He’s currently working in sales as well as hosting a socio-political podcast called Currently Nerdy which he helped start up back in 2013. Along with his day to day jobs Dawoud is involved with volunteering for multiple charitable organizations in the Southern California area.

Reza Hessabi

Reza Hessabi is a physician resident in Emergency Medicine at UCLA. He received his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School. Ranging from his involvement with TSN and the Afghan-American Conference to mentorship of diaspora Afghans looking to enter into medicine, being involved in the diaspora has always been a priority. Within medicine, Reza’s interests include the field of Social Emergency Medicine, hospital flow and quality improvement. Outside of medicine, Reza enjoys all things film/television, writing short stories and chipping away slowly at his novel.

Hena Sekander

Hena Sekander has been a member of TSN since 2018 as part of its social media team. She spends her free time debating on whether or not to become an internet sensation.

Almas Farooqi Lodin

Almas Farooqi Lodin is an Afghan-Canadian based out of London, Ontario and currently works within the local Nonprofit sector in the areas of digital engagement, community engagement, and public education. Her professional capacities have focused on issues surrounding HIV/AIDS, 2SLGBTQ+ issues, and gender/family-based violence. Almas is most interested in using creative forms of story telling and digital media as tools for community-based learning.

Almas received a B.A. from Western University in Philosophy, with a focus on Continental Philosophy.  In her down-time, she enjoys melting her brain with niche memes, hiking, and sports of all kinds. She also loves learning new languages and currently speaks Farsi, Pashto, and Hindi.    

Susan Aziz

Susan Manan Aziz is an Afghan-American, DMV native now living in California. Her background is in education and mental health and she’s been lucky to have two careers that she has loved; being a teacher and being a therapist. Susan has taught in Montgomery County Public Schools and in Arlington Public Schools and has worked at a private practice in Maryland and in Virginia after graduating with a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health from Johns Hopkins University. She currently works as a primary therapist in an intensive outpatient center in California and joined TSN  to help build and foster a place where Afghan-Americans can share their unique experiences and learn from one another.