We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kira Nashed a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kira , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
There’s been many revelations on the journey, but the most recent one was at an open mic night that my nonprofit, Amal Center, hosted on May 11,2023. Our world is hurting in so many ways and divided like never before so I wanted to bring people together to unite. I believed bringing the community together to share our talents, joys, pains, thoughts, and fears would unite us as a community. I saw like minded and many different kinds of people stumble into the coffee shop, which was hosted at Wrigley Coffee (Families of the South Bay nonprofit) in a night which I believe can create change for generations to come. People shared their own testimonies about mental health, faith, and everything in between. The more united we are the more powerful we can be in creating change. Our youth needs mentors & people to look up to in our community. We can be mentors to at risk youth, we can be more kind to people in our communities and be the change we hope to see in the world. I hope to host more at this location in Long Beach (also where my nonprofit is based) to inspire people to support local nonprofits that are supporting at risk youth and families.
Kira , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a Licensed Educational Psychologist & Founder of Youth Diversion Nonprofit, Amal Center. I started this nonprofit in 2020. My passion began in South Central LA as a school psychologist who provided school based counseling to students with mental health needs. I kept seeing good students fall in the cracks and not having the right supports and resources to avoid the juvenile justice system. We started our work supporting LA based schools in receiving mental health services as preventive measures to allow students to have access to mental health providers. Currently we are supporting / collaborating with other diversion programs programs such as Anti-recidivism Coalition (ARC) and Long Beach Bar Association in supporting their juvenile/at risk youth and adult clients.
Any advice for managing a team?
Lead with love. Listen and understand people’s ideas and concerns. A good leader is patient and listens before offering solutions or strategies. I’ve been around leaders who were passive, non confrontational , and wouldn’t want to get involved in issues. I believe it’s the responsibility of a leader to listen to issues and do what’s best for the team and for the business. Love is important too, if you love people and what you do, everything will fall into place after all love conquers all.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the false narrative that I couldn’t run a business and nonprofit on my own. I thought it was too much for me and that I wasn’t built for it, but it’s far from the truth. It came from my experiences of thinking or hearing people say that I can’t do these things on my own as a woman. I’m thankful for my confidence in God to remind me that I can do all things through Christ who strengths me🙌🏽
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.amalcenter.org & https://knashedlep2.wixsite.com/knashedpsyched
- Instagram: @amal_center_ & @kik0o0
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amalhopecenter?mibextid=LQQJ4d & https://www.facebook.com/knashed?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kira-nashed-39030353
Image Credits
@thechaserrphoto