If you don’t already know media maven Sumaya Kazi, give her time. You will. In just two years, the 25-year-old Executive Director and Founder of The CulturalConnect, a website that publishes five online magazines, has started a viral chain of meaningful connections in over 100 countries.
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Sumaya Kazi, 25, was born in Los Angeles to Bangladeshi-American
Muslim parents. She lives near Berkeley now, working as global
communications manager for Sun Microsystems. Last year, she founded
TheCulturalConnect.com, a networking site for young professionals.
Anchor Nicole Lapin recognizes Executive Director Sumaya Kazi as a ‘Young Person Who Rocks’ in her weekly series about individuals under 30 doing remarkable things.
“Network like crazy from the very beginning. I didn’t realize at the time of our launch that our website and set of magazines were going to turn into an international platform for young professional networking.”
Alumwire, an interactive career network for college students and young alumni, invites co-founders Sumaya Kazi and Raymond Rouf to share their experiences as young entrepreneurs.
Twenty-four-year-old Sumaya Kazi was named one of BusinessWeek’s Top 10 Entrepreneurs Under 25 for co-founding the CulturalConnect, an online media publisher that includes four online magazines for young
ethnic professionals: The DesiConnect, The MidEastConnect, The AsiaConnect, and The LatinConnect.
The CulturalConnect publishes weekly e-magazines for the modern day young professional interested in being inspired by other extraordinary professionals within their cultural community and becoming more aware
of non-profit organizations making strides towards progress.
The CulturalConnect is a new watering hole for young South Asians in search of something beyond an online social venue…Professional motivation and mentoring apart, the CulturalConnect also
showcases the silent do-gooders in the nonprofit world. “There is an
unfortunate gap between young professionals actively participating in
the non profit world,” laments Kazi. The CulturalConnect is actively
trying to bridge that gap.
Aside from the cultural networking component of The CulturalConnect,
Kazi said what drove her in launching the e-magazines was the
opportunity to get out stories about successful young professionals,
which she feels just aren’t covered enough by traditional media…
The popular destination for young professionals worldwide,
TheCulturalConnect.com, was recently named a finalist in the Best New
Company of the Year category in the third annual Stevie Awards for
Women in Business, according to a press release.
He said it is important to try to think of something original. Even
though South Asian-Americans are often told to study engineering or
medicine, the choice should be their own, Rouf said. “Don’t be scared
to do something that hasn’t been done before,” he said…
“The crux of our site is connecting people,” Kazi said. “We are not a social networking site and we are not traditional media. We are a combination of the two”…
The CulturalConnect has been applauded and recognized for their unique approach to e-media, social entrepreneurial heart and contemporary business model, which employs remote workers all under 30 who are full-time students and business professionals by day.…
In just a year, The CulturalConnect has surpassed 5 million hits, spawned a staff of 30 and expanded to include four more online magazines: The MidEastConnect, The LatinConnect, The AsiaConnect, and starting in early 2007, The AfricanaConnect…
Sumaya Kazi, founder of The CulturalConnect, is recognized as one of America’s Top 10 Entrepreneurs Under 25 – the only solo woman featured in the US, Europe and Asia BusinessWeek Top Entrepreneur rankings.
Even though Kazi and her co-founders live in different cities across the country, they are right next door in the virtual world of the Internet. Rouf says they are always online instant messaging or sending e-mails.…
BusinessWeek recognizes Executive Director of The CulturalConnect, Sumaya Kazi, as a ‘Master of Multitasking’. “This Berkeley grad works for Sun Microsystems by day, and moonlights as the founder of an online media company for young professionals…”
CulturalConnect builds on the idea that the definition of success isn’t the same for everyone, said Eduardo Gonzalez, an assistant professor of mathematics at Rutgers University…
Winner of the American Association of Webmasters Gold AwardJuly 17, 2006
The AAWA awarded TheCulturalConnect.com with its highest form of recognition. The Gold Award is only received by those websites that have shown outstanding achievement in web design, content and creativity.
…it’s filling a void for young professionals eager to hear about one another’s work. It also puts readers in touch with nonprofit groups that can always use energetic people who want to help.
Last fall a new weekly e-magazine hit the scene, The DesiConnect. By profiling a nonprofit and a young professional in the Desi community each week, they are networking the youth community with people and do-gooders all over the country.
