Lena Shareef

Background

About Lena Shareef

Hi there! I'm a multimedia strategist who has spent the last decade working in digital and social media at both nonprofit and private organizations/agencies. Here are five things to know about me: 1. While the majority of my career has been spent in the digital/social media industry, I’ve also spent several years studying and getting degrees in film production, journalism, and international studies. I initially was drawn to digital media because it allows me to explore a variety of fields and interests at the same time. I started off in the non-profit sector, worked at PR agencies and now I’m working in media. I love writing and it’s a skill I’m always trying to improve both at work and in my free time—whether it’s writing creative copy for promotional campaigns, personal essays, articles, or even scriptwriting. Growing up, I moved around a lot with my family. We lived in multiple countries and multiple states within the U.S. but I mostly grew up in the Midwest. I’m bilingual—English and Urdu—and I dabble in Spanish and Arabic (but emphasis on dabble). I can also read Russian/Cyrillic very slowly and count to 10 in Turkish. In 2012, a friend and I started a side hustle which eventually turned into a non-profit called GIRLWITHABOOK Movement. It was inspired by education activist Malala Yousafzai and our rage at those who tried to kill her. It began as a simple Facebook page where we collected and shared submissions of photos from women and girls all over the world reading books because what better way to anger those who would try to stop girls from going to school than to share photos of hundreds of girls with books? Over the years, with the help of numerous organizations, like the United Nations, it grew into something more. A few years ago we, along with a third friend, decided to travel to South and Central Asia to film a documentary series about what it’s like to be a girl in those regions of the world. It was a once-in-a-lifetime project that we’re still trying to work on in our spare time, but what keeps us going is our passion for girls’ education, which I believe can solve most of the world’s problems. It’s an ongoing project, but I’m excited to see where the idea of GIRLWITHABOOK goes next. My brother and I produced a podcast called Grounded Geeks, where we make the geek world relevant. We discussed what various forms of geeky content—such as superhero movies, science fiction novels, and more—says about society & global affairs. We both recently became new parents so the podcast is on hiatus right now, but we'll be back!