The Leena Shah Show Podcast

She's held history in her hands — literally. When Suleman Lalani was sworn in as one of the first Muslim legislators in Texas, it was Zakia standing beside him, holding a 382-year-old Quran that had traveled generations to reach that moment. But long before the cameras and the headlines, she was building a life — as a mother, a partner, a quiet force behind a very public journey.Today, we sit down with Zakia Lalani — to talk about what it really means to carry history, to raise a family in the spotlight, and to find your own voice while standing beside someone else's. This is a conversation about legacy, faith, and the ishq it takes to hold it all together.Please welcome — Zakia Lalani

Muhammad Saeed Sheikh is a respected Pakistani-American community leader and humanitarian whose lifelong commitment to service has earned him Pakistan’s prestigious Sitara-e-Khidmat (Star of Service), one of the nation’s highest civilian honors. Based in Houston, he is recognized for decades of charitable work, community leadership, and efforts that uplift individuals and families without seeking recognition in return.geoHis contributions have also been honored in the United States. Houston Mayor John Whitmire recognized Sheikh’s humanitarian impact and proclaimed an official “Muhammad Saeed Sheikh Day,” celebrating his dedication to serving the Pakistani-American community and the broader Houston community. Sheikh’s legacy is rooted in compassion, integrity, and a belief that meaningful leadership is measured by service to others. The Sitara-e-Khidmat reflects not only his personal achievements, but also his enduring role as a bridge between communities and a source of inspiration for future generations.

He talks about something I haven't been able to stop thinking about since — the difference between standard of life and standard of living. Because somewhere along the way, we started confusing the two. We started measuring our worth by what we drive, what we wear, what we post — chasing a standard of living, keeping up with the Joneses — while our standard of life, our health, our values, our sense of purpose, quietly goes bankrupt. He talks about raising kids who inherit that same bankruptcy — kids fluent in status, but starving for substance.Nasru's answer to that isn't a lecture. It's a life's work — built on health, education, and service to community, as the real currency worth chasing.Today, we talk about healthcare equity, global impact, and what it really means to build a life of quality instead of just the appearance of one.Nasruddin Rupani — known to many simply as Nasru — is the force behind the Rupani Foundation and the Ibn Sina Foundation, two organizations that have quietly, and powerfully, reshaped healthcare access for underserved communities not just here in Houston, but across the globe

Salman Razzaqi is a real businessman and humanitarian whose story spans two countries and five decades of building — homes, hospitals, schools, and community.Arriving in the U.S. in 1978 as an exchange student, Salman went on to spend 37 years building his life and career in Minnesota before relocating to Houston, where he has now made his home for 11 years and counting. Professionally, he leads a multi-family housing business alongside select commercial developments, and operates a delivery service company in Dubai — the profits of which fund his life's true calling.That calling is the Pakistan Humanitarian Foundation (PHF), which Salman founded and continues to lead as its president, alongside Vice Presidents Ghulam Khan and Sana Salman. Under PHF, 67 schools have been rebuilt across Pakistan, serving over 30,000 students, while micro-financing initiatives have created sustainable work — not just aid — for underprivileged families.In Houston and Minneapolis, Salman is an active supporter of the United Way and both cities' food banks. In Pakistan, his philanthropic footprint includes SIUT, Namal, Shaukat Khanum, and Indus Hospital. He is currently deeply involved in a landmark healthcare and education initiative alongside Dr. Tipu Sultan, former Vice Chancellor of Dow Medical College, Karachi — a project encompassing Kohl Goth Hospital, a nursing school, a midwifery school, Malir Chartered University, Malir Children's Hospital, and the newly launched Malir Medical College, staffed by faculty volunteering from across the United States.A past president of the Pakistan Association of Greater Houston (PAGH), Salman is a father of three whose guiding hope is simple: that the next generation serves America wholeheartedly — while never forgetting Pakistan.

The community knows Siraj Narsi as president of PAGH and an active community leader, but there's another dimension of him, and we'll explore that side of him today

Dr. Asaf Riyaz Qadeer is a board-certified family physician, an Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, a published author of 10 books, a poet in Urdu and Punjabi, a community leader, philanthropist — and one of the most remarkable human beings in the Pakistani-American community.For decades, he has served this community — through APPNA, through medicine, through verse, through sheer presence. But today, we are here to celebrate a milestone that feels almost perfectly timed by the universe itself: the launch of his memoir, The American Journey — released in the year America turns 250.This is a book about what it means to arrive in a country with a dream, to build a life across two worlds, to hold onto your roots while reaching for something new. It is the story so many of us in this community have lived — but rarely seen written down with such honesty and heart.

Professor - Healthcare Strategy & Technology and Research Director, Healthcare Business InstituteRavi Aron is Professor of Healthcare Strategy & Technology at the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. He is also Research Director and founder of the Healthcare Business Institute at the University of Houston. He has a joint appointment in the Department of Health Systems & Population Health Sciences at the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine at the University of Houston. The Wall Street Journal.The New York Times.The Economist.Time Magazine.Economic Times (India).Fortune, Forbes, BusinessWeek.CIO & CFO Magazines.Dean's Faculty Excellence award, Carey Business School 2016.Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award, 2012.ISA-INFORMS Best Paper Award, Finalist, 2012.Professor of The Year, GMBA Class of 2012, Carey Business School, 2011.Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Industry Studies Fellowship Award for 2008.David Hauck Teaching Excellence Award, 2004, The Wharton School.MBA Teaching Excellence, 2004, The Wharton School.Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, 2004, The Wharton School.Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, 2003, The Wharton School.Herman E. Kross Best Doctoral Dissertation Award, 1999, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, NYUPress Citations of ResearchHonors and Awards

CEO | Founder | TrailblazerMehnaz Zaidi is the CEO and Founder of MZ Energy, a leading provider of commercial electricity and green tech solutions, and Co-Founder of AllPhase Builders and Avesco Capital. With over two decades of experience in the Energy and Oil & Gas sector, she oversees technology and transformation programs with Venture Global a company positioned to become a global leader in LNG — Liquefied Natural Gas — a company competing with giants to take on the world stage. Because playing small was never part of her vocabulary. She has built an empire in not one but two of the most male-dominated industries in the world. But Mehnaz isn't stopping there.She serves on the board for several non-profit organizations and has been featured as a guest and a host for TV, radio, and professional platforms, sharing insights on energy, entrepreneurship, and gender parity — proving that the boardroom and the spotlight are equally her domain.A mother, mentor, and force of nature, Mehnaz lives by one principle: she loves being uncomfortable. Because for her, discomfort isn't a warning sign — it's a compass. Brains and beauty and the boldness to build what others only dream about.

A social media personality, radio and tv host, event planner, realtor and a lahori girl at heart

A journalist, a politician, president of the women's wing of the Pakistan Peoples Party, USAChairperson of the Women Support Network & a momHeadline: How many more Sana Yousaf’s need to die before systematic change?Every time a woman is killed, we hear the same outrage—and then silence. Is public anger just performative at this point?

Executive Vice Chair & Professor, Baylor College of Medicine---Chief of Psychiatry, Ben Taub Hospital Dr. ASIM SHAH

Ghazanfar Hashmi is a well-known writer, poet, columnist, translator, researcher, and media person currently based in the USA. He is the President/CEO of the International Academy of Letters USA, which works to build bridges between Pakistan and the USA through cultural and public diplomacy. This non-profit think-tank helps create an understanding and friendship between the two countries through dialogue on literature, arts, and culture. As President/CEO of IAL USA and the World Dialogue Forum, his efforts to advance cultural and trade partnerships between Pakistan and the USA are being recognized by different circles. His interviews with American writers, historians, diplomats, politicians, and members of Congress and the Senate are viewed as instrumental in creating a soft image of Pakistan. He started a number of public diplomacy initiatives and organized international literary events in USA which helped create soft image of Pakistan and investment linkages between the two countries. He has been organizing Annual Pakistan Conference on the ‘Pakistan-USA Relations’ in Washington DC in partnership with ‘Wilson Center’ and an International Conference on ‘Diplomacy for Development’ in Houston on regular basis for the last five years. He is the founder of Pakistan Literature Festival in North America. He organized first-ever 2-Days Pakistan Literature Festival in Houston which featured by the presence of renowned Pakistani writers, thinkers, diplomats, artists and authors. This festival helped in showcasing Pakistani heritage and creating soft image of Pakistan through sessions on art, culture, politics, diplomacy, literature and Pakistan affairs.  He is a prolific writer covering range of topics from poetry to international relations. He is author of six books. His book ‘A Nation Imprisoned in Myths’, deals with American Exceptionalism, is considered one of the important books on the subject. Renowned literary critics continue to explore the depth of his literary work through articles and interviews. His poetic work has been the subject of two research thesis in the Urdu departments of Pakistani University. He has participated in different international literary events, seminars and forums as guest speaker and chair.  As a renowned broadcast journalist and columnist, he wrote and spoke to highlight the positive image of Pakistan in and outside the country.