When the January 2010 earthquake struck Haiti, Marie Yolaine Toms was building a comfortable career at American Express. She chose to answer a different call. In this episode of Zaka Presents: My Journey, host Paul Herman sits down with the Howard University graduate, TEDx speaker, and self described Restorer of Dignity who walked away from corporate security to found Community2Community, a 501c3 rebuilding self sufficient communities across Haiti. Her story is a masterclass in turning herita...
Jul 16
40 min
Tico Armand opens up about her journey as an immigrant creative, navigating identity, redefining beauty standards in modeling, and using her voice through acting, writing, and her Rewynd podcast. From not seeing herself represented in books to becoming a children’s author shaping the narrative for the next generation, Tico reminds us that representation isn’t given, it’s built. This conversation goes deeper than career highlights. We talk about purpose, legacy, and the responsibility of uplif...
May 6
1 hr 6 min
Paul Herman sits down with Ché Ahn, a Korean American immigrant, longtime pastor, global faith leader, and now a candidate for Governor of California. Ché shares his extraordinary journey from immigrating to the U.S. with nothing, to dropping out of high school at 17, battling addiction and homelessness, and ultimately experiencing a life-altering spiritual encounter that redirected his purpose. With raw honesty, he reflects on family conflict, failure, and faith and how those early struggles...
Feb 5
48 min
Leaving comfort is never easy especially when you’re an immigrant professional who’s been taught to value stability. In our latest conversation with Rodhmir, a seasoned Product Leader who has helped launch 30+ products across tech, finance, energy, and consumer brands, he opens up about the quiet courage it takes to walk away from “safe” roles after mastering them and choosing growth anyway. His journey is rooted in that familiar tension many immigrants carry: gratitude for opportunity, paire...
Jan 27
38 min
Vijay Rajendran has coached founders in more than 80 countries, but in this conversation we go far beyond Silicon Valley buzzwords and venture metrics. Vijay opens up about growing up between countries, learning to read new cultures and power dynamics from scratch, and how those immigrant experiences shaped his approach to leadership, risk, and resilience. He shares how watching his father serve patients from every walk of life led him to microfinance work in Cameroon, and how that calling to...
Nov 25, 2025
38 min
Brandon Baptiste grew up in a Haitian home where every guest “crossed the threshold into Haiti,” greeted parents first, and learned that community and respect come before everything. In this episode, Brandon, now an Assistant Director of Training and Program Development, traces his path from the only Haitian family on the block in New Hampshire, with parents commuting daily to Boston, to leading 100+ peer-mediation trainings across NYC schools. He shares how Haitian values of faith, service, ...
Nov 3, 2025
45 min
When Veronica Moya arrived in the U.S. from Buenos Aires at just 19, she spoke little English but carried something far greater, an unshakable belief in the power of the mind and spirit. From her early days learning the language through total immersion to building multiple businesses, including her children’s mindfulness company Mindful V, Veronica has turned her immigrant story into a movement that’s changing lives. In this heartfelt episode, Veronica shares how she redefined meditation as a...
Oct 15, 2025
53 min
From child refugee to chart-topping pop star, and now a mentor to thousands, Christian Ray Flores’ journey is one of resilience, reinvention, and unshakable hope. Born in Moscow to a Chilean father and Russian mother, his earliest memories were shaped by displacement after a brutal coup left his father imprisoned in a concentration camp. By the age of seven, Christian had lived in four countries, speaking four languages while navigating war, exile, and cultural upheaval. Out of that adversity...
Oct 3, 2025
1 hr 7 min
From Security Systems to Scaling Startups: Meet the Engineer-Turned-CEO Powering Fashion’s Digital Backbone This week, we interview Harish Chandramowli, the brilliant mind behind Flaire a lightweight, intuitive ERP system that’s quietly transforming how fashion brands manage inventory, purchasing, and operations. Before stepping into the world of fashion tech, Harish built his reputation in elite engineering circles leading cloud infrastructure teams at MongoDB, securing sensitive systems a...
Sep 24, 2025
57 min
What does it take to go from not knowing how to hail a cab in Manhattan… to becoming a Vice President of Technology Strategy at a global company? In this deeply moving and energizing episode, we sit down with Gustavo “Guga” Netto, who shares his remarkable journey from São Paulo to New York City with no English, no connections, and no safety net. Gustavo opens up about the early years in survival mode working as a dishwasher, waiter, and roller-skating through Fifth Avenue to stay mentally af...
Sep 15, 2025
52 min
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