Garden City, NY (PRWEB) May 10, 2017 -- The National Association of Professional Women (NAPW) honors Dr. Samina Ahmad as a 2017-2018 inductee into its VIP Woman of the Year Circle. She is recognized with this prestigious distinction for leadership in entrepreneurship. NAPW is the nation’s leading networking organization exclusively for professional women, boasting more than 850,000 members, a thriving eChapter and over 200 operating Local Chapters.
“I’m pleased to welcome Samina into this exceptional group of professional women,” said NAPW President Star Jones. “Her knowledge and experience in her industry are valuable assets to her company and community.”
Samina Ahmad’s professional career has taken many turns. She began by managing a rock band in Pakistan, which was started by her then-fiancé Salman Ahmad. “Managing a rock band while being married to the lead guitarist has been a roller coaster ride, but I never liked merry-go-rounds anyway!” she said. The band, described by The New York Times as South Asia’s answer to Santana, has gone on to sell over 25 million albums. The band is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
Dr. Ahmad eventually become a medical doctor in Pakistan. Always encouraged by her parents to support underprivileged women and children, she continued advocating for those in need. “I knew this was my ‘dharma’ or purpose in life,” she said. “I ran a free clinic for underprivileged women and children, administered a hospital and started a school in Korangi, Karachi when I lived in Pakistan.” As a practicing physician, Dr. Ahmad approached healing holistically.
In 2002, Dr. Ahmad and her family moved to the U.S. Although her intent was to continue to practice medicine—circumstances such as having to care for her ill mother—dictated otherwise. Realizing her “purpose is to heal,” she decided to do this through practicing holistic nutrition and went on to study integrative nutrition at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She now has a wellness center in New York, Dr. Samina’s Wellness, where she practices as a Holistic Health Counselor and an Ayurvedic Practitioner, traveling globally, leading workshops and lecturing at colleges/universities and women’s groups.
With her husband, Dr. Ahmad founded the Salman & Samina Global Wellness Initiative ten years ago. “We promote interfaith and intrafaith dialogue using art and culture and promote health and wellness and education projects for women and children in Pakistan,” she explained. The nonprofit has also adopted a girls’ school and village in their native country.
Dr. Ahmad also finds time to follow her passion for singing and has recorded her first CD. In the future, she hopes to write a book on how to reach optimal health and wellness using holistic approaches, develop her own YouTube channel and continue her philanthropic work. “Managing three businesses would have been very overwhelming and challenging had I thought of them as separate entities,” she said. “For me, they all fall under one umbrella and have a common focus...to heal!”
Awards & Accomplishments:
University of Punjab, Pakistan, Degree in Medicine; Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Holistic Health Counselor; Certificate of Completion for Educational Outreach, Teachers College of Columbia University; Certified Perfect Health Consultant, Chopra University; Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant & Ayurvedic Practitioner, Amrit Yoga Institute, Florida and Greens Ayurveda, Kerala, India; Associate’s, International University of Yoga and Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Science; certified Ayurvedic Food & Nutrition Consultant
About NAPW
NAPW’s mission is to provide an exclusive, highly advanced networking forum to successful women executives, professionals and entrepreneurs where they can aspire, connect and achieve. Through innovative resources, unique tools and progressive bene ts, professional women interact, exchange ideas, advance their knowledge and empower each other.
Lisa Mancuso, NAPW, +1 (516) 453-6136, lmancuso@napw.com
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