Nura Elmagbari: Muslim-American feminist, supporting refugees and living out her faith

Finding Fertile Ground: Stories of Grit, Resilience, and Fertile Ground

This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Nura Elmagbari, a Muslim-American mom, wife, scientist, educator, nonprofit leader, activist, and community leader. I met Nura several years ago through my church, Spirit of Grace. Nura was our guest preacher for Mother’s Day, spoke on an interfaith women’s panel, brought her teen daughter to our youth group and talked about Islam, and emceed an immigrant storytelling event.

Nura came to the United States as a child when her family escaped from Libya. They had to adjust to the American way of life with no support, and her mother gave birth to her baby brother shortly after they arrived in Greeley, Colorado.

Now Nura has a master’s degree in human biology and is principal of the Islamic School of Portland. She has founded several nonprofits to aid Muslim children, immigrants, and refugees.

Nura has fought racism and prejudice all her life. She learned nobody was going to give her a chance to succeed so she had to create it for herself. And now she provides support to refugees arriving in the United States, the kind of support her family never received.

She explains why she loves Islam, one thing she wishes Islam didn’t forbid, why she believes Islam supports feminism, and how she has a patent for a drug she helped develop that will change the medical world and addiction to opioids.

Next week on the Companies That Care podcast I interview Veronica Arreola, who is a widely published professional feminist, mom, and writer who has been working to diversify the STEM field for over 20 years. In her work at the University of Illinois-Chicago, Veronica works to ensure a supportive campus environment for Latinx students studying science. We spoke about how companies can attract and support Latinx and other employees of color in the workplace, especially in STEM environments.

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Marie Gettel-Gilmartin, founder and principal of Fertile Ground Communications LLC, is a writer and marketing communications consultant who loves to take the pain and stress out of writing for her clients. She specializes in making the complex clear, using dynamic, accessible language to explain and communicate important issues. She positions her clients as experts in their fields and helps them communicate about pressing issues. Writing communications that boost employee engagement and thought leadership, she also coaches leaders and executives on how to strengthen communications and leadership. She loves to connect people and resources or solve seemingly impossible problems.

Fertile Ground Communications LLC is a certified women-owned business enterprise, disadvantaged business enterprise, and emerging small business.