About Me, Naheed Ali.

Becoming Naheed

Hi, I’m Nancy — though my given name is Naheed, and it’s a name I’ve come to embrace fully. Reclaiming it is my way of honoring that little girl, my heritage, and the woman I’ve become.

Like most everyone, my journey hasn’t been a straight line. It’s been filled with challenges — difficult relationships, a career I never planned, five major surgeries, and a later-in-life ADHD diagnosis. There were times when life threw everything it could at me.

Driven by western ‘rugged individualism’ and South Asian cultural expectations, I pursued the definition of success given to me, but felt unseen, unheard, and misunderstood by both sides. 

I struggled. At home, I was Bengali; outside of the home, I was American. I was always wearing a mask to fit in. Over time, this confusion of identity left me with feelings of disconnection and emptiness.

For a vessel to be empty, by definition, means it can be filled. My inner emptiness led me to ask: What could fill my longing for authenticity, inner peace and joy? Turns out, that would only come from learning to gracefully inhabit all of who I am. 

The masks I wore helped me feel safe, but dropping them made me feel whole.

And by becoming whole, I have built a fulfilling life filled with an extraordinary family, a supportive husband, and a career that took me all the way to the C-suite.

Background & Accolades of an

Impact-Obsessed, People-Powered Change Agent

Decades of experience in being a change agent in the corporate and non-profit sectors turned me into an expert in building strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, revenue growth, culture-building, social impact and philanthropy. My superpower is in building mutually beneficial partnerships and finding solutions where only obstacles appear to exist. I have a reputation as a unicorn in creating sustainable revenue strategies for mission-driven organizations, while building authentic and meaningful relationships. 

From serving as a guinea pig in the newspaper industry when hired by the Los Angeles Times, to executive director for a youth-based literacy program for children in government-subsidized housing in Chicago, to serving as a strategic consultant for the United Nations- Women Peace and Humanitarian Fund, change and social impact have always driven my work. 

My work always hinge on the same principle: an unwavering belief in human potential. 

And that principle has led me to my life's second act -  launching this  highly individualized coaching practice. And when I’m not in joyful service in this work, I'm experiencing the joy of our global communities with my adventure partner Kulbir, savoring time with my daughters and their families, or exploring all that my beautiful hometown, Chicago, has to offer.