Meymuna Hussein-Cattan

Meymuna Hussein-Cattan is an executive leader, a culturally conscious motivational speaker, and an award-winning grassroots community organizer. For the last decade, Meymuna has been the Founder & Director of The Tiyya Foundation, supporting families of immigrants, refugees, and displaced indigenous people to overcome obstacles and actively participate in society. Her work led record-breaking initiatives, including creating innovative programs and services that impact nearly 1,000 people a year. She has been helping to transform sentiments and narratives around refugees and immigrants in Southern California.

Meymuna was awarded locally by the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, was a PBS/ KTLA Local Hero nominee, selected Woman of the Year by Congressman Adam Schiff, Outstanding Founder 2021 Award from National Philanthropy Day: by AFP Orange County, and at her social enterprise venture Flavors, Meymuna employs former-refugee chefs in Orange County and Los Angeles, where 40% percent of profits generated goes towards Tiyya's programming. Los Angeles Times recently awarded Flavors from Afar as 101 Best Restaurants in LA, and her community work was featured by Bon Appetit, BuzzFeed, LA Times, and Yelp.

Meymuna is a creative visionary with a solutions-oriented mindset, holding a master's degree in Organizational Management (MAOM) and a bachelors in social science, Multicultural Studies. With roots in East Africa and being born in a refugee camp, her domain of expertise is in culturally conscious motivational speaking, ethnically diverse workshops, corporate media, strategic planning, and team development. Her knowledge is informed by 15 years spent in the non-profit sector, establishing global relationships from 24 countries, and lived experiences working closely with refugees, displaced indigenous people, and low-income immigrant households.

Meymuna is now helping corporations and higher education institutions strengthen their cross-cultural and intergenerational relationships to understand how to employ, support, retain, and empower a diverse workforce.

All while maintaining her grassroots life work at The Tiyya Foundation and social enterprise at Flavors from Afar, assisting and providing resources to historically excluded communities to navigate society on and off-line to overcome obstacles and actively participate in society.