I am a journalist with 12 years of experience in print and digital media. I am currently a contributing writer to DAWN Images, the leading English-language newspaper in Pakistan. I was a contributor to the lifestyle and entertainment pages of the Hong Kong newspaper—South China Morning Post. Since 2016, I have been headlining Pakistan's first web talk show on YouTube, "The Haider Rifaat Show", interviewing international experts specializing in politics, arts, culture and entertainment. Some prominent public figures I have interviewed are Andrew Small (German Marshall Fund of the United States), Christine Fair (Professor of Security Studies, Georgetown University), Glenn Wakai (Hawaii State Senator), Suzanne Vares-Lum (President, East-West Center), Michael Kugelman (Wilson Center), Javad Kachoueian (former Iranian Ambassador to Ireland and Finland), Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Oscar and Emmy-winning journalist), and Shireen Mazari (former Federal Minister for Human Rights of Pakistan).I am also the Communications Director of "Initiate Futures", an innovative think tank. In this role, I oversee the organization's communications strategy including public relations, social media outreach, web development, branding and publishing.I currently serve as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Asian Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa as part of the Careers in Asia-Pacific Affairs (CAPA) initiative. Funded by Title VI through the U.S. Department of Education and co-sponsored by the School of Pacific and Asian Studies (SPAS), this initiative is designed to prepare students for dynamic careers across Asian and Pacific Islands studies. As a Graduate Assistant, I developed a speaker series, designed and publicized promotional materials and taught an undergraduate-level course, "Career Pathways in Asian Studies."I previously worked as a Graduate Assistant in the Community Outreach and Engagement Office (Communications) at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center in Hawaii and the Pacific. In this role, I produced and hosted the Center's first original podcast series "Cancer Answers", drafted major press releases about cutting-edge cancer research, compiled and edited bimonthly newsletters, and created/monitored social media content, among other duties.For the 2023-2024 academic year, I was a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Communication and Information at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where I taught an undergraduate-level course titled "Magazine Writing."