Resume

Education:

MFA—Publishing (Wilkes University)

M.A.—Creative Writing (Wilkes University)

B.S.—Business Administration & Management (Wayne State University)

TEFL/TESOL Certification

Work Experience:

Beauty and the Muse—Content Creator

·         Created the body positive lifestyle blog in 2013 because of lack of inclusion in the fashion and beauty industry

·         Produces engaging content regarding mental illness, fat-shaming, objectification, and being Black, fat, and fashionable

·         Blog reaches hundreds of thousands of readers from Germany, Asia, Africa, and the U.S.

Washtenaw Community College—English Instructor (ENG 111)

·         Creates course materials, syllabi, and supplemental handouts

·         Plans, monitors, and evaluates student progress

Muslimgirl.com—Staff Writer

·         Creates experiential essays: I’m Muslim, but I’m not the Poster Child for Islam, How to Handle Divorce if you’re a Muslim Woman, Let’s Talk about Tinder and The Objectification of Fat Women

·         Reports on news stories that affect the American Muslim girl: stereotypes, feminism, racism, body-image, and religion

·         Creates, edits, produces videos and online segments 

Door is A Jar Magazine—Nonfiction Editor

·         Edits and reviews nonfiction submissions

·         Writes blog posts for the magazine’s website about enrichment of the ‘Writer’s Life’

Wear Your Voice Magazine—Guest Writer

·         Submits essays tackling topics such as women’s rights and inclusion

Everyday Feminism—Guest Writer

·         Produces articles about intersectional feminism and Islam

Etruscan Press—Editor/Reviewer

·         Staff editor and reviewer of the memoir: Crave

·         Reviewed and edited an upcoming book of poetry  

·         Proofread manuscripts

Awards:

Gilda Award— In 2017, beat out 750 applicants winning an unrestricted prize for emerging artists in metropolitan Detroit. Gilda Award recipients are artists who are early in their artistic career, are gaining momentum, and who demonstrate exceptional potential through creative risk-taking and pushing the boundaries of their chosen art form.

Baddie of the Month—In 2016, awarded by the editor-in-chief of Muslimgirl.com

Biography:

Leah V. is a plus-size model, author, body-positive activist, and Muslim feminist. While attending her master’s program at Wilkes University, she started to blog because she had gone through several eating disorders and was tired of sucking her stomach in while in public. She set out to make ‘all’ bodied women feel worthy despite their culture or size. She began being more candid about her struggles as a fat, Black Muslim growing up in the city of Detroit. A few media outlets started digging her raw writing style, so now she writes for Muslimgirl.com and several other popular girl-power websites.