Shiza Shahid

Cofounder/Our Place

Shiza Shahid came to the U.S. from Pakistan for college. Her partner is also an immigrant—born in Iran and raised in California. “We found our places in America by cooking and sharing food,” Shahid says. “People would come over and argue over whose cooking was better, and we realized there’s something to encourage voter registration and created billboards that countered the narrative of immigrants being unwelcome. The company also partnered with Fuel the People to help nourish voters in minority communities, where polling-place lines can be hours long. “We were part of the groundswell of activists and change-makers and entrepreneurs who mobilized,” Shahid says. “We feel that’s always the right thing to do.”