Chris Cate: Welcome to the Fluent in Floridian podcast, featuring the sunshine state’s brightest leaders talking about the issues most important to the people of Florida and its millions of weekly visitors. In this episode created by SalterMitchellPR our executive producer, Heidi Otway, the President of SalterMitchellPR talks to Florida non-profit Alliance Executive Director, Sabeen Perwaiz.

Heidi Otway: Alright, Sabeen, thank you so much for being a guest on the Fluent in Floridian podcast. We are so thrilled to have you on our program today.

Sabeen Perwaiz: It was an honor and a surprise to be invited. Thank you so much for thinking of me.

Heidi Otway: Well, don’t be surprised. When I saw you speak last year as the Florida Chambers Future of Florida Forum. I was just so amazed by your poise, your thoughtfulness, your strategic thinking, and the work you’re doing in the nonprofit sector. So no surprise. You are certainly Fluent in Floridian.

Sabeen Perwaiz: Thank you. I appreciate that.

Heidi Otway: Yeah, so you’re not a native Floridian. You were actually born in Pakistan and lived in New York as a young child. Tell us about your upbringing and what brought you to the sunshine state?

Sabeen Perwaiz: Yeah, as you said, I was born in Pakistan. I didn’t immigrate to the United States until I was nine and I moved to New York City. So New York will always have a piece of my heart, went there from elementary to undergrad. And we moved here, my mom’s siblings were already here, so it just felt like was right to join them. I’ve been a traveler my entire life from when I was a kid because of my dad’s career in the Merchant Marine to going to grad school in England.

Sabeen Perwaiz: Florida and I met in an interesting way, my husband and I, our moms introduced us and he and his family were in Jacksonville and I was in DC at the time. And our moms are best friends and they concocted a plan to, for my mom’s birthday, to essentially guilt trip me into taking a trip with her to Jacksonville, Florida and meet this guy who she knew nothing about. And I was not exactly the nicest person to him on that trip, but we ended up connecting and we dated. And he proposed and here I am in Jacksonville, Florida. So a random way of discovering this lovely city and this wonderful place.

Heidi Otway: Now, had you been … you said you’re a traveler and I know you have, what is it? The wanderlust blog where you talk about travel. Had you been to Florida prior to that?

Sabeen Perwaiz: I had actually been to Key West a month before my first trip here. So I’d been to Key West that April of 2011. That was my first trip to Florida.

Heidi Otway: Okay. So now that you live in Florida, do you travel the state and visit some of our beautiful cities and locations?

Sabeen Perwaiz: I try. With a job that encompasses the entire state, I do travel for work quite a bit. And all of those trips, as anyone who travels a lot for work, do not include time to go and explore. But I often do make it a priority to try to do one thing that’s not part of my work agenda. In each of the new cities that I visit to try and just see a different part of Florida. So yeah, it’s still a goal.

Heidi Otway: That’s great. Well, I have this term that I use when I travel, I call it bleisure. I find I do my business and then I try to take some time to have a little bit of leisure to explore whatever city I’m visiting. So-

Sabeen Perwaiz: But when you travel a lot, you often just want to go home and sleep in your own bed.

Heidi Otway: That’s true. No, that is a very true statement. I do have that experience pretty often. As someone who lived in Pakistan, lived in New York. I mean, I think I saw on one of your interviews that you said it was a kind of a culture shock moving from New York to Jacksonville. Tell us about that.

Sabeen Perwaiz: I probably made the mistake of taking the first job that was offered to me. It was in Clay County and I was working on a camp for the Girl Scouts. And so every day my commute involved traveling dirt roads, literally seeing chickens and horses on my way into the camp. And I just felt like I had gone back in time. And I was used to taking the subway every day, being surrounded by high rises and lots and lots of people to literally acres and acres of property with five people. And it was a big adjustment. And so for someone who has always made exploration and culture a big part of my life and meeting new people, I just felt like I was very limited and I was stunted. But I was wrong at the time and I discovered ways to change that. But initially it was a big, big shock.

Heidi Otway: Oh, I can imagine going from high rises to dirt roads. So your education, you actually were a premed major when you were in college. How did you transition from … what made you switch from pursuing a degree in, pursuing medicine to moving to the nonprofit world?

Sabeen Perwaiz: So I think first and foremost, it was honesty. I never did premed for myself. As most South Asian children can attest, we often end up doing what our parents tell us to. And so that was something my mom and dad really, really wanted me to be. They wanted me to be a doctor. And after taking the MCAT and applying for med schools and going to open houses and orientations, I just realized it was not for me. And it was now or never because once you enter it’s a lot of money and a lot of time and a lot of hard work and you really have to be invested in it. And I just, it was not a passion for me.

Sabeen Perwaiz: I think the nonprofit piece fell into my lap in a very unique way. I think that’s why whenever I talk to students, I always tell them, “Don’t have a linear and for life because life doesn’t work that way, rather be open to opportunities.” And so after undergrad, I was in the corporate world and then I, through travel, discovered the world of international development and that was what my Master’s was in. And that’s how I discovered the world of nonprofit and helping others and different ways in which you can do that and have an impact in your local community, the world, or specific sector. So it was a unique journey.

Heidi Otway: I’ve never heard of a degree in international development. What is that study?

Sabeen Perwaiz: So it looks at how you can essentially help different markets that are struggling with good governance or healthy elections or foods. A lot of things that we have here in the States as well, but in a lot of those other countries it’s really at a much, much larger scale. And so the Global North it’s said is helping the Global South. And a lot of the work is done in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, in the middle East. And so it was really, for me selfishly, it was also I get to travel and save the world and discover new places while making a difference. And my husband threw a wrench in all of my plans, but I still get to do that now. And that was a discovery for me as well, that development is happening all around us. It doesn’t have to be just you go and save the world.

Heidi Otway: Right. So right now you’re the Executive Director of the Florida Nonprofit Alliance. Tell us a little bit about that organization, its mission, and what your role is in guiding that organization.

Sabeen Perwaiz: So the Florida nonprofit Alliance’s mission is to inform, straighten, and promote the nonprofit sector here in Florida to create healthy communities across Florida. It’s a young organization. It started back in 2012 and it came to be because the state sector did not have a presence in policy in Tallahassee or DC. And nonprofits were reaching out to local organizations to help shape what was being done in Tallahassee. So a lot of these nonprofit leaders in different regions across the state came together and said, “We really need a big voice. We don’t have the capacity. We don’t have the bandwidth to do this work every time there’s some legislation that affects the sector adversely.” Our goal really is to one, be a resource for the sector for both nonprofits, elected officials, average constituents, everybody by providing research data about this sector. So everything from our economic impact report, how Floridians give in Florida, how the sector is being affected by COVID. Really taking that leadership role in speaking up for the sector and with the data-driven strategy.

Sabeen Perwaiz: And also advocacy. Oftentimes there’s a misconception that nonprofits can’t speak up when there is a legislation that affects them. It will take away their 501(c)(3) status. And so we really do a bulk of advocacy, both within the sector and with our elected officials in DC and in Tallahassee. And we also train nonprofits in the difference between advocacy and lobbying and what’s allowed and what that threshold is. So a lot of this relief packages that have been coming out of DC around the Cares Act, distilling that, disseminating that to the sector. Creating toolkits, sharing that through our agency partners in Tallahassee. But just making sure the sector’s informed, educated, and equipped to take care of itself and to respond when it needs to to have that collective voice.

Heidi Otway: Yeah. So right now we’re in the midst of a pandemic. So you’re at your house, I’m at my house and we’re doing this interview. How is the nonprofit sector being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic? And what are they doing to help in their local communities? What are you hearing on the statewide level?

Sabeen Perwaiz: So one of the things that we did very quickly in mid-March when all of this was unraveling, was conduct a survey of the state’s nonprofit sector to do just that, to answer that question. We got over 1,400 responses across the state from all regions of the state in partnership with a lot of the regional nonprofit leadership organizations that also help run those sectors in their respective regions. And overwhelmingly, as you can imagine, 98% of the sector has been hit by this pandemic in every way. Everything from canceling galas, fundraisers. Programs are turning from in person to online. Some folks are comfortable with that, some folks are not so there is a revenue drop.

Sabeen Perwaiz: For other nonprofits, like food banks, there has been a significant increase in the demand for services. Catholic charities, they have a food pantry. So things that are making sure people are healthy and have a healthy livelihood. Those agencies are seeing a significant uptick, but Catholic charities comes to mind because, here locally, their spring fundraiser was canceled. That was a big unrestricted operating revenue stream for them that they now don’t have, but they also have clients that are demanding their services. So they’re trying to be creative. They’re trying to be innovative, but they’re also worried.

Sabeen Perwaiz: We also did a short term and long term outlook for the sector. And 5% of the 1,400 that responded, did say that they’re worried about closures. They’re worried about laying off staff, furloughing staff, and a lot of these pieces. It’s a scary time and the loans are wonderful if you can get them. And so the other piece has been the challenge of one, ensuring they’re informed and educated on what the PPP is, what the EDIL is, how to get it. But then two, finding that right bank that can actually get them in and get their paperwork done has been a struggle for the sector.

Heidi Otway: Now, how are you all helping them as they’re part of your Alliance, the network Alliance, how are you all supporting them through this process?

Sabeen Perwaiz: So we’ve done a couple of things. One, we did a toolkit fairly early on that we’ve been updating and refreshing as the SBA issued new guidance. But we’ve been essentially distilling the information and providing them a one stop shop where they can go read the document and really figure out one, A through Z, everything aligned around it. And then make the best decision for their organization while also sharing all of the resources that are available for them for both within the state and from DC.

Sabeen Perwaiz: Two, holding regular webinars with experts within those industries. Yesterday we did one with CPAs to talk about the tax implications, the processes that they need to have if that they get one of these loans. How to make sure that that loan transfers into a grant, what guidelines they need to abide by.

Sabeen Perwaiz: And three, sharing real time information as quickly as we can. So for the folks that have been posting photos of baking banana bread and all of that, I don’t have time. I have been so busy because there’s new information every day, late into the night, and time is of the essence. And so sharing that as quickly as possible in the most easily digestible format is something that’s really important for me.

Heidi Otway: We have a lot of businesses and policy makers and others who listen to this podcast. Is there any way that they can assist you all in this?

Sabeen Perwaiz: I think there’s a couple of things that the business community can certainly do. And the Florida Chamber has been a great voice for us and a great thought partner in this work. So I do have to state that. One of the things is across the state we’re seeing a lot of task forces pop up around reopening, recovery. Oftentimes, the sector is left out of it. And so one of the things that’s really important for us is to ensure that as these leaders across the state and within the state are doing these meetings and holding these meetings, that they include the nonprofit sector. Whether it’s asking for what’s happening on the ground. The sector is most aware of real time information from their clients, what they’re seeing, and what they need to come back. And so a healthy community needs a thriving nonprofit sector alongside a thriving for profit and government sector. And so I just want to make sure that they help in that way.

Sabeen Perwaiz: And two, it’s also resources around expertise. Like I mentioned, a lot of nonprofits are struggling just distilling the information as is for the loans, for the processes. They don’t have HR departments for the small nonprofits. They don’t have an auditor or a tax person on their team. And so the business community can help volunteer some of their time or provide that expert that individual nonprofit to go through a case by case so they can speed up their loan process. I think that would be something that would be helpful as well.

Heidi Otway: So a couple of years ago, you all did release a study on the impact of the nonprofit sector on the state. Can you share some of those numbers and data so that our listeners can understand how important nonprofits are?

Sabeen Perwaiz: Yeah. One of the reasons that was really important for me to do was oftentimes the sector is talked about as one that takes and disparity and it’s just a feel good piece. But we at FNA really wanted to drive down the fact that it’s also an economic driver for the state. And so we employ 534,000 people, this was 2018. So the new data actually comes out in two weeks so I’ll be sure to send that to you. And we compare in size to manufacturing and construction, and that’s an important data point to have because if these nonprofits close as the COVID impact report states for some of them, that is also an effect to our economy. And so it’s not just a feel good sector, it’s also a sector that drives employment in our state. There are over 84,000 nonprofits within the state. And so that includes-

Heidi Otway: 84,000?

Sabeen Perwaiz: 84,000 registrations for the 990. That’s how-

Heidi Otway: I did not know that.

Sabeen Perwaiz: Yeah. So this includes everything from the Chambers to the United Ways to the Human Services Organizations. And that’s the other piece, nonprofit just doesn’t mean the one that’s facing the client and providing a service. It also includes foundations. It also includes hospitals, universities. So we’re much, much larger than people think we are and that’s why it’s important to have data that demonstrates that.

Sabeen Perwaiz: And one of the pieces that was critical for me was to have something that was easily accessible and usable by anybody. So it’s in a data dashboard as opposed to a 100 page report. Anybody can look at the footprint within their county, within their region, within the state and see which nonprofits are there. And one of the things that’s going to be new in the refresh coming out in two weeks, you’ll be able to click in Duvall County and then you’ll be able to click arts and then see what are those organizations under the arts umbrella and go directly to their website. We wanted to take away the barrier of, “I don’t know, so I can’t help,” or, “I can’t volunteer,” or, “I can’t donate.” And we wanted to provide it as easily as possible for everybody.

Heidi Otway: And I think now more than ever folks need to be aware of the nonprofits serving their communities. Because like you said, if some are concerned about not being in business, the impact of that is not just those employees that work there, but it’s the people they serve.

Sabeen Perwaiz: Right. Right. And we’ve been encouraging individuals to reach out to their favorite nonprofits, ask how you can help. It doesn’t always have to be dollars. It could be volunteering time, whether it’s reviewing their website, whether it’s helping them with press releases. We all have different skill sets, but they’re also short-staffed. They’re also losing volunteers. They’re also figuring this out, like everybody else, but we can’t afford for them to close.

Heidi Otway: Yeah. Yeah. I run a food pantry at my church here in Tallahassee through Second Harvest. And we, just this past Saturday, did a drive through pantry. And just the appreciation that our customers, clients, friends have when they come through it just … it’s just nothing but smiles and love the whole time. And to think that some organizations won’t be able to provide that service, is just pretty sad. So what other things that our listeners can do to support their nonprofits? Is there a place where they can go right now and get the existing data that you have on nonprofits?

Sabeen Perwaiz: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. If they go to flnonprofits.org and click the economic impact case, they can see the entire snapshot of the community. And then if they have a specific area in which they’re interested in, they can certainly reach out to us, info@flnonprofit.org. And we’re happy to help. Again, we’re connected to the entire state. And one of the reasons this came up was after Hurricane Michael, a lot of individuals, not just within Florida, outside of Florida, wanted to help those counties. But they’re so rural, people didn’t know who was there doing the work. And so this is now going to help people directly connect easily within those local nonprofits that are small and midsize because those are the ones that we’re worried about the most. The larger ones have the infrastructure to take care of themselves, but the small, midsize count on every little thing that they get to survive.

Heidi Otway: So as the Executive Director of this organization, I’m sure before the pandemic you had a vision for where you’d like to see the nonprofit sector go, where you’d like to see the organization go. Tell us a little bit about what that vision was and where you saw it going. And then if you’re having to pivot because of the pandemic.

Sabeen Perwaiz: I think one of the things that’s come out of this pandemic is it’s actually shown the importance of advocacy without us saying a word. And so it really has not caused us to pivot because it’s showing our mission come to life for everybody. And so now we’re actually seeing an uptick in membership because organizations are now starting to go, “Oh, I need to speak to my congressmen,” or, “I need to convince my city council to do this or that.” And so it’s … when you ask about vision for me, one of the goals when I started four years ago was to ensure that the organization and our sector were seen as a credible voice. And when folks need to know how do we reach the Floridian and the Alice population? How do we help those communities? How do we include our sector informing decisions that are best Florida?

Sabeen Perwaiz: And I’m really excited to say that I think a lot of, unfortunately the last eight weeks has allowed us to do that, whether it’s have better communications with the governor’s office, speak more through our senators in DC. A lot of those offices are communicating with us, are asking for real time data. And so we’re actually having a strategic planning retreat in June and remotely, but that’s one of the goals for us. Where do we want to be as an organization? And for us role models include organizations like the Michigan Nonprofit Association, the Minnesota Nonprofit Association. They have a far greater reach within their community in a very, very large space. And so for me as a one and a half person shop, our goal is to grow and our goal is to reach more into the tentacles of the panhandle, Southwest Florida, not just the larger metros which had been the goal early on.

Heidi Otway: So if any nonprofits are listening to this and they hear this and they’re not a part of it, do they just reach out and go through your website?

Sabeen Perwaiz: Yeah, yeah. They can become a member. They can see what they get with the membership. And again whether or not someone’s a member we’re always going to be advocating for the sector. Members just get better connectivity with their different elected officials in their districts and policy calls, et cetera. But we’re here to do the work for the state.

Heidi Otway: Okay. And you mentioned the Alice population, which I’m familiar with through my work with the United Way. Can you talk a little bit about that for those who may not be familiar with the Alice population in Florida?

Sabeen Perwaiz: Yeah, absolutely. So the Alice population, Alice is a term that was coined by the United Way. And actually their new Alice report comes out, I believe at the end of the week or early next week. And it’s essentially the population in the state, that is making the bare minimum, they’re below the threshold. And I can’t remember that number, Rick Owens would know it best. And they are one job, one paycheck away from completely losing their livelihood. And so when we think of COVID-19, when we think of service industry, when we think of Orlando and tourism and those populations. If they lose their job, they don’t have a livelihood to rely on, a savings account to survive. And they’re on the brink of poverty, if not in poverty. And so for a lot of the nonprofit sector, it’s to help that community. It’s to provide them services and resources to uplift themselves and get them out of poverty and then maintain that economic independence that they’re so needing.

Heidi Otway: Yeah. And I guess if folks want to learn more about that they can visit the United Way of Florida’s website or do you all have it as well on your site?

Sabeen Perwaiz: Yeah, United Way. That would be the best, they have a data dashboard that people can filter through by their county.

Heidi Otway: Okay. So I want to turn back to you and all the roles that you’ve played in your career. And I see that you’re one of the organizers of the TEDx’s in the Jacksonville area. Tell me about that. I think a lot of our listeners are familiar with TEDx and TED Talks and may have themselves been speakers. So tell us about that role and your responsibilities there.

Sabeen Perwaiz: Yeah. So one of the things that was really hard for me when I first moved to Florida was I just didn’t know anybody except my husband and my in-laws. And I happened to meet the founder of TEDxJacksonville at the time at a movie screening. And this organization just allowed me to learn so much about my local community and how to uplift my local community on a global stage.

Sabeen Perwaiz: So I thought I would be helping out as a volunteer with registrations or ticket sales or something, but very quickly elevated into the producer role. And now I’m the License Holder and Organizer for the organization. It’s been eight years, eight wonderful years, to have talks that have surpassed millions of views. And TEDx is essentially an independent platform that is granting us permission by TED, so the TED Talks that you see online, to hold locally organized conferences for our local media market. And it allows us to select the speakers, have our own vetting process. And so it really allows us to uplift local voices, whether it’s within Jacksonville or Florida and give them that larger platform that can provide and bring them out into the world. So it’s been a wonderful, wonderful experience and we’re all volunteers. Nobody gets paid. Oftentimes that’s the biggest thing we hear like, “Oh, you’re employed by TED.” No, no, no. We do this because we feel like ideas worth spreading should be presented.

Heidi Otway: Yeah. What other roles do you have? How many hats are you wearing? Mom? Wife?

Sabeen Perwaiz: So mom for a two year old. So it’s been interesting working full time for both of us. My husband’s a lawyer with a two year old running around because his schedule doesn’t care about our appointments or meetings. I’m also fiercely an advocate for women and girls and a member of our Women’s Giving Alliance and serve on a few boards. Giving back is the best way to see the impact that one person can have. And it’s a great way to live a fulfilled life.

Heidi Otway: You mentioned earlier that your parents wanted you to be a doctor. And if you look at your life now, I mean, how would you describe where you are now following your own passion versus when you grew up in a household where parents kind of set expectations for our children. Talk a little bit about how you’ve kind of grown into your own.

Sabeen Perwaiz: I think one of the things that is important for every young woman is to be honest with herself. Whatever hardship there may be, but once you’ve discovered your own voice that’s such a liberating experience and it really shows you that the rest will fall into place. And so I think my biggest fear as a 17 year old at the time I made that decision, or 21 year old at the time making that decision was my parents are going to be so upset and they’re going to be embarrassed and all of that.

Sabeen Perwaiz: And one of the things that my mom said to me after I got home from England and finishing grad school was that she was so proud of me and she wished that she was as brave as I was at that time. Because my decision to apply to grad school was one I did not tell them about, I only told them once I got the acceptance letter and told her I was moving to England and she didn’t believe me. So that was something that I just never expected my mom to say. And so I think we also have to remember that our parents are still people and they want what’s best for us and they want us to be happy, but we have to have these honest conversations with them which we often don’t, at least as teenagers, especially.

Heidi Otway: Yeah, and I’m sure you’re mentoring young women who look up to you and I’m hopeful that you share that story because that just inspired me to make sure I keep telling my daughters, “Follow your passion.”

Sabeen Perwaiz: Yeah. Young women and girls, they hold a special place in my heart. Oh yeah. Always finding ways to ensure that they’re empowered.

Heidi Otway: Can you share with us, before we kind of wrap up it, has there been a story where you’ve shared with a young lady and it transformed their lives? Got a success story you want to share with us?

Sabeen Perwaiz: Yeah. I think sometimes the darkest points are what kind of wake you up. And so I was a victim of domestic abuse in a relationship previous to my current one. And oftentimes women hold that as a sense of embarrassment that you’ve failed, that you did something wrong. And in that relationship, I was always told that I was ugly. No one would ever want to be with me so I should be thankful that the person does. And coming out of that experience after a best friend said, “Enough, I can’t take this anymore. You will lose me. Otherwise you need to make a decision.” And that was a wake up call.

Sabeen Perwaiz: And so after leaving and after finally discovering who I was and having the ability to make decisions for myself and, and discovering who I was. I always say, once you’ve seen bottom, there’s nowhere to go but top. And the fear of being at the bottom goes away because you’ve seen it. And so that’s something that I share a lot, especially with high school girls, because that’s when I feel like they’re most vulnerable to have those experiences. And so one of our friends has a now 18 year old daughter. But when she was 16, she was going through something similar and she felt like she was ugly. This was terrible. So I wrote her a letter telling her about my experience and telling her what I did and where I am now and how I feel about myself now.

Sabeen Perwaiz: And she couldn’t believe it because she saw me as this person, she saw the role model and she emulated and she was able to change her life as a result. And she was able to get out of that depression as a result of someone else making her feel that way. But I think it’s just important to be … it goes back to that honesty. Once you’re able to share because as women always want to have the perfect Pinterest home and everyone has their own inner demons that they’ve fought. And we just have to be able to talk about it comfortably so that we’re empowering other women too.

Heidi Otway: Yeah. I think it’s so important for us women to be vulnerable a little bit. The fact that you shared that story with me and all of our listeners, I’m pretty confident that’s going to help somebody on this that’s listening. so thank you for sharing that moment. It means a lot for you to share that.

Heidi Otway: So at the end of every interview, we like to ask our guests have questions. I consider you a Floridian. You’ve been here, you’re making an impact in the third most populous state in the nation. You’re passionate about our community. Again, I saw you speak at the Florida Chamber Future of Florida Forum and you just brought so much energy and love for our state and our community. So let me ask you a couple of questions about Florida.

Sabeen Perwaiz: Okay.

Heidi Otway: So what is a Florida leader you admire? Who is a Florida leader you admire? It could be someone from a different industry or field, from the past, or someone who is still active in their work.

Sabeen Perwaiz: So mine would be Senator Paula Hawkins and the reason shouldn’t surprise you. She was comfortable being vulnerable. She shared that she was a victim of abuse when she was young at a very, very public setting and in a time where people didn’t do this, I think in 1984. She was also the first woman to bring her husband to the States. So as a result of that it got changed from First Wives Clubs or the Senate Wives Clubs to the Senate Spouses Club. And so I just love that she was such a fierce advocate and didn’t care if it hadn’t been done before. And of course she was passionate about child welfare and helped pass the Missing Children’s Act. So she’s just somebody that I think is a great woman to admire and follow.

Heidi Otway: I totally agree with that. What is a person, place, or thing in Florida that deserves more attention than it’s currently getting?

Sabeen Perwaiz: So for me, living in Jacksonville, I would have to say James Weldon Johnson. And when I say not getting enough attention, I would say within Florida. One of the moments for me that was kind of an aha and also disappointment was visiting the National Museum of African American History. And if you’ve been there, you have to kind of start at the bottom and then you’re going up. And one of the areas after you finished the bottom two, you went through coming up, there’s a quote by James Weldon Johnson before you get to the fountain. And I was so proud to see that as a Jacksonville resident, as a Floridian in DC and that thousands of people get to see this regularly or millions of people that see this regularly. But there’s nothing commemorating him in our own state at that same level. And he’s such a prolific figure in African American History and WPP, but doesn’t get that same recognition that he has across the country that he does.

Heidi Otway: Okay. Well, tell all our listeners who can help make that happen. Let’s make that happen. What is your favorite Florida location to visit? We talked a little bit earlier about bleisure, let’s bring it full circle.

Sabeen Perwaiz: I love St. Petersburg. It’s one of the first trips that I took that was for leisure with my husband after moving here. We go back often and had the best paella of my life at Ceviche. And it’s a really fun city filled with arts and culture so it has a special place in my heart.

Heidi Otway: Yeah. I love St. Pete. And then finally, do you have a favorite Florida sports team?

Sabeen Perwaiz: I do not. And if I ever did, it would definitely be a New York team. I will say, having lived in New York and seeing the rivalry of the Yankees and Mets, Florida is very different. I once made the mistake of wearing garnet in a workplace that was full of Gator fans and folks thought I was supporting the Seminoles and I was not. And it’s just a different level down here.

Heidi Otway: Yeah. It’s a whole nother ball game. You can’t wear orange and green in Tallahassee because then you’re a Hurricane. And same thing if you’re wearing garnet and gold in Gainesville. So totally understand that. Well, Sabeen, thank you so much for being a guest on our podcast. I’ve learned so much from you and you’re definitely making some huge impacts in the state and it’s for the better, for the good. So thank you so much for being a guest today.

Sabeen Perwaiz: Thank you. I had so much fun chatting with you.

Chris Cate: Thanks for listening to the Fluent in Floridian podcast. This show is executive produced by April Salter with additional support provided by Heidi Otway and the team at SalterMitchell PR. If you need help telling your Florida story SalterMitchell PR has you covered by offering issues management, crisis communications, social media, advocacy, and media relations assistance. You can learn more about SalterMitchell PR at saltermitchellpr.com. You can also learn more about the Fluent in Floridian podcast and listen to every episode of the show at fluentinfloridian.com or by searching for the show using your favorite podcast app. Have a great day.