Hodan Nalayeh

{{Short description|Somali-Canadian social activist and entrepreneur. (1976–2019)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Hodan Nalayeh
هوذن نلايا

| image = Hodan Nalayeh Somalia (cropped).jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Hodan Nalayeh in Somalia in 2015

| alt = Hodan Nalayeh in Somalia in 2015

| birth_date = {{Birth date text|1976}}

| birth_place = Las Anod, Somali Democratic Republic (now Somalia)

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|7|12|1976}}

| death_place = Kismayo, Somalia

| occupation = Media executive, marketing consultant, activist, entrepreneur, journalist

| nationality = Canadian

| title = President of the Cultural Integration Agency

| alma_mater = University of Windsor
Seneca College

}}

Hodan Nalayeh ({{langx|so|Hodan Naaleeye}}; {{langx|ar|هوذن نلايا}}; 1976 – July 12, 2019) was a Somali-Canadian media executive, marketing consultant, social activist and entrepreneur. She was president of the Cultural Integration Agency and vice president of Sales & Programming Development of Cameraworks Productions International.

Early life

Nalayeh was born in 1976 in Somalia{{cite web|title=New Television Show Uplifts the Image of Somali-Canadians in Mainstream Media!|url= https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2014/Feb/53415/new_television_show_uplifts_the_image_of_somali_canadians_in_mainstream_media.aspx|access-date=March 19, 2014|website=Hiiraan Online|date=February 26, 2014}} She was raised in a large family, with four brothers and seven sisters. She hails from the Naleye Ahmed sub-clan of the Dhulbahante tribe. Her sister Dega Nalayeh is a senior vice president private client advisor with U.S. Trust.{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Brandon |last2=Miller|first2=Kenneth |last3=Bihm|first3=Jennifer |title=Somalia native right at home with U.S. Trust|url=https://lasentinel.net/somalia-native-right-at-home-with-u-s-trust.html#sthash.E5J42Zao.dpuf|access-date=March 19, 2014|newspaper=Los Angeles Sentinel|date=December 19, 2013}}

Along with her parents and siblings, an eight-year-old Nalayeh later emigrated to Canada in 1984. They initially settled in Edmonton, Alberta, before eventually moving to Toronto in 1992.{{cite news|last1=Reason|first1=Cynthia|title=TV host Hodan Nalayeh shines a light on Somali life in Toronto|url=https://www.toronto.com/news-story/4577505-tv-host-hodan-nalayeh-shines-a-light-on-somali-life-in-toronto/|access-date=June 16, 2014|newspaper=The Etobicoke Guardian|publisher=Metroland|date=June 14, 2014}}

Nalayeh attended the West Humber Collegiate Institute, a high school in Etobicoke. For her post-secondary education, she studied at the University of Windsor, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in communications. Additionally, she earned a postgraduate certificate in broadcast journalism from Seneca College.

Career

Nalayeh was involved in client management, sales and production in radio and television for over 13 years. She served as a producer on a number of TV shows, including American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.{{cite press release|title=International Award-Winning, Cameraworks Productions, Introduces VP, Sales & Programming Development|url=http://cameraworksint.com/cameraworks-productions-introduces-vp-sales-programming-development/|publisher=Cameraworks Productions International|date=September 24, 2013|access-date=April 1, 2015}}

Additionally, Nalayeh provided marketing and writing consultancy to burgeoning companies. Her work in this area was centered on video marketing combined with online branding.

In September 2013, Nalayeh was appointed Vice President of Sales & Programming Development of Cameraworks Productions International's Canadian operation based in Vaughan, Ontario. The company is a global, full-service and comprehensively-equipped video and television production facility focusing on pre- to post-production of business-to-business video assets.

Nalayeh served as the President of the Cultural Integration Agency, a full-service media firm specializing in the development, production, marketing and distribution of multicultural programs. In February 2014, the company partnered with Cameraworks Productions International to produce a new television format for cultural community programming. To this end, on March 1 Nalayeh began hosting the half-hour Somali community show Integration: Building a New Cultural Identity, which airs Saturday nights on Citytv. She also served as an Executive Producer on the weekly Toronto program.

Besides media production and consultancy, Nalayeh was involved in voluntary and advocacy work for the Somali community. She founded the Somali Refugee Awareness Project, which in 2011 presented the veteran Somali artist Saado Ali Warsame with a Lifetime Achievement Award.{{cite web|title=Somali singer, composer, poet, Saado Ali Warsame, to receive Lifetime Achievement Award- |url=http://allboocame.com/?p=2134|access-date=March 19, 2014|website=All Boocame Online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319175204/http://allboocame.com/?p=2134|archive-date=March 19, 2014|url-status=dead}} In this capacity, Nalayeh also worked closely with a number of non-profit organizations.

Death

Hodan Nalayeh and her husband Farid Juma Suleiman were killed during a terrorist attack at Hotel Asasey in Kismayo, Somalia, on July 12, 2019.{{cite news |last=O'Grady|first=Siobhán |title=A Somali-Canadian journalist returned to Somalia to tell 'uplifting' stories. Then terrorists killed her |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/07/13/somali-canadian-journalist-returned-somalia-tell-uplifting-stories-then-terrorists-killed-her/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 13, 2019 |access-date=July 15, 2019}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48969781|title=Kismayo attack: At least 26 dead as gunmen storm Somali hotel|publisher=BBC News|date=July 14, 2019|access-date=2019-07-14}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48975875|title=Hodan Nalayeh: Somalia's 'inspirational' journalist, killed in Kismayo|publisher=BBC News|date=July 13, 2019|access-date=July 13, 2019}}{{cite tweet |author= Radio Dalsan |user=DalsanFM |number=1149739037768519683 |date=2019-07-12 |title=BREAKING {{sic|Inte|rgration|nolink=y}} TV's Hodan Naaleye and husband Farid confirmed dead in the #Kismayo Alshabaab attack. Hodan established the first diaspora english online TV covering life of Somalis in diaspora and in Somalia. She was expectant at the time of her death #Somaliapic.twitter.com/eidSTjwDLj |access-date=2019-07-12}} The attack involved a car bombing and gunfire. The jihadist radical group al-Shabaab, based in Southern Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attack.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/suicide-attack-somalia-hotel-gunfire-190712161910169.html|title=Several killed in bomb, gun attack on Somalia hotel: officials|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=July 12, 2019|access-date=2019-07-12}} Nalayeh and Suleiman married in November 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya, according to Nalayeh's sister.{{cite news|last1=Schachar|first1=Natalie|last2=Lindeman|first2=Tracey|url=https://apnews.com/dd873082dcb347e6875af3329135ca2f|title=Slain Canadian-Somali journalist Nalayeh a trailblazer|work=Associated Press News|date=July 14, 2019|access-date=July 14, 2019}} Nalayeh was the mother of two sons and was pregnant.

Legacy

In March 2021, a secondary school in Vaughan was officially renamed to Hodan Nalayeh Secondary School.{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/03/02/a-vaughan-high-school-will-be-renamed-hodan-nalayeh-secondary-school-after-months-of-controversy.html|title=A Vaughan high school will be renamed Hodan Nalayeh Secondary School after months of controversy|last=Bowden|first=Olivia|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=2 March 2021|access-date=2 March 2021}}

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline|Hodan Nalayeh}}
[http://cameraworksint.com/cameraworks-productions-introduces-vp-sales-programming-development/ International Award-Winning, Cameraworks Productions, Introduces VP, Sales & Programming Development - Hodan Nalayeh]

Category:Date of birth unknown

Category:1976 births

Category:2019 deaths

Category:21st-century Canadian journalists

Category:Canadian activists

Category:Canadian media executives

Category:Canadian television hosts

Category:Canadian women television hosts

Category:Deaths by firearm in Somalia

Category:Ethnic Somali people

Category:Journalists killed while covering the Somali Civil War

Category:Murdered Canadian journalists