Mona Shaikh – Our Let’s Rethink This November Impact Artist
Let’s Rethink This is proud to be added to this woman’s list of “Firsts.” In LRT’s case, she is our first comedian and first Muslim-American woman to hold this post.
She is the first South Asian/Middle Eastern Female Comedian to perform for over 60,000 people in any country, first Pakistani female comedian to be selected for the Laugh’s Factory “funniest person in the world” competition and made history by becoming the first Pakistani female comedian to headline Hollywood Improv.
Does this provide a few clues as to the “impact” this lady has made and is making in awakening our world to the messages she brings to us about race, gender and social (in)equality?
That militism certainly caught the attention of the famed Hollywood Reporter which recently featured Mona in an article titled “Why #MeToo Hasn’t Transformed the Stand Up Scene.” The article describes the challenges of comedian women – and especially women of color – being disrespected. Misogynism prevails, and Mona and the women she has attracted under her feisty umbrella of Minority Reportz intend to change that.
At other times, the impact she makes is more personal, as with the Benefit show she and Afghanistan-American friend comic, Neelab Sarabi, put on last month to raise money for Afghan people who are now under the control of the Taliban. Proceeds from “Comedians Fire Back at the Taliban” were directed to Hope B-Lit, a Los Angeles volunteer nonprofit that helps people internationally.
I could tell you more, but first – let’s hear it directly from Mona. Interview below:
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Jerry Ashton
Jerry Ashton walked into Occupy Wall Street in 2011 as a debt collector, and walked out of that experience two years later as a debt forgiver – literally rethinking his profession to co-found RIP Medical Debt in 2014 to reverse the ills caused by that industry. Six years later at the time of his retirement, his charity had successfully abolished over $2.7 billion in unpayable medical debt for over 1,800,000 Americans across the U.S. As of this writing, the total debt abolished is over $5 billion over almost 4 million people.
Jerry founded Let's Rethink This in late 2020 with the intention of seeing that lightning can strike twice. This time as a “B” Corp and not a charity, Jerry and his co-creators intend to bring about $1 billion in social and economic good this time through a unique Searchlight/Spotlight/Ignite model.
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