Prosperity With Purpose: A Conversation with Nausheena Hussain

Chanda Smith Baker: Nausheena, welcome to Conversations with Chanda. So happy to have you. Nausheena Hussain: Hi, Chanda. It is lovely to be here with you.

I'm excited about our conversation. Chanda Smith Baker: You wear a lot of hats, including as a board member of the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation, so essentially I'm interviewing my boss, y'all. Nausheena Hussain: That's funny, real funny.

Chanda Smith Baker: Real true. How long have you served on the board there and what has been surprising or rewarding in terms of your experience? Nausheena Hussain: Let's see. I am wrapping up my third year, so it's my first term of my third year, which what about a month left of this year?

Wow. I can’t believe how fast this year went. What’s been rewarding, lots of different things. One is I just love being on a community foundation because it’s got the community centered in all of the work that they do.

And even before that, when I was leading a nonprofit, St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation were one of the funders that helped us launch and build our organization and really be able to work on our mission, which was amplifying the voice and power of Muslim women. So I have a soft spot for the foundation. And I think this last year has been really exciting because look who’s joined us.

Chanda Smith Baker: Yes. Nausheena Hussain: I didn’t realize this, but I might be the first Muslim on the board of the foundation. Chanda Smith Baker: Oh wow. Nausheena Hussain: Yeah.

And I found that quite surprising, in this day and age. But of course I think we all know philanthropy is changing, and community foundations are further along than the rest of the sector. I’m not a big fan of being the first or the last. I’m always wanting to pave the road for others and bring others along.

And the foundation has been very open to making me feel included and being part of the team, so it’s been a journey these past three years. Chanda Smith Baker: I was the chair of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota board, and I was going back through the names of past chairs and asking if I was the first Black woman to lead the board. It was important for me to know. I can’t even really describe why, but it mattered.

Do you have a sense of why that matters? Nausheena Hussain: For me, I realized it explained certain behaviors and certain parts of the culture. There was a moment where I had to have a tough conversation around board giving and how we needed to evolve it. I was nervous about how to approach it, but it was well received.

That made me realize they’d never had somebody of my lived experiences serving on their boards, or they didn’t have that perspective. And so it became my duty, as a board member, to bring that awareness forward. Chanda Smith Baker: Often when you’re breaking into new spaces, it can be challenging to enter with full voice. I’m grateful that you chose to do that.

Nausheena Hussain: It’s hard. At first it can feel offensive, or like exclusion, or you wonder if you want to fight the battle. I try to give grace and remember that changing culture doesn’t happen overnight. It’s gradual and built through relationships.

Chanda Smith Baker: You also alluded to stepping down from a role. Would you mind sharing how you introduce yourself today and the roads you’ve traveled? Nausheena Hussain: I started out in corporate America after college, worked in healthcare, then consumer electronics, got my MBA, and worked in marketing. During the 2008 housing crisis I had an ethical dilemma about my work.

I prayed hard for a way out, and that led me into nonprofit work protecting the rights of Muslim communities. I noticed that women were bearing the brunt of discrimination and realized there was a need for a space specifically for Muslim women. That’s how RISE was created. I knew going in that I didn’t want to lead forever.

You can’t build leaders and then not step aside to let them lead. Chanda Smith Baker: Can we talk about that? Because I’ve stepped away from things and people always ask why. Sometimes I don’t have a good answer beyond knowing it in my body.

Nausheena Hussain: Exactly. In the nonprofit sector, we don’t have many examples of healthy leadership transitions. People assume something is wrong. But sometimes it’s faith.

All of it is faith. Chanda Smith Baker: All of it. Nausheena Hussain: I didn’t know what was next. I wanted a clean break.

I didn’t want to linger in the shadows. I trusted something else would meet me. Chanda Smith Baker: When people say you were vulnerable, how does that land? Nausheena Hussain: I didn’t feel vulnerable.

I felt powerful. Chanda Smith Baker: Bringing more of myself to the table doesn’t feel exposing to me. Nausheena Hussain: When people see their story reflected, it resonates. That’s why I wrote the book.

Chanda Smith Baker: Is the book only for Muslim women? Nausheena Hussain: That was the original audience, but many people outside the faith have connected with it. It’s about ethical investing, values, and generosity. Chanda Smith Baker: Do you have a favorite story from the book?

Nausheena Hussain: My favorite story is about my mom. She came to the U.S. pregnant with me and taught me generosity through action.

That’s how legacy is built, through our mothers. Chanda Smith Baker: I feel that deeply. Nausheena Hussain: I wanted to help women transform their relationship with money. Not just see it as bills, debt, or scarcity.

We come from a legacy of philanthropic givers. Women built cities and civil society through the millennium. This isn’t something new. This is something we’ve forgotten.

Chanda Smith Baker: That reframing is powerful. Nausheena Hussain: Money is a tool. We can use it to make the world better. That’s the legacy we’re continuing.

Chanda Smith Baker: Thank you for putting this book into the world. Can you share the title and where people can find it? Nausheena Hussain: The book is called Prosperity With Purpose: A Muslim Woman’s Guide to Abundance and Generosity. I encourage people to purchase it from Reha Cultural Center in Arden Hills, Minnesota, or online.

Chanda Smith Baker: Thank you so much. Nausheena Hussain: Thank you, Chanda. This was lovely.