Subject: Re: Interview with Congresswomen Wasserman Schultz
From: Marcia Soto Pirani <[email-masked]>
To: "Banfill, Ryan" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 4 May 2016 20:54:19 -0400

Ryan, although the magazine is not yet digital (we are working on that
now), here is a copy of an  articles that appeared in the the December
issue. The theme of the that issue was pluralism.  This article was written
by Noah (which is why I have it scanned) but it will give you an idea of
some of the local stories we feature,  in addition to the ones of global
and national importance.  We are actually in talks with the Broward County
School Board to help them develop a religious literacy program.

Best,

Marcia

On Wed, May 4, 2016 at 5:16 PM, Marcia Soto Pirani <[email-masked]>
wrote:

> If I had ANY talent I would not be an exorcist!  (divorce lawyer)
>
> But thank God for the genetic mutation.
>
> This was Saturday.  Noah is the second from the right.  I'm not sure who
> gets more enjoyment out of it, him playing or mom listening.  Do you have
> kids? Do they play?
>
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5dGsPqT61UjX1h2ZloyUWRWTms
>
> On Wed, May 4, 2016 at 5:00 PM, Banfill, Ryan <[email-masked]> wrote:
>
>> You've got talent!
>>
>> I play guitar and bass. Some piano and slept drums, too!
>>
>> Tell him to play and play with other musicians. That's how you get better!
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On May 4, 2016, at 1:56 PM, Marcia Soto Pirani <[email-masked]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Thank you Ryan, it may take you 3 days to read, but you are in
>> communications!
>>
>> From your google blurb, I see music is your passion . What do you play?
>> Music is my son's passion as well, drums, guitar and piano.  I wish I had
>> some talent that could bring more beauty to my life, unfortunately it
>> skipped a generation.  Now I rely on my drummer boy to keep things fun.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Marcia
>>
>> On Wed, May 4, 2016 at 4:48 PM, Banfill, Ryan <[email-masked]> wrote:
>>
>>> Thank you for the email and the video link.
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On May 4, 2016, at 1:27 PM, Marcia Soto Pirani <[email-masked]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> My prior email with the videos was returned as it was too large. I will
>>> send the videos via the drive.
>>>
>>> Hi Ryan, it's nice to hear from you. Thank you for your quick response!
>>> Congratulations on your new position as Communications Consultant.  Your
>>> reputation precedes you, so  I trust you will make sure  Madam Chair is
>>> re-elected and continues her phenomenal work.  Steve, thank you for your
>>> part in getting Ryan's attention!   A short introduction to our community
>>> follows.
>>>
>>> We are the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim community.  The Shia Imami Ismaili
>>> Muslims of the USA, generally known as the Ismailis, belong to the Shia
>>> branch of Islam and form part of a global community that includes people
>>> from many different cultural traditions.   Ismailis live in over 25
>>> different countries around the world, mainly in Central and South Asia,
>>> East Africa and the Middle East as well as in the United States, Canada,
>>> Australia and Europe.  In Florida our community resides mostly in Miami,
>>>  Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando and Ocala. In Florida, our community has a
>>>  wonderful relationship with Mayor Buckhorn (he even graced one of our
>>> issues with his photo throwing a football at our National Sports
>>> Tournament), Mayor Rick Kriseman  (yes don't we all love his tweeting
>>> ability!) and his Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin, who recently attended one of
>>> our events at USF and together with her family joined us for dinner.
>>>
>>> Our spiritual leader is  His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, the 49th
>>> hereditary Imam and a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.  His
>>> Highness, a graduate of Harvard University, succeeded his grandfather Sir
>>> Sultan Mohamed Shah Aga Khan in 1957 and has guided the community through
>>> major political and economic changes for over five decades.
>>>
>>> Under His Highness’s leadership, the Ismaili Community has established
>>> schools, hospitals, health centers, housing societies and a variety of
>>> social and economic development institutions for the common good of all
>>> citizens, regardless of their race and/or religion.  These institutions
>>> have today earned wide recognition for their effectiveness in improving the
>>> lives of the poor and underprivileged populations of developing nations in
>>> Asia and Africa.  They form part of an international network of
>>> institutions, known as the Aga Khan Development Network
>>> <http://www.akdn.org/> (the “AKDN”) and are involved in fields that
>>> range from education, health and rural development, to architecture and the
>>> promotion of private sector enterprise.  The AKDN, founded by his Highness
>>> the Aga Khan, who also serves as the chairman, is the largest private
>>> development agency of its kind, with projects and collaborations that span
>>> the globe.  The AKDN has forged numerous key alliances and partnerships
>>> around the world.  In the United States, the AKDN partners with
>>> governmental institutions, private foundations and educational
>>> institutions, including the United States Agency for International
>>> Development (USAID), the  Department of State, The Bill & Melinda Gates
>>> Foundation, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
>>>
>>> I am attaching to this e-mail a short video that will tell you about the
>>> impact of the AKDN. One of the  agencies of the AKDN, The Aga Khan
>>> Foundation USA <http://www.akdn.org/our-agencies/aga-khan-foundation>,
>>> has offices in Washington DC.  Please take a few minutes to learn about the
>>> work of the Foundation.
>>>
>>> His Highness' most recent visit to the United States was in November
>>> 2015, where he delivered the Jodidi Lecture at  Harvard University.
>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MABS8niTWqU> In 2014 he was asked to
>>> address the Canadian Parliament
>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqNckjlWk1g>. The Ismaili Imamat has
>>> entered into Agreements of Cooperation with the state of Illinois,
>>> California and Texas. The Imamat has also signed numerou Agreements of
>>> Cooperation with academic institutions and countries. The Most recent
>>> Agreement was entered into with the Republic of  Portugal.
>>> <http://www.akdn.org/event/historic-agreement-establishes-global-seat-ismaili-imamat-portugal>
>>>
>>> Our community publishes "The Ismaili Magazine" twice a year.  I gave a
>>> copy of our last issue  to Steve, but would be happy to overnight you a
>>> copy so you can see the quality of the magazine. I assure you it is of the
>>> highest quality. The magazine is distributed at a national level not only
>>> to our community, but to many of our partners which range  from  academics
>>> at top Universities, to NGO's to Museums, to politicians.   It has a
>>> tremendous reach.
>>>
>>> The theme of our next magazine is "Civic Engagement". Our community is
>>> built and thrives on service. We give of our time, knowledge and
>>> resources.  From the age off 8 our children are taught  that giving back to
>>> our communities, globally and locally is our ethical duty. At the age of 8
>>> the children are given the opportunity to become official uniformed
>>> volunteers and are involved many volunteer endeavors.  We would like to
>>> interview Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz  on her views  on civic
>>> engagement and the impact civic engagement can make in our communities.
>>> Our magazine has an internal editing team but it is all run by volunteers.
>>> If you agree to the article,  it would be written by Annisa Karim
>>> <http://www.annisakarim.com/>. Annisa is the Chairwoman  of the
>>> Democratic Committee in Collier County and is a member of the American
>>> Muslim Democratic Caucus.  She is a conservationist that attended the
>>> University of Florida and was inspired to run for a commission seat in
>>> Collier county as a result of her interactions  with "Debbie" as she often
>>> insists to be called (I simply love her warmth and humbleness).
>>>
>>> We have a large community in Pembroke Pines as our Jamatkhana (place of
>>> worship) is  in Miramar.  We also have a second Jamatkhana near Atlantic
>>> Blvd and  75.  Many of our members reside in Weston as well and they will
>>> all receive the magazine which comes out mid to end of July.  We can send
>>> the magazine to anyone you request or provide  you with copies if you would
>>> prefer to do it yourself.
>>>
>>>  The President of our local council, Zahra Hayat Daya, ( Zahra is
>>> employed with Microsoft where she  leads the Business Planning and
>>> Operations Team for Latin America, focusing on landing Scorecard and
>>> Strategy), wrote a letter to Madam Chair  which I hand delivered to her
>>> when we spoke at the Democratic Ethnic Committee meeting a couple of months
>>> ago. I also gave her a copy of the magazine.   We again spoke at a recent
>>> fundraiser at Dr. Jaffer's home.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, my deadline for the article is in two weeks. The article
>>> will be about a page and it will focus on her thoughts about the role that
>>> civic engagement can play in  improving the qualify of life of  our
>>> communities. As this is a human interest story, we would want to know  what
>>> inspires her passion for civic engagement. There will be nothing
>>> controversial in  the article.
>>>
>>> Ryan, I apologize for the long and informal e-mail. I am running out to
>>> a meeting to prepare for a court hearing tomorrow morning, and therefore,
>>> had little time to edit this email. However, due to the time constraints
>>> discussed herein, I wanted to get this out to you immediately  We are happy
>>> to accommodate your schedule and meet Madam Chair on a Saturday in Weston
>>> or Pembroke Pines, travel to DC or simply conduct the interview  by phone.
>>> Although we would much  prefer an person meeting as you can capture so much
>>> more to the story in that fashion.
>>>
>>> I would love to speak to you and answer any further questions you may
>>> have, the nature of an email does not always convey what a face to face
>>> meeting does.   My cell number is 786-281-9298, this is the best way to
>>> reach me.  If you happen to be in the South Florida area I am happy to meet
>>> you for a cup of coffee.
>>>
>>>  Please don't forget to watch the attached video, it is only 4  minutes
>>> long.
>>>
>>> With warm personal regards,
>>>
>>> Marcia
>>>
>>> On Wed, May 4, 2016 at 1:29 PM, Banfill, Ryan <[email-masked]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Marcia,
>>>> I received your information from Steve Paikowski and he asked me to
>>>> follow up on your interview request.
>>>> Will you please send me some information regarding the publication, its
>>>> audience, the topics you're looking to cover, the deadline for a decision,
>>>> expected date of the article and the name of the journalist who would do
>>>> the interview?
>>>> Include any other information you feel is relevant.
>>>> Thank you again for the request.
>>>>
>>>> Ryan Banfill
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>