Soon, Mubina found herself managing the process of automating the first Canadian clearinghouse, and "real-time trading." The experience gave Mubina, whose prior background was in business, a unique view into the technology driving her industry.
After moving to Dallas, she was appointed Chairman of the Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board (AKYSB), leading training for camps, and says, “We were bringing the best practices of the corporate training world to the camps.”
Inspired by the eight ethical principles of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) - particularly sharing of knowledge and service to humanity - she founded and ran a preschool and early elementary school in Dallas. There, she really began piloting quality training.
“Preschool teachers don’t get training in team-building, communication coaching or diversity that all the corporate middle managers get. I realized we could do front-line training.” Soon, she was losing teachers to larger school systems because of their highly attuned skills. “It was a sign of our success,” she notes.
Mubina’s passion for training led her to found MyCourseRoom, an online platform for leadership, teaching, corporate and continuing education. The site gained credentials to certify Texas educators and Project Management Institute learners, and now includes mindfulness, work and family trainings.
At the height of her entrepreneurial venture, Mubina began a three-year tumultuous period, suffering with a crippling autoimmune disease that began with rheumatoid arthritis. She tried steroids, saw naturopaths who offered expensive supplements, and a 21-day holistic retreat in India. She found relief finally, through a program of a no-oil, plant-based diet, combined with regular exercise and stress management. Even this experience became touchstone material for sharing and learning online. Most recently, MyCourseRoom launched the “Autoimmune Disease – Prevention and Healing” course.
“I’m finding many Jamati members diagnosed with some kind of autoimmune disease,” reflects Mubina. “Half of them are hesitant to tell someone they have a disease.” She hopes that sharing her experience with the Jamat, and through her course, will empower others to start their own, unique journeys towards healing.
Mubina anticipates the entire education field changing, connected as the youth are to information and stimulation via gamification and the digital world. Her journey from business to technology, and to understanding of her own body shapes her perspective on learning. “Book knowledge has its place as a reference," she says, "but more than ever before, you will learn from practical experience. I’d say [to young people] if you can learn scientific principles from a farm and connect with nature – go get that experience.”
She urges people to do something they enjoy. Particularly to young women, she emphasizes that if you can, “don’t choose a career for the money. Choose it because it makes you feel good inside.”
