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Hodan Nalayeh
هوذن نلايا
Hodan Nalayeh; هوذن نلايا
	Hodan Nalayeh in Somalia in 2015
Born	1976; Las Anod, Somali Democratic Republic (now Somalia)
Died	July 12, 2019 (aged 42–43); Kismayo, Somalia
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	University of Windsor; Seneca College
Occupation(s)	Media executive, marketing consultant, activist, entrepreneur, journalist
Title	President of the Cultural Integration Agency

Hodan Nalayeh (Somali: Hodan Naaleeye; Arabic: 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^[1] 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

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.^[4] Additionally, Nalayeh provided marketing and writing consultancy to burgeoning companies. Her work in this area was centered on video marketing combined with online branding.^[4]

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.^[4]

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.^[1]

Besides media production and consultancy, Nalayeh was involved in voluntary and advocacy work for the Somali community.^[4] She founded the Somali Refugee Awareness Project, which in 2011 presented the veteran Somali artist Saado Ali Warsame with a Lifetime Achievement Award.^[5] In this capacity, Nalayeh also worked closely with a number of non-profit organizations.^[4]

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.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] The attack involved a car bombing and gunfire. The jihadist radical group al-Shabaab, based in Southern Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attack.^[10]^[7] Nalayeh and Suleiman married in November 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya, according to Nalayeh's sister.^[11] Nalayeh was the mother of two sons and was pregnant.^[3]^[8]