Meet TAHANI LUQMAN | Case manager and Executive director

We had the good fortune of connecting with TAHANI LUQMAN and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi TAHANI, have there been any changes in how you think about
work-life balance?
Working at the age of 13 years old, most kids at that age want to
make money and have fun. For me though, fun wasn’t a priority. I just
wanted to work to save just enough money to buy my own school
supplies, snacks, or be able to afford off campus lunch at school. So
working as an adult I had that same mindset. Long hours at work, no
time to be with family, missing out on time with friends, and sleep
exhaustion. In 2016 I had my son and life changed! The long hours for
more money didn’t amount to the wealth I felt in raising my son. When
I stepped back from being consumed in work 24/7, I was able to be
present to not only my child but also myself. So many of us focus on
pleasing the companies we work that we forget to please ourselves. It
took simply saying no to an extra shift, an added workload, or actually
clocking out for a lunch break to realize I wasn’t giving myself enough
time to have even a proper work life balance. Now, I work enough
hours to be there with my son not only for his activities but also his
mental health. My present work life balance is prioritizing peace of
mind over everything else and that works perfectly for me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from others as a worker is I have a hard work
ethic and always going to go the extra mile in everything I do because
I love to make people happy. Whether it’s cleaning a house, being a
server, or someone’s boss, brightening another person’s day is
encouraging! I’m most proud of being able to work with men from
prison at a young age because it opened my eyes to a whole different
side of the ropes. I came from being the girl who visited her friend in a
halfway house to working as a case manager in one.

My professional career started when I was a server/assistant house
manager at Tony’s Burgers. While there I networked with so many
fields of people. Working as a server gave me the opportunity to build
my resume by taking on every job I could possibly learn. From serving
the customers, setting up catering events, running all the departments
in the grocery store, and making sure the restaurant ran efficiently.

Working at Tony’s Market put me in the position to meet social
workers, parole officers, and dps school teachers. Which gave me the
knowledge and spirit to take on being a case manager at Corecivic.

Along the way it prepared me to always be ready for a moment to
shine because you never know who will be in the room.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our
readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots
they could take them to?
I would take them hiking in Clear creek in Golden or even just biking to
braze the trail. We would go eat at Watercourse foods, Hamburger
Mary’s, The District, 5280 Burger, and Bonchon just to name a few.
We would go check out museums, art shows, try new foods, see a
poetry slam, or visit a jazz club.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Huge shoutout to my advisor Alexander Garland, also known as Dr.
Free for helping complete the vision of my dream and laying all of the
necessary groundwork to get the ball rolling. My mother, Mariko
LuQman, our education specialist on the board. Thank you for
exposing me to the possibilities of entrepreneurship at a young age.
Your continued guidance, encouragement, and support helps pave the
way for Brotherhood Haven to even be a dream today. For the many
mentors past and present, family & friends, thank you.

Website: Brotherhoodhaven.org

Image Credits
-Tahani & Kamau (the picture with me and my son) -Kid picture (Me being a community partner with the A.E.A -Trash mob flier is an event that Brotherhood Haven my nonprofit puts on every Saturday cleaning up the neighborhood while dancing and having fun. -Building a Brotherhood is a mentoring group event we host every now and again to help young men with life skills community guidance.