Rohaina Hassan
Rohaina Hassan
Creative Strategist / Community Engagement
Los Angeles, CA
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I’m a creative strategist that helps brands craft & tell stories. ”
You tell me what you want to share with the world and I’ll help you find the audience, craft the positioning, and help produce the content. Everything I do is digital-first and rooted in a mix of data, intuition, engagement, and hopes of holding brands accountable. When I’m not strat-ing, I’m DJing or writing.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
A loooooot of hopping from project to project. I studied political science with a concentration in digital media & tech. When I wasn’t in class, I was helping organize art exhibitions and writing and designing for the local paper.
I had an opportunity to head out to DC where I was able to intern at NPR for a bit on the product development team. There I helped bring talk radio to the digital world by launching web and social products like the NPR One app, NPR Music, and first-ever digital brand integrations.
I knew I wanted to dive deeper into the interwebs, so I took a chance on Reddit back in 2015 and never looked back. My beginning years were spent understanding how to gather and chop up data, client management, and the ins and outs of #mediamath. I believed in the power of Reddit and wanted brands to understand that magic, so I quickly moved over to the Creative Strategy team.
Over the last few years, I have helped Fortune 500 brands understand the Reddit audience, develop platform-first and highly engaging strategies and custom content. I’ve worked on award-nominated and press-worthy campaigns with brands across many verticals, as well as making sure brands stay accountable.
Above all, I’m passionate about facilitating space for marginalized narratives and continue to integrate that into everything I do. At Reddit I help lead our Asian-American and Allyship resource groups and develop non-profit partnerships. I currently host a monthly DJ show on Boxout FM where I play POC artists.
In the past, I creatively managed REHMA, a Pakistani-American female vocalist, designed & edited an annual art book for women of color, hosted panels for independent women publishers, helped launch a podcast, freelanced as a journalist, and helped launch a brick-and-mortar chocolate shop.
How do you stand out in your field?
Empathy, innovation, and an ability to build community.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
Currently, I’m at Reddit where I’m on the creative strategy team & lead our Allyship resource group. I've been spending a lot of time learning about local orgs and staying involved with them by volunteering as needed.
On the side, I’ve been taking AR/VR development courses and working on a project that documents how digital movements take shape.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
I like to prioritize brands and projects that hold equity, justice, and representation core to the ethos.
Anything that plays around or breaks the way that we are used to using digital products and tools. Something that inspired me recently is Somewhere Good.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
Art direction & print design. I miss doing print & layout design.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
I’ve been in the beginning stages of working with collaborators outside my network, so it's been hard to push out of it to find new projects.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
Help me workout. Just kidding – I’d have them help me project manage. I can do it, but it takes up a lot of mental space that I wish I could direct towards creating.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
Slow down and own it. I’d tell my wee little adolescent self this to help me step into my sense of power and self earlier and without all the anxiety of knowing if I’ll ever figure it out.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
I love hearing people's origin stories. I find a lot of insight through the way experts get to where they are, what obstacles they faced, what they worked through in their heads, etc.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Projects that help build people power & progressive ideas — especially for BIPOC, climate, and/or queer communities. Strategy and/or creative production for issue advocacy, candidate campaigns, and community building.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
Someone who is building a brand or initiative that is rooted in equity for marginalized communities. I’d love to come together to do some radical thinking, dreaming, and rebuilding.
Who is a creative that has helped you elevate your work?
Amara Abbas - Art Director/Filmmaker. Ash Dunn - Strategist. Hasan Khalid - Strategist/Artist. Jeannine Ventura - Artist/CD. Jordan Bailey - Audio Producer. Kim Cohen - Filmmaker. Kaveri Gautam - Strategist. Lexi Miller - Artist. Marie Kare - Strategist. Melissa Gjerde - Artist. Rehma Hassan - Musician. Rumsha Hassan - Stylist. Taj Nihal - Photographer. Rachel Hrbek - Artist. Rachel Weber - Strategist.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Hit me up via e-mail at rohainahassan@gmail.com. Please include info about you, a brief description of the project, timeline, and budget. From there let’s get on the phone and ch-ch-chat.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Creativity flourishes through consistency. I constantly remind myself that I need to keep at my practice.
This member profile was originally published in February 2021.