Midwestern Region - Soroptimist

ISMAHAN MANA ALI: My name is Ismahan Mana Ali and I am 18 years old. I
graduated as Salutatorian Class of 2012 at Universal Academy. I was born in
Yemen and raised in Southwestern Detroit. I am the oldest of seven children. I help
raise them (my siblings) and teach them the importance of an education as well as
how to use that education to better our community. My dream was to get into U of M, get a
degree in Business Administration and make a difference. My major is Accounting. I am
currently the chair for Out Reach for the Muslim Student Association (MSA-UMD), a general
member of the Student Government, and an active volunteer within my community. Gandhi
once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” This is what I live for and look forward
to accomplishing. Being a Muslim Arab American Woman, the struggles are always there. My
religion, my race, and my gender have caused me to go through many obstacles starting from
such a young age but have also made me stronger, better, wiser, and have given me the drive to
continue with this path to success. The media has never made it any easier but I believe that in
order to accomplish something great, you must go through the toughest experiences in order for
it to be worth recognition. All these difficult experiences that I have gone through and am still
struggling with have made me the person I am, the strong independent woman I have become
and I all I want to do is be a role model to other females who think their struggles are
unbearable. I want to remind them that without them there is no future and to never
underestimate their capabilities. Most importantly to never let anyone or the media define them
or place them under an image that doesn’t properly represent who they are.
DEBORAH J. SAUL, 60, is a 38-year veteran of the newspaper business
and has been the editor of The Monroe (MI) Evening News since 1997.
She was the first woman managing editor of the small daily as well as the
first woman to hold the editor’s chair. She also is vice president of the
paper’s parent company, The Monroe Publishing Co.
She started at the newspaper, which traces its beginning to 1825, as summer help on the copy
desk and rose through the ranks as a reporter and city editor before moving into a management
position.
Deborah also is the editor of the company’s quarterly glossy magazine, MONROE, which she
launched with Creative Director Jim Dombrowski.
She is a graduate of Michigan State University and she did post-graduate work at The University
of Toledo. In the 1984-85 academic year she was a fellow along with professional journalists
from around the country and overseas in the National Endowment for the Humanities
journalism program at the University of Michigan.
Deborah has a been a member of Soroptimist International of Monroe County since 2002.
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