Helena sits down with Farrah Khan, former mayor of Irvine and the first Muslim, South Asian woman ever elected to the city council. They unpack how Farrah broke through political resistance, navigated public microaggressions, and turned personal identity into political power.

They talk about the emotional toll of leadership, pivoting after rejection, and why vulnerability and transparency aren’t weaknesses—they’re leadership superpowers. Farrah shares what helped her run again after losing, and how she turned sexist and racist jabs into assets, and why she believes community-driven governance is the future of innovation. Under her leadership, Irvine officially celebrated Pride and Juneteenth for the first time. She also passed anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ+ community.

If you’re a person of color, a young leader, or someone navigating power structures that weren’t built for you—this episode will leave you grounded, fired up, and ready to lead on your terms.

🚨SPECIAL DEAL: Grab your FREE ticket and meet Farrah Khan and Helena at the Symposium for Women in Tech on July 25: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-in-tech-symposium-by-quantum-emotion-tickets-1409552141399?aff=oddtdtcreator

Now, back to the epiosde: 

Key Takeaways:

1. Flip the narrative they try to trap you in.
When Farrah was publicly dismissed as “just a PTA mom,” she didn’t shrink—she reframed. 

2. Detach from the title, attach to your purpose.
Whether you’re a founder, mayor, or business owner—people will project their fears onto you. Farrah reminds us: it’s not you they’re attacking, it’s the seat. When you stay rooted in who you are beyond the title, you don’t take it personally— that’s where real freedom lies.

3. Let community be your strategy.
Farrah didn’t pass groundbreaking policies alone. She invited people in and made sure they were seen in the process. Real leadership isn’t about taking up the most space. It’s about designing rooms where people have a voice. Power shared is power multiplied.

Chapters:

03:11 Are you proud and connected of your cultural heritage? What was it like growing up?

08:27 Career pivot after career pivot: How to stay sane and turn change into opportunity.

10:51 Being underestimated: Politics is dirty, and people are mean. 

18:19 Community-Centric Leadership: This is how you get every bill passed, you're welcome. 

21:02 The Importance of Open Dialogue in Leadership: Transparency isn't the enemy. 

22:02 What does a boundary actually look like when you deal with public micro-aggressions?!

23:43 Handling public scrutiny: How to deal with misogyny as a brown woman–when comments are harsher and more interrogating. 

25:12 The one thing that's holding all female leaders back

28:44 New Age Activism: It's about educating yourself to be a better person. And checking in on people.

35:30 Authentic leadership as a vehicle for progress: It's not about you, or sharing your unfiltered POV, it's about them–how well do you listen?

38:16 Farrah's New Beginnings

Connect with Farrah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farrah-n-khan-2635b237/

PS: This is episode 79 instead of 69. Yes, the last epi is 68..but many episodes in the beginning were never numbered..and my ADHD part in my brain (it's small, but there), wants the numbering to reflect the number of episodes that are out. So here we go. Hope your ADHD brain can handle it. Much love, Helena

Connect with me:

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenasuter/ 

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@whereboundariesdissolvepodcast?si=g63NToOK45W1CiBI

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