Spotlight
Catching Up With 2020 Gala Awardee Maryam Banikarim ’89, P’21 Throughout her wide-ranging career, Maryam Banikarim ’89,
P’21 — a 2020 Gala honoree and 2019 Columbia Alumni medal recipient — has always been an intrepid storyteller. In 2018, she drew national attention for her New York Times essay, “What Am I if Not Employed?,” on taking a “pause” and leaving her high-powered job. As a former global chief marketing officer, Banikarim has served in leadership roles at major companies including Hyatt, Gannett, NBCUniversal, and Univision. She recently joined Nextdoor, the social networking platform for neighborhoods, as head of marketing, overseeing the communications and policy, marketing, and international teams. Widely recognized as an expert brand builder, she’s been named one of the New York Post’s “50 Most Powerful Women in NYC” and Fast Company’s “Top 10 Disrupters.” We spoke with Banikarim about how Barnard shaped her career trajectory, gave her voice, and equipped her to be a leader in her field. Tell us a little bit about your journey to Barnard. The funny story is I ended up at Barnard kind of by accident. I lived in California, and we’d immigrated here when I was in junior high. I had inklings of wanting to be a journalist. And my mom wanted that for me too. I think she equated journalism with Columbia because of the journalism school. In that era, you didn’t go visit
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