We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ruwa Romman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ruwa, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
I try my best to get in time to move once a day whether that’s a walk, run, or other workout. It helps me unplug and settle my mind. I’m also lucky and have an amazing team that shares the same values and focus on self care. We fill in for each other and make it possible for each of us to take extended time off while still providing the services we need to provide for constituents.
I firmly believe that we cannot pour from an empty cup which is why it’s so important to recharge. The healthier we are the more we can do for ourselves and others.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Hey y’all! My name is Ruwa Romman, and I represent House District 97 in Georgia. The district includes Berkeley Lake, Duluth, Norcross, and Peachtree Corners. If my name sounds familiar, it’s because the last time you ran across my story I was still a candidate. In November 2022, I won my race and made history as the first Muslim woman in the State House and first Palestinian elected anywhere in the state.
My team and I love serving the community and providing constituent services. This includes everything from liaisoning with federal counterparts to recognizing community achievements through resolutions. If you ever need help working through any bureaucratic issues, please reach out. My team and I will do our best to get you the help you need. When I said I was running to put public service back into politics, I meant it.
Make sure you are following along because we are about to host our next round of town halls and a fun campaign launch party!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three most impactful qualities I have that I think have been most impactful on my journey are that I am a collaborative, tenacious, and earnest person. In a world driven by carefully curated social media pages that breed increased, but unrealistic, competition I really wanted to build sustainable community. That’s why I make decisions after I’ve consulted a wide range of people. It helps me identify blind spots and turns leadership from a lonely task to a collaborative endeavor.
On the other hand, I’m tenacious. Nothing inspires me more to do something than someone telling me it’s not possible. Obstacles are inevitable, how we respond to them determines if we achieve our goals or fail.
Finally, I try to be as earnest as possible. What people hear from me is the truth. As a politician, the default is people roll their eyes and think we all lie. I want to desperately change that. As politicians, we have access to networks that can really help people. The hope is to spread that culture more broadly, and I’m incredibly lucky to be part of a freshman class of representatives who share that outlook.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am always looking for more people to get involved politically. There are so many ways to shift the needle politically from running for office yourself to volunteering on a campaign to donating to even cooking or donating food for a local campaign. Right now it is an almost monolithic set of voices at the table, but we can really change the system.
When there are more of us in power who represent not just who we are but also our values, it can significantly tip the scales in our favor. We deserve people who fight for all of us not just special interests, but the system isn’t going to magically change. It takes all of us outnumbering those entrenched to make it happen.
If you’re thinking there is no way to change who is in power, just remember some races (especially the local ones) are sometimes determined by a few votes or even a coin toss. As more people run for office at every level, we can build a pipeline of incredible candidates.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ruwa4georgia.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ruwa4georgia
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ruwa4georgia
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruwa4georgia
