New Opportunities for Paying-It-Forward

Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani speaks with confidence, conviction, and a desire to make a difference, as one of HuffPost Live’s anchors, but she wasn’t always this way. When growing up in London’s East End, she was the target of bullying because she physically developed faster, was mixed race (her father was Iranian and her mother was a light-haired Catholic Brit), and she was bookish. Her mother was a big supporter, and guided her with these wise words, “Everything that you put out into the universe comes back 3 times” whether negative or positive.

Thanks to the help of her seventh year (sixth grade) teacher, Ms. Mason, Caroline began to develop her own voice. The encouragement of this strong woman gave her the confidence to excel above her age level. She continued to surpass expectations and was encouraged to apply to Oxford, where she attended. 

Landing a job as a journalist after graduation, she wasn’t feeling fulfilled. “I felt like the kind of journalism I was doing was not satisfying. So I took a mid-career Masters at Columbia University.” She was ultimately hired at HuffPost Live as an associate producer and she credits her opportunities to Arianna, Allison Girvin, and Cindy Vanegas, her current executive producer who continues to encourage her. “I went up to Allison and said I want to do more—I want to be on camera. She said ok. It’s not only having confidence, you also need to have a confident female leader, who is willing to give you an opportunity.” 

Paying-it-forward is important to Caroline, who acts as a mentor to associate producers below her. She also has many hopes for young women around the globe, here are her top 10. 

10 things you wish for young girls around the world 

That young girls everywhere can learn in an environment free from violence.
Equal pay! 
Freedom over their own bodies.
Unimpeded access to education—girls should never be barred from learning.
An end to forced marriage.
That we put a stop to female genital mutilation.
More female role models! 
An end to persecution of young LGBT girls.
More women in power to highlight girls' issues.
That we continue to listen to girls’ stories and hear their voices!

In the very near future Caroline is getting married. We wish her the very best. 

See what Caroline's up to by following her Twitter account, and catch her on HuffPost Live.