Meet the Founders

OMAIRA FAROOQ, 41 Emirati Founder and Editor-at-Large Unifiltereddxb, UnfilteredKSA, UnfilteredNYC and UnfitleredLDN

Omaira studied Psychology and Criminal Studies at the University of San Francisco, graduating with a double major. She then went on to complete her master’s degree in Criminology, becoming one of the first Emiratis in the field of Criminology in 2001. In 2017 she gave a Ted Talk where she discussed the bridge between Eastern and Western mentalities. A certified Coach and NLP provider. Omaira founded ALF administration in 2012 to help divorced and widowed women of the region gain the skills they needed to get a job or return to work. Omaira also founded the training and development segment of ALF where she helps Emirati, GCC and expat university students in core foundation skill classes.

@omairaofficial JESSICA COMBES, 40 British South African Founder and Editor- in-Chief Unifltereddxb, UnfilteredKSA, UnfilteredNYC and UnfilteredLDN

Jessica studied a Bachelor of Arts at Rhodes University and majored in Legal Theory and Clinical Psychology. A language geek, she moved to Japan to teach English as part of the JET Program where she qualified to teach English as a second language. After three years she moved to Bali to teach and while there, she studied her Freelance Feature Writing diploma through the London School of Journalism. She spent a year in Australia and another two in South Africa before moving to Dubai after accepting the position of Editor at FinanceME, a magazine dedicated to the SME sector in the GCC. Since 2019 she has written for different publications, spent some time back in the classroom to teach English, and worked on the communications team at Dubai Expo 2020.

@mymumcallsmegus