AP Team

Steve was born in Turlock, California, of Assyrian parents. Steve started the Assyrian podcast as an effort to inspire and encourage Assyrians and all ethnic minorities around the world. Steve is interested in helping people share their story and the greatness they carry. When Steve isn’t podcasting, he loves educational technology, chess, the New Orleans Saints, and spiral dynamics. 

Follow him @stevenetniss on Twitter or @stevenetniss on Instagram.

In San Jose, California, born and raised, on the playground is where Adessa spent most of her days. Joining the Assyrian Podcast as the co-founder has been one of her favorite Assyrian initiatives to get involved with! Helping share people’s stories, she believes, makes us better and closer as a diasporic people. She currently resides in Hamilton, Canada. When Adessa isn’t podcasting, she loves to be around music, dance, travel, and do anything cultural; particularly Assyrian. 

You can follow Adessa on Instagram @adessak.

Roda was born in Tehran, Iran and immigrated to California when she was set to begin high school. After finishing her studies in Turlock and spending 7 glorious years in San Francisco, she moved to the metro-Detroit area in 2017 when she married her husband, Tony. Her love for people and their stories stems from her love for books, which she developed as a young child, thanks to a family that revered books and read regularly. This same love for stories led her to join the Assyrian Podcast team. She views life as one big adventure and loves cooking, reading, traveling, and photographing things, places, and people. 

You can follow Roda on Instagram @rodadankha

John was born in, and currently resides in Chicago, IL. Having worked on-air for three Chicago area radio stations, contributing to the Assyrian Podcast came as a natural fit. John’s desire is to always give Assyrians a platform to tell their stories, and teach people about what Assyrians have accomplished. Unlike most long-time Chicago traditions such as loan-sharking, extortion, fraud, and day-drinking, John spends his time reading a good book, playing arm-chair quarterback for his favorite sports teams, and planning his next trip. 

You can follow John and see pictures of mostly food @johnjenzeh

Ninorta was born in Baghdad, Iraq and immigrated to Chicago with her family. She grew up volunteering in the Assyrian Church committees and youth groups. Her professional career background is in hospitality management, organizational behavior, and leadership. She has always been involved in the Assyrian cause and since moving to Arizona, Ninorta joined the Assyrian Podcast team to bring light to all of the stories and hidden gems within our community.  

You can follow Ninorta on Instagram @ninortak116.

Peter was born in Modesto, California to Assyrian parents, and delivered by an Assyrian doctor. His work background is in local government, grantmaking and urban planning. In spring 2018, Peter went on the Gishru homeland trip and life has never been the same. He hopes and works to preserve the Assyrian language, culture and identity. In his spare time, Peter sings and volunteers for Assyrian charitable causes. 

Follow him @peteribrahim on Instagram. 

Marina is a first generation Assyrian-American. She was born in Tehran, Iran but grew up in southern California after her family made the typical move (via a pit stop in Germany). Marina's natural inclination towards self-reflection coupled with her immigrant experience is the basis for her interest in how our understanding of our identity impacts our lived experience. Marina's hope is to uplift Assyrian voices and get to know the multitude of ways our culture shows up in our lives no matter the paths we take. She is an avid reader, a yoga aficionado and a mother. She currently lives in Madrid, Spain with her husband and young daughter.

Ninus was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and has been involved with the Assyrian community from a very young age. His love of music manifested into DJing, and led Ninus to host musical programmes on Deephousepage.com and Bondi Beach Radio, as well as co-produce the Naqoosha d'Haymanoota (Bell of Faith) show on 2GLF. Inspired by the interesting stories aired on the Assyrian Podcast, Ninus will use his hostship to seek more sources of inspiration among Sydney's relatively large Assyrian community, learning from them in the process. Ninus works in finance and enjoys cycling, fishing and aviation.

Miriam was six months old when her family moved from Baghdad to Kuwait, and eight years old when they moved to Montreal, Canada. She moved another five times after that, never living anywhere near an Assyrian community. While her family kept the Assyrian culture alive in her household, and had a few Assyrian acquaintances, she grew up feeling like an outsider to her own heritage and culture. As an adult, she traveled back to Iraq to unearth her roots, and has since then moved back to rediscover who we - Assyrians - are. 

Miriam has a passion for travel and exploration, understanding other cultures, and capturing stories through photography, writing, and now also through the Assyrian Podcast. 

Sarha was born and raised in Chicago, IL and currently resides in Hyde Park. She attended Loyola University in Chicago and obtained a degree in Anthropology which ignited a fondness for ethnography and story-telling. Sarha has spent many years volunteering for various Assyrian organizations and currently works on the board of Ishtar's Circle, a non-profit org based in Chicagoland. When she's not working on projects to help her community, Sarha enjoys reading, going on lakeside runs, hanging out with her dog Charlie, traveling, singing, reading and writing. 

You can follow Sarha on Instagram @sarhaabraham

Stephanie was born in Melbourne, Australia to an Assyrian mother and Greek father. Her Assyrian family roots are from Khabour, Syria, and prior to this Hakkari. Her close connection to her Assyrian maternal grandmother fostered Stephanie’s love for the Assyrian language, culture and identity. A strong desire to give back to the Assyrian community led Stephanie to join the Assyrian Podcast team. Currently a Biomedical student, in her spare time she loves to undertake creative pursuits and is involved in a traditional Pontian Greek dance group as well as having recently joined an Assyrian dance group. Stephanie enjoys volunteering at her local children’s hospital and also in her church’s welfare programs for those in need.