Firsthand is led by three fiercely passionate women who share a love for using creativity to unravel complexity and ambiguity.
Gena Cuba
Executive Director
If you are ever looking for Gena, she is probably knee-deep in the work of breaking complexity down into simple answers. Gena’s work turns observations into empathetic diagnosis and clear roadmaps of action. Following a compass of human-centered design principles, Gena designs sensitive and resilient social, brand and innovation systems alongside a diverse cohort of collaborators. Gena has dedicated nearly 20 years to researching the ways in which systems influence, and are influenced by, behavior.
She has developed strategic design solutions in partnership with UNICEF, WHO, Gavi, IDEO, IDEO.org, Dalberg and Pepsico Design & Innovation. She has authored the guide for using human-centred principles to create demand for immunization and health services and has put that into practice, building capacity in over 20 countries including Indonesia, Nicaragua and Nigeria.
Gena’s many awards include the Paula Rhodes Scholar Award from the School of Visual Arts, the Visual Art Scholarship by Peck School of Arts and the Frederick R. Layton BFA Award. She holds a BFA in Design from the UW Milwaukee and a Masters in Brand Strategy from the School of Visual Arts.
Q: What is challenged through your work?
A: Solving complex problems for people should also be creative and doesn’t always fit into a tidy project.
Miguele Issa
Operations Director
Miguele is an undaunted taskmaster and unflinching team leader. A thoughtful, global sensibility pervades her work—a deep appreciation for complex identities and world-shaping histories from Beirut, a love of all things artistic from Paris, a grit and hustle that would make New York City proud, and now, a home base in London (for now) from which she flies all over the world to design solutions with, not for, communities.
Her stamina is unmatched. Whether she’s running a workshop or organizing an event, she’s first to welcome you, last to leave the dance floor, and always keeping spirits high. Long days of travel and intense workshop facilitations are no match for her infectious enthusiasm and perseverance. Miguele’s career has always been dedicated to designing solutions. Starting out in advertising, she quickly realized that the power of design is not in creating desire for products we want, but in building creative solutions to complex challenges that respond to human needs.
Miguele holds a BA in Graphic Design from the American University of Beirut and Masters in Branding degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York and has a wealth of social impact experience shaped by Arcenciel, Lebanon’s largest independent social enterprise.
Q: What is challenged through your work?
A: The status quo notion that outside experts are best suited to tackle human challenges. Communities are the best problem solvers for the challenges they experience day to day.
Shaz Bhola
Shaz is insatiably curious about what makes people tick. With an unyielding curiosity, Shaz draws upon her background in sociology to decipher the difference between what we project and what we truly feel. Her astute ability to make connections shows up in her many interests, like spotting music samples in unlikely places. (Did you know that you can hear Beethoven's Fur Elise in 70s Arab disco and in classic hip-hop?)
That same curious spirit keeps her questioning the world around her—acknowledging assumptions we hold, dissecting issues through the lens of gender, sex, and race, and translating empathy into insightful strategies and solutions. Shaz's commitment to change is evident through her past non-profit experiences, including Ubuntu Pathways, Keep a Child Alive, and Joyful Heart Foundation—organizations whose community-led approaches inform her work today. She holds a sociology degree from Barnard College and a Masters in Brand Strategy from the School of Visual Arts where she continues as a professor of Brand Physics.
Q: What is challenged through your work?
A: Power Dynamics—dismantling
ego-driven dynamics that hinder creative thinking.
Global Programmes Director
Our collective operates fully remotely from various parts of the world enabling our work to span the globe.
Ramazah Masood
Impact Coordinator
Ramazah’s natural instincts guide her in every situation—whether she’s navigating unforeseen circumstances in development contexts or trusting her gut in the kitchen by eyeballing ingredients to create the perfect recipe. The complexity of the world might overwhelm many, but for Ramazah, it simply fuels her curiosity, her desire to understand what makes people tick, and her drive to uncover the stories of those overlooked and underestimated.
These traits served her well while leading projects dealing with critical topics such as violence against children in Pakistan, mental health across South-east Asia, and even thinking on her toes while leading sensitive projects like Explosive Ordnance Risk Education initiative and women empowerment strategy in Afghanistan amidst recent political turmoil.
Her compassion, intuition, and curiosity are the secret sauce to finding creative ways to generate lasting positive impact anywhere in the world. Ramazah’s penchant for inclusive research and community-centric design has supported behavior change programming in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Jordan and more.
Ramazah holds a degree in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa and a Master’s in Violence, Conflict, and Development from the SOAS University of London.
Q: What is challenged through your work?
A: Mainstream narratives and assumptions pushed upon communities without understanding complex intersectionality.
