Dr. Shabana Parvez, MD, FACEP, US Bureau Chief of The Desi Buzz and founder of ArlingtonIntegrative.com, sat down for an exclusive and insightful conversation with with Saba Haider—DuPage County Commissioner, small business owner, and candidate for Illinois State Representative. They discussed her remarkable journey from the jungles of India to the forefront of Illinois politics, exploring how her unique background in wildlife science, her experience building a wellness business, and her deep commitment to community service shape her visionary approach to leadership and public policy.
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Dr. Shabana Parvez: All right. Welcome back to the show. I’m so pleased to have with me today, Miss Saba Haider. She brings over a decade of experience in the health and wellness sector, which is of course near and dear to my heart, offering consulting services to top firms, teaching yoga, and meditation. She is very involved in her community. She’s actually been very pivotal in the DuPage County Health Department and the Educational Foundation, supporting lots of local councils. She’s committed to enhancing the community’s educational and health resources. She is also consulting with corporate corporations to improve corporate health culture across Chicagoland. She serves on the DuPage County Board. And most urgently, most recently, she is running to represent District 84, DuPage County, Illinois, in the State Assembly of Illinois.
Background & Early Life
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You were born in Ghaziabad, India, and studied at Aligarh Muslim University. How has your upbringing and education shaped the person you are today?
Saba Haider: I’m just so glad that you’re starting this conversation from that question, because I feel like that really touches to the core of who I am as a human being. And when we go back to what started all of this and how my early childhood shaped the person that I am today, it truly just boils down to my parents. And I know it’s a clichéd answer, but truly my mom, she runs a school for underprivileged kids in India, still in Ghaziabad. My dad, he’s a retired civil engineer. And the focus of my parents all through our childhood—we are three siblings—was focus on your education, work hard, and never forget to give back to the community.
And these principles were so deeply imbibed in the three of us that I carry that with me today, whether it is being in my school life, I went to a Holy Child convent school in Ghaziabad, whether it’s being part of that school system or finishing my master’s in wildlife science at Aligarh Muslim University. Those three things have always stood out and shaped really who I am today as a mother, as a community organizer, and as a public servant.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What inspired your move from wildlife sciences to public service and community leadership?
Saba Haider: Great question. You know, I truly believe that whenever things happen in your life, they are meant to be. And I did not think that when I was studying, when I was doing my master’s in wildlife science, that when I shift to public service, when I become an elected official, that those skills are going to somehow translate into what I’m able to do as a public servant, as an elected official, but they truly are.
So the skills, the training that I got from my educational background, from being in the jungles, working on endangered species, studying them, being out in the field, being out in tiger reserves, national parks, bird sanctuaries, all of that information, all of that training is helping shape how I make sure that the air, land, and water right now that my children have access to, and hundreds of thousands of children in my communities have access to, our communities are safe, and we leave them better for the next generations to come versus how we get them.
So they truly shape my training, my background, shape how I prepare my communities and leave them for future generations. And the common thread, again, is that being able to give back to the community. Whether it is taking care of the environment, or whether it is taking care of the families that are trying to understand the school systems in our areas, whether it is making policy, whether it is helping communities as an elected official, all of these things are driven by a desire to help and support the families that are around my areas.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: Who has been your biggest influence or mentor in your journey from India to Illinois politics?
Saba Haider: You know, this is a really tough question. There are so many people that help you in that journey. Whether it is my mom, and I called her and I said, I’m running for office. And she said, you’re crazy, but do it, you know? Because I don’t come from a family of politicians. This isn’t something I’ve seen growing up. This isn’t something in my DNA. However, the desire to serve is in my DNA. So I believe more and more elected officials, if they choose to serve from that desire to give back to the communities, I think we will be better politicians, will be better elected officials if we did that.
So my mother definitely, as crazy as that idea sounded many, many years ago, she’s like, yes, go ahead and do it. And then so many other, you know, my friends, my family members… It is a really hard job. It is a hard job to run for office when you have to go out and knock doors for several hours each day. And you come home tired, you have blisters on your feet. And we’ve talked to tens, hundreds of people every day. It’s exhausting work. And so when a friend shows up with a garam cup of chai to your house in the evening, or just invites you for a cup of tea… it may not be as glorious, but you know, those are the things that are just so pivotal in making sure that I continue on my journey.
Work & Community Involvement
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You balance roles as a public servant, business owner, and community volunteer. How do you manage these responsibilities?
Saba Haider: I am very blessed to have an incredibly supportive family. My husband has been by my side, with me every step of the way. My children are incredibly independent and super supportive of the idea. They also understand that what we’re trying to do, and this isn’t something that I am trying to do, what we are trying to do as a family, as a unit, is something bigger than ourselves.
And for them to understand that, or for them to support me… jokingly, my daughter, I was just, you know, one of those days I wasn’t feeling like fully myself. Probably slightly under the weather. And I was at home. And my daughter comes back, and she’s 13. She comes home. And she sees me sitting on the couch, you know, just doom scrolling one of those days. And she goes, why are you home? Why are you not out knocking doors? If you need to win this, you need to be out knocking doors. You know, so they keep me going, they keep me so supportive. And I’m just truly blessed.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: Can you share how your experience with Ashoga Yoga LLC has helped you connect wellness with public service?
Saba Haider: Yes. So when I started my business, truly, the desire was to make wellness accessible to people. Oftentimes, when we see wellness, we associate that… when you think of yoga, when you think of Pilates… all of these things evoke a certain image in your mind that it is only accessible to those that are affluent, those who have that time available to them to be able to take care of themselves. And my goal is to make sure that wellness is accessible no matter your socioeconomic status, no matter how busy you are, no matter where you are in your life stage.
So my goal truly was to be able to make yoga, wellness, meditation accessible to everyone. So I have clients, I’ve trained people to become yoga teachers as young as 16-year-old high school students, all the way up to 70s and even in their 80s. So I have clients from all ranges, whether it is age wise, whether it is a socioeconomic spectrum. The goal truly was to make this practice, make taking care of ourselves physically and mentally and emotionally accessible to these people, to all of these people. And that’s what drove me to start my business, to train people, to train more teachers, so that they can continue to carry that message forward.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What are some of the most meaningful outcomes from your leadership roles in organizations like the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation and the Parent Diversity Advisory Council?
Saba Haider: So I’m going to go back just a little bit. So when I came to the U.S. from India almost 20 years ago, I worked really, really hard to make sure that I don’t silo myself into a certain community. I just truly… what my husband and I took this conscious decision to expand and be a part of the larger community. And for me, the easiest way to do that was to become part of my kids’ classroom. So when my son went to preschool many, many years ago, he’s a senior now in high school, I started by cutting laminated stuff in my son’s preschool classroom. That was my entry into how, one, I give back and also understand the system.
Then I became a classroom volunteer, then I joined the PTA, became a member of the parent teacher association, then I joined the executive board, then I joined the leadership team of the umbrella organization that oversees all 34 PTAs in my school district… the fourth largest school district in my state, state of Illinois, with 26,000 students. Then I became a director of the biggest nonprofit arm of my school district, Indian Prairie Educational Foundation. And along with that, I’m also on the leadership team of Parent Diversity Advisory Council, where we help a lot of parents navigate the school system.
So the goal is truly… through those organizations, I’ve been able to help provide snacks and food to families that struggle with being able to provide one square meal to their students. So I’ve lead a snack drive-by. I have raised funds for my local communities over the years. I have, through the collaboration of me as the county commissioner and as a part of being the board as well, helped bring thousands of dollars to these local nonprofits… to be able to continue to support these families, whether it is through back to school supplies, whether it is snacks, and just helping the families navigate the school system. You know, it could be as simple as… How do I make sure I get these emails in a language that I read and understand? How do I make sure that if I go into the orientation day for my student who’s entering kindergarten, and there are a bunch of flyers that are spread out, but they’re not in a language that these parents understand? So making sure that a lot of the literature is in several different languages… whether it is Urdu, whether it is Hindi, whether it is Telugu, Gujarati, whether it is Russian… so many other languages. Helping families support in smaller ways and larger ways through connections and collaborations.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: On the DuPage County Board, you’ve chaired important committees. Which initiative or policy are you most proud of so far?
Saba Haider: So currently on the DuPage County board, I am the chair of the strategic planning committee and the chair of the Environmental Committee. And I’m co-chairing, rather, I should say, I’m the vice chair of the Ad Hoc Housing Committee. Now, these three things, I feel like, are just such impactful work.
As we look at our strategic plan, our goal is to be able to make sure that we’re meeting all our targets when we look at the major strategic pillars. So, being able to track the successes of all the different departments under the county board has been huge, and I am happy to report that we are on track, and we are not only just meeting our standards, but really excelling.
In terms of the Environmental Committee Chair, I am just really honored to be working with an incredible staff. In fact, just very recently, the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus awarded us from bronze to a silver status in all of the things that we are doing as a county to move towards a greener county… whether we have EV chargers at our facility, whether our roofs have solar panels, whether instead of growing grass, we grow native plants that are a place for monarch butterflies, tons of native bird species, and just really keeping the quality of the soil intact and strong because we know that native plants, their roots go tens of feet down into the ground versus the grass that’s like hardly four or six inches down. So it really helps bind the soil together… this is the stuff that I have a background in!
Political Career & Advocacy
Dr. Shabana Parvez: As Chairperson of the AAPI Caucus for Will & DuPage Counties, what has been your biggest achievement in building representation for the Asian American community?
Saba Haider: So I co-founded this caucus with many of the other community leaders. DuPage is the second largest county in the state of Illinois with about a million people. And Will is right behind that. This is a great area to be able to do that. DuPage and Will are also the two counties where the population of Asian American Pacific Islander population is growing rapidly. So the idea of bringing this caucus together was to do three things.
One, engage the AAPI communities in the civic process. Two, educate the community about who is going to be on their ballot. Where do they stand? Who aligns with the values that really matter to us? And number three, help them run for office. So they can represent themselves. Oftentimes we want to run for office, but we just don’t know where to start. So can we create an infrastructure? Can we create a system that they can see and say, oh, I can reach out to the AAPI Caucus and ask for guidance and resource. And we’ve been able to do that. We’ve been able to help several candidates with their campaigns, with their strategy, with engaging the local communities, and the work will continue.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You’ve announced your run for District 84 State Representative. What key issues will you focus on for your constituents?
Saba Haider: So for me, truly, the basis of my campaign is three things. Safety, success, and sustainability.
Safety by expanding mental health and addiction services to my communities. When I’m on the DuPage County Board of Health, we have worked really hard to bring to DuPage County a facility of its kind, called the Crisis Recovery Center (CRC), where we are providing mental health resources, not only to our adults, but also to our youth. And this has not happened anywhere else in the country, except in DuPage County, where we are providing these services to youth as young as five. We welcome everyone. Insured, uninsured, underinsured. And that has been transformational. I want to be able to expand that model to the state level.
The second thing is success. We become successful when the families in our communities are thriving, when the children receive the best education, when the families have the jobs that allow them to have that sense of safety and security. Especially as a small business owner, I know the challenges. I carried my business through COVID. I had no idea how to survive in a climate like that. So taking all of these skills to help families thrive economically.
And finally, focus on sustainability. How do we make sure we continue to invest in green infrastructure? How do we maintain the infrastructure that we already have, and help create policies that are going to protect our air, land and water for generations to come.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: Public health has been central to your work. How do you see your role in shaping healthcare policy at the state level?
Saba Haider: That’s an excellent question. At a micro level, we are doing that at the health department. We are working on making sure young mothers have the resources that they need. Making sure children have access to vaccinations, to early childhood health care. Making sure that mental health and substance abuse is the core. The numbers are exponentially rising. We are past the pandemic, but the ramifications, the consequences, we are still figuring out how to deal with those. So how do we make sure that we provide that infrastructure to our students, to our families, to our seniors, to our young mothers? That’s going to be the core.
I am one of many in the state assembly. And my goal is to work as a team leader, as a team member, as someone who is going to collaborate with other leaders in the assembly to make things happen. And that’s how I work overall, whether it’s my business, whether it is my volunteer work… and I’ll continue to work in the assembly with my future colleagues, hopefully, to make all of these things happen.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What has been your biggest challenge in local politics, and how have you overcome it?
Saba Haider: When you run for office and then you work with people at that capacity where you’re representing hundreds of thousands of people, you will always face challenges. Sometimes there is something on the agenda that becomes quite controversial, something that people really deeply, passionately care about. And my job is to make sure that I listen to everyone, that I’m hearing everyone’s point of view, whether they align with me politically or not. When I am elected, I am representing everyone. So my job is to listen to everyone and work with my staff to come up with a solution that is going to benefit most of the people. And that’s been my strategy all these years.
We will always have challenges. There will always be room to grow. I often joke that being a politician is like being jack of all trades and master of none. You have to know a little bit about everything, but we don’t really become masters of everything. And that’s where we rely on our amazing staff. They’re really experts of their field. And we work with them to make sure that whatever challenges we face, we find a path that helps the most people.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You’ve received endorsements from several influential leaders. What does that support mean to you personally and politically?
Saba Haider: It means a lot to me. It means that they see the work that I have done over the years. The fact that the chair of the DuPage County Board, Chairwoman Deb Conroy, immediately said, I will endorse you and I will support you, means a lot. The Asian American Caucus at the state level is endorsing me. Representative Theresa Mah and Senator Ram Villivalam are supporting me and helping me navigate being a candidate. So having their support means they truly respect their leadership and I’m also grateful that they see my body of work and know that I will work hard to hopefully be able to win this election.
Family & Personal Life
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You’re also a wife and mom. What would you say is the secret to your success? If there was a secret sauce what would it be?
Saba Haider: I would say there are two things. One, again, it sounds cliche, but truly just be yourself. Know what you stand for, know what you believe in, really sit down with yourself and write all of these things down. And once you have a clear idea, just be that, embody that. As a species, we are evolved to know fake from real. And when you are really, truly embodying your truth, people see that, people feel that.
Number two, I got this piece of advice from one of our senior staff members: “Saba, never forget you’re one of many board members. No matter how amazing your idea is, you are one of many. And in order for you to allow for your vision to come to fruition, you have to work with your team.” So knowing that building coalitions, building support systems around you, working with others, I feel like is my secret sauce.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What lessons from motherhood do you carry into your leadership and policy-making roles?
Saba Haider: Everything, especially the fact that there are no weekends off. There are no evenings off. Sometimes, as a mother, you are never done. There is no nine to five here. You are always on the go. You’re always doing something. And that aspect of motherhood is so aligned with who you are as a public servant, because your job is really never done. Being a public servant isn’t a nine to five job. Our weekends are sometimes the most busiest time of the week. Motherhood has trained me for that.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: How do you keep yourself healthy / well? Any particular routine? I’m guessing yoga and meditation are in there somewhere.
Saba Haider: Good guess. Yes, for sure. I truly do feel that being able to practice yoga and meditation helps me get out of my head. When you are in public service, sometimes you get bogged down by a lot of these heavy things. So being able to take myself out of my own head and practice, and sometimes even teaching, can take me out of that public servant mindset. Making sure that I’m practicing regularly, that I’m physically taking care of myself, that I have the mental acuity and clarity to be able to look at things objectively, to be able to make intelligent decisions. My practice of yoga and meditation has tremendously helped me being able to do that.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: How has your family supported and inspired your public service journey?
Saba Haider: Again, as I said, sometimes when I am mulling over a situation, I’m thinking of a problem from a certain mindset. And I’m often coming to the same conclusions because I sometimes can have these set patterns. But sometimes when I have those conversations and open that problem up to my family—my 17-year-old, my 13-year-old, or my husband (he’s from a banking background)—they bring a unique perspective. Being able to have different ideas and perspectives, being able to have these conversations where they’re challenging me, pushing my mindset further, has been hugely helpful. Being able to have the perspective of a 17-year-old boy or a 13-year-old girl… How does she see social media? How does she see policies affecting her life? Those conversations have tremendously been helpful.
Fun & Personality
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What’s a favorite memory from your school days at Holy Child School that still makes you smile?
Saba Haider: The most fun part was biking from my house to my school, which was about six, seven miles each way, with a group of friends. Every day together, we would leave our house early morning, bike for seven miles to go to our school. This was an all-girls convent school. So these bunch of girls just riding the bike every day… the friendships that we have built, the connections, the laughter, the joy, the simple… you’re ready for school. And you’re out in the sun, you’re exercising. Some of these women are still my closest friends.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: If you could invite three people—living or historical—for dinner, who would they be and why?
Saba Haider: This is really hard. Just three is really hard.
- Dr. Jane Goodall. I was really heavily influenced by her. I’m currently reading her book, The Book of Hope. Being able to sit down with Dr. Goodall would be phenomenal, she’s been an icon for me.
- Mehdi Hassan, the journalist. Just his ability to be able to debate, his communication skills. I think every politician, every public speaker can learn a lot from him.
- The women of my background, my grandmothers, my great-grandmothers. I want to get into their psyche and understand how did they push through? My grandmother taught herself how to read English so she could take public transport. She read the Bible in Urdu in the 1930s and 40s. I would really want to sit down with my ancestors.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What’s one fun fact about you that most people in politics or the community might not know?
Saba Haider: Okay, I’ll share two.
- I have lived in the jungles to follow endangered species. I’ve sat outside of a leopard den following the movement of the leopardess and she had just given birth to these cubs. Oftentimes people don’t know that aspect of my training.
- I love ghazals. I love music a lot. I’m a really bad singer. As much as I love listening to it, I’m a horrible singer. But I just love Urdu poetry. I love ghazals. I love Hindi songs.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: How do you unwind after a long day of meetings, campaigning, and community work?
Saba Haider: My unwinding is, at the end of the day, just snuggling with my kids and watching something mindless on Netflix sometimes. It doesn’t happen very often, I wish it happened more often. Just watching something silly and funny and relaxing. And then having a cup of chai with my besties. They get me out of my head. They keep me in check as well. I think we need a tribe of women, a tribe of friends that keep you really real and true and hold you accountable. And I’m very blessed to have these amazing women in my life. So that helps me unwind.
Closing & Message
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What message would you like to share with South Asian women and our readers who look up to leaders like you?
Saba Haider: That’s an excellent question. My message to all the young South Asian women is to find leaders and mentors in your community, and ask for help. And when you’re looking for mentors, don’t look for super successful people. Look for people that are doing just the next step that you want to do. So sometimes we think we should talk to a congressman or a senator. While that is great, you really need to understand how to take the next step. So find a mentor who’s already living that next step, whether it is politics, healthcare, education, or research. Then find the next step and then the next.
Don’t hesitate in asking for help. People enjoy being asked for help and being a mentor. The mentors really enjoy being able to mentor someone. I think that’s something that is not easy for us as women… We think it’s a burden to ask for help, while there are plenty of people out there that are willing to help you.
That being said, if anyone who’s listening to this wants to be in politics, especially South Asian women, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can find me at Saba Haider, and I’ll be more than happy to answer your questions, sit down with you, have a Zoom just like this to chat with you, and be of service.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: Thank you so much. It was a really enjoyable discussion. I love your passion and how you blend the jungle into politics and public service. It’s all beautiful collaboration and how family and strength support you through it. Your message about just being authentic is resonating. A lot of the women I’ve spoken to have similar… the same thing, like be yourself, know what you stand for and be that. And that’s really the biggest, one of the biggest secrets for success as well.
Saba Haider: And often, it is seen very cliche. When you say be yourself, we’ve seen this written on an empty number of things. And as you have to know who that is before you be it. That’s where a lot of people forget.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: Anyway, thank you so much. It was a pleasure, and we wish you all the best.
Saba Haider: Thank you, Dr. Parvez. I really appreciate the opportunity to be able to speak to you. Thank you to your team in making this possible. You are so thorough. Your questions were so amazing, so professional, and I truly appreciate and honor this interaction with you.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: Thank you so much.
