In an area teeming with personality and character, we will be featuring 10 select influencers that are leaving their mark on the Northern Virginia region. Spotlights will be featured on a weekly basis and will range in industry from authors and performers, to tech giants and unique business owners.
One of a kind, one in a billion, a rare breed: Maimah Karmo is a unicorn, and so are you.
“You are special. But how do you stand strong in that specialness, in that unique person that you are?” Karmo says, just one of the many thought-provoking sentiments she gives throughout the interview. “You’re never going to exist again as yourself. It’s one time, it’s one you. That is a beautiful thing.”
In addition to a unicorn, Karmo is also a survivor. She’s been held at gunpoint, struck by lightning and forced to flee from her home country of Liberia at age 15 in the midst of civil war. As a first generation immigrant, she worked three jobs to support her family. And at age 32, Karmo was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer, with no family history of it.
But Karmo never allowed these ordeals to define her—she may have endured trauma, but she is not traumatized. “I don’t think experiences shape you, I think you shape the experience,” she continues. “I look at how I am going to utilize this experience as a catalyst. How am I going to allow myself to change and become better, stronger, more aware … more intentional in living my life, despite what’s happening?”
She ponders on the misconception that hardships add something to one’s existing character. “People think, ‘Wow, I went through this experience, it made me stronger’—it never makes you stronger. You already had the strength before you started that journey. You just didn’t know it was there.”
It’s this kind of inspirational, emboldening talk that has defined Karmo’s mentality ever since she was young. “I’ve always known that I didn’t want to become something that I didn’t choose to be,” Karmo says. “I’ve always had the principle that as long as my heart is still beating and I still have life, I have a choice.”
Karmo recalls first arriving in Northern Virginia, feeling the freedom of simply walking outside and the inherent sense of security. “I loved the greenery, I loved the fresh air, the people were so kind. … The way that people embraced me here, it [felt] like my second home.” Nowadays, her love for NoVA’s natural landscape has not waned; she still enjoys running on the trails near her home in Loudoun County. But she’s also since discovered indoor paradises, as evidenced by her long-standing fondness for Salamander Resort & Spa.
In the midst of chemotherapy but as spirited as ever, Karmo founded her nationwide nonprofit, the Tigerlily Foundation, in 2006. Its mission is to help young women with breast cancer as they face the disease and embark on the grueling path to recovery. This guidance also involves modifying their mindset when grappling with cancer. “I want to change the way cancer patients approach their journey,” she says. “Our goal is to inspire patients to see their journey not as something that leaves them in fear for the rest of their life, but [as] a catalyst for living the life they may not have lived before having cancer.”
Karmo’s mission to spread self-love also inspired her to start a broader-scale empowerment forum, “I Manifest.” The name has evolved from the former “I Manifest Bliss,” and not without reason. “When I first began this work, it was about manifesting joy,” Karmo explains. “But to manifest your bliss, you have to be where you are, and deal with whatever you have to deal with.”
“I Manifest” is about not shying away from conflict, but rather embracing it head-on and allowing yourself to feel the struggle. “I want to inspire people to be able to align with their deepest truth, to intentionally work through challenges and use them as catalysts to live a bigger, better, bolder life … to live a life that’s intentional, purposeful and through which they can manifest peace, happiness and purpose,” details Karmo.
The one-day “I Manifest” conference consists of several activities aiming for personal awakenings in every sense. Renowned speakers share their stories and poignant life lessons on panels while guests learn and perform exercises for both the body and mind.
But the most formative experiences are made by the attendees themselves, the “unicorns” who have already taken a step toward self-improvement by simply choosing to attend. “They engage with the speakers, they engage with people at their tables, and the goal is that by listening and learning, they’ll be transforming,” Karmo says. “They’ll be leaving the event awakened in a way that they weren’t when they came into the room.”
When it all comes down to it, Karmo’s greatest accomplishment by far is being a mother and best friend to her daughter, Noelle. The joy and admiration in her voice is clear when she talks about her 15-year-old. “She’s wonderful, she’s loving, she’s kind, she’s everything I wanted her to be and more. I love being her mom.”
As much as Karmo takes pride in raising a daughter, she also acknowledges the mutuality of it. “I would say she’s really helped me to stretch myself and my capacity to love and be patient. Love is work, you know.”
It may be work, but Karmo wouldn’t trade it for the world. “Just having the idea it’s possible [to] create a life that you love … then things begin to work for you,” Karmo says. “Once you have the idea that you’re worthy of a good life, you begin to change one thing, one part of your body … then over time, that concept becomes integrated into your entire being.”
If you’re interested in participating in an “I Manifest” summit, you’re in luck: the next one is scheduled for Dec. 14, at Tower Club Tysons Corner. // maimah.com
