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Sheena Medina 🫀

@sheenamedina

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🇵🇷 x 🏳️‍🌈
Fotos y Recuerdos 🥹
📍Brooklyn, NY
If you saw me on TikTok, no you didn't 🫶

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Hey friends! A note on who I am, what I do, and what I’m calling in.

I am a Brooklyn-based writer, strategist, and community builder with over 15 years of experience across media, design, and technology. I’m passionate about shaping stories that spotlight underrepresented voices and critique the systems—both visible and invisible—that shape our everyday lives.

I work independently with mission-driven clients to align their vision with smart, soulful strategy. Whether that’s launching a podcast 🎙️, refining a digital identity 📲, or helping build communities rooted in care and connection 🤝, I bring a thoughtful, creative approach to everything I do.

Currently, I’m proud to serve as the Managing Editor at @designobserver, a respected platform with a 20-year legacy that is now redefining who they are and what they cover. I’m proud to play a role in that evolution, helping expand the conversation around equity, leadership, and democracy.

A proud Puerto Rican 🇵🇷and longtime New Yorker 🗽, I’m fluent in English, Spanish, and conversational Hindi. I care deeply about community, both locally and on the island, and believe in the power of story, strategy, and solidarity.

Today, I’m calling in aligned collaborators, co-conspirators, and creative thinkers who want to tell stories that matter, build thoughtful spaces, and make meaning together. 🌱

Let’s connect:
📧 hi@sheenamedina.com

📸: A kind stranger in Washington Square Park took these photos!

#community #storytelling #media #design #equity #strategy #creativework #latinxcreatives taken in Washington Square Park by @sheenamedina

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a year ago

Wears a kurta *once*

Five Diwalis in (still not repeating a fit), and each one feels like a celebration not just of light, but of friendship, creativity, and community. Watching @simishah___ and @southasiantrailblazers shine brighter every year has been such a joy. Simi is a true powerhouse, connector, and friend who keeps raising the bar every year.

Here’s to the light we share and the lessons we keep learning 🪔✨

Second photo by @inraispov taken in Dilli Dilli Nyc by @sheenamedina

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a year ago

So much of my job is about capturing moments for others: clients, shows, stories, the joy of a shared experience. But every now and then, someone captures a moment 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦.

I’ve admired @poornagraphy’s work for years, from @deliboyshulu to Never Have I Ever. Getting to share a laugh with her in a moment that was joyful, spontaneous, and real was a true gift.

Working with @djrekha on this iconic event has been an honor. Over the past few weeks, I’ve helped shape the story of the show, from behind-the-scenes to behind-the-screen. It’s been a joy to help bring this celebration of culture and community to life.

Thank you @dancingreena for capturing what it looks like when things click. When you get to be exactly where you’re meant to be. 🥹

📍Flushing Meadows Corona Park
🫶🏼Basement Bhangra Beyond, 2025

@SummerStage @cpfnyc taken in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park by @sheenamedina

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a year ago

A soft interruption to the scroll: I hardly ever post to grid anymore. Honestly, I wish I could divest from Meta entirely.

But here’s a small moment from a bright Spring day at South Street Seaport celebrating Holi.

Holi always reminds me that joy and consent go hand in hand. Before the colors, before the photos, before the fun, there’s always the quiet ask, “Is this okay?” Especially in a crowd full of strangers, especially when bodies are involved. Shoutout to the queer folks who led by example and made space for that today.

Underneath all the bright powder and smiles, I was feeling a little tender too. Funny how a single day can hold both things: lightness on the outside, something heavier within. 🩵 taken in South Street Seaport by @sheenamedina

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a year ago

un verano contigo 🇵🇷✨ taken in P FKN R by @sheenamedina

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2 years ago

not in word list seems sus 👀🐝 taken in New York Times by @sheenamedina

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3 years ago

What do you celebrate? 🥳 It sounds like a paradox in times of crisis, chaos, and distress, but carving out a moment for joy is an act of resistance and vital to our survival. 🫶

The Celebration Lab was created by my dear friend, @jelabela. What started as a photography series featuring confetti 🎉eventually evolved into a beautiful way to process grief, and a visual study on human identity and what happens when you cultivate a space for unencumbered self-expression.

In her words, “Play can help you balance the density, regulate the pain, and give you a reprieve… Giving ourselves permission to laugh, cry, dance, scream - let it all go - is how we learn to self-soothe in healthy ways. That is what creates hope when we can’t seem to find it anywhere else.”

The next Empowerment Celebration Lab will be on 2.3.24 at @theannexbk and will explore the nuances of self-love and self-trust as a form of self-celebration. Here, celebration is redefined as an invitation in slowing down enough to discover the beauty and meaning in our everyday experiences. In other words, celebration helps us reconnect to being alive when we forget. ❤️

📸: @the_confetti_project
📍: @thenewworkproject

#TheConfettiProject #photography #photobooth #photoshoot #photog #photoexperience #events #thingstodo #nyc #nycevents #brooklyn #party #thingtodonyc #funtimes #funevents taken in The Annex by @sheenamedina

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3 years ago

QUEER JOY 🥳 In celebration of “los quince” years of @emergenyc_art and the hundreds of reinas, chambelanes, and artists it has nurtured, @baxarts hosted an epic QUEERCEAÑERA—a queering of the quinceañera party + fundraiser!🎂👑🎉🎈

In Brooklyn, we had a beautiful gathering of the extended community at the intersection of art and liberation to celebrate, reconnect, and show gratitude for the people who have ushered EmergeNYC through the years. Most importantly, there was QUEER JOY 🥳

For me, it was incredibly affirming to dress how I would have *loved* to dress for my own high school prom but didn’t have the language (or courage) to do so.

Thanks to @mariquitas.band for getting the party started con sazón y… feliz cumple Emerge!

📸: @photojuice
🎨: @domenicamgarcia taken in 3 Dollar Bill by @sheenamedina

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3 years ago

Thank u to @shoplatinx 🤝 @shopify for these dope headshots to kickoff Latinx Heritage History Month.

It’s meaningful to make things like this free and accessible to all. As a first generation college grad and someone who has struggled w my own identity, it’s so affirming and empowering to see others who look like me forge their own path and see success. 🥹

Gracias por todo. Deseo verte seguir brillando!✨💙🫶

#shoplatinx #shoplatinxbiz #latina #latinxheritagemonth #hispanicheritagemonth #queerpride #nyc #shopify #latinehistory #latineheritagemonth taken in SoHo, Manhattan by @sheenamedina

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3 years ago

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you really are.” - Carl Jung
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In a 2010 PBS documentary on the Buddha, poet Jane Hirshfield said, “In order to gain anything, you must first lose everything.” Of course she was referring to the life story of Siddhartha, the Prince who gave up attachment to absolutely everything in order to gain self-realization.
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In many ways, these last 4 years have felt very much like a loss of everything I had worked so hard to build in my life. I fought hard for an education not afforded to my parents or siblings only to be saddled with crushing debt. When I started making real money, I struggled to understand how to advance in my career. Social media changed all of our lives, and then I wrestled with being defined as a marketer, which felt shallow and empty.
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The pandemic changed all of our lives, again. I fell into darkness. I felt deep loss and couldn’t see a way out. At my lowest point, I didn’t see a future for myself.
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Yet, by some miracle I survived. I kept going. I reached out for help, which was painful and vulnerable and filled me with shame. But with work and a ton of compassion and patience, I eventually realized that I’m not a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad failure of a human being. I discovered there is so much to gain by simply letting go— of control, of the idea of who I was “supposed” to be. I began to accept where I am and who I am, today. What a journey! 😭
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I have been so fortunate to meet a lot of good people along the way, and some of those people have become friends, lovers, and chosen family. Yes, I mean YOU, dear reader. Without you, I wouldn’t be here today. You have shown me the power of community. Of showing up. Of not giving up. Most importantly, you’ve shown me that I don’t have to “earn” your love. That I am worthy and capable and deserving of love, simply for being me. What a gift! 🥹

Thank you for being in my life. Even if we haven’t talked recently, I have learned something valuable from you. And I will cherish and take it with me forever and ever. Thank you for reading.

With so much love,
✨🧡🥹🫶🥰 taken in Crying In A Corner by @sheenamedina

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3 years ago

In a Sentimental Mood 🌸✨🫶🧡 by @sheenamedina

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3 years ago

When I’m feeling low sometimes I visit this temple in Queens. It has good energy💫 and they say if you sit on the floor you can absorb the vibrations. 🫶
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#nyc #ganesha #ganesh #ganeshtemple #ganeshtemplecanteen #hindutemple #hindutemples #hindutemplesocietyofnorthamerica #newyorkcity #newyork #flushing #queens #thingstodoinnyc #thingstodo #vegetarian #explorepage #explore #explorenyc #fypシ #fyp taken in Ganesh Temple Canteen by @sheenamedina

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4 years ago