Rising Stars: Meet Nyah Abdala of Buckhead

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nyah Abdala.

Hi Nyah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Growing up on the island of Jamaica taught me the true meaning of hard work, perseverance, and responsibility. For a long time, I believed my family and I grew up in poverty. Looking back now, I realize I had an incredibly rich childhood. I lived across the street from an expansive ocean, planted my feet in the soil, ate whole foods from the trees in our yard, and ended each day together over meals my mum prepared. I had both of my parents wishing me good morning and good night, siblings and cousins who made each day feel full, playful, and wholesome. That was true wealth.

That environment shaped how I understood life early on. Not despite the hardships, but because of them, I learned what it meant to live fully. We never lacked what we truly needed, and I watched my family consistently make something from nothing. In many ways, those moments shaped me into the woman I am today—someone who, much like my mother, knows how to create beauty, meaning, and possibility from whatever is placed in front of her. It instilled in me a deep respect for consistency, resilience, and applying myself fully to whatever season I was in.

When my family moved permanently to the United States, I was in the ninth grade. As an immigrant, I became deeply aware of the duality of striving: holding big dreams while also being met with the opportunity to truly pursue and actualize them. I completed high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, graduating at the top of my class as valedictorian—an achievement that earned me a scholarship to attend Florida A&M University, where I studied Journalism.

A week after graduating from college, I flew to New York City with hopes of building a career in fashion journalism. That path shifted after a work trip to Milan for Fashion Week in 2016. While the experience was exciting, I realized it wasn’t the world where I wanted to offer my gifts or create lasting impact. It didn’t feel aligned. I pivoted and began creating content independently for lifestyle brands, navigating New York and building my career. It wasn’t easy, but independence and freedom mattered deeply to me, and I found ways to make it work through resilience and self-trust.

When I moved to Atlanta in 2018, my creative work continued to expand. I grew my career working with lifestyle and wellness brands as a social media manager, content creator, and creative director—helping shape brand visibility, identity, and storytelling. I began set designing for creative projects, and as people recognized my eye for design, I was invited to design larger spaces and studios.

That evolution made it clear to me that I’ve always been a multi-hyphenate creative. Whether I’m building a brand, directing visual concepts, or telling a story, my work is rooted in intention and connection. Marketing has been fulfilling in many ways—it challenges me creatively, allows me to think strategically, and gives me the opportunity to collaborate with inspiring people while contributing to meaningful work across disciplines.

At the same time, supporting others in bringing their visions to life encouraged me to reflect more deeply on my own. Alongside my creative and professional work, I’ve felt a growing desire to share my perspective, voice, and lived experience more openly. My journey has consistently called me to evolve, to not settle for who or where I was at any given moment, and to transform challenges into tools for growth.

Today, I see my work as expansive rather than singular. Whether through marketing, storytelling, or speaking, my focus is on offering tools and perspective that help others move beyond their current circumstances through an empowered, thoughtful approach—one that supports connection, clarity, and meaningful impact. I’m excited to continue peeling back my own layers, growing alongside my community, and exploring new ways to share resources that genuinely support personal expansion. Every skill I’ve developed informs this work in ways that feel aligned, intentional, and continuously evolving.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but it has been a meaningful one. Many of the challenges I’ve faced weren’t just external, but internal—learning how to trust myself, honor my intuition, and release patterns of over-giving and people-pleasing. There were seasons of uncertainty, financial instability, and moments where choosing independence meant choosing discomfort.

Navigating new cities, industries, and identities required resilience. From building a career without a clear blueprint to starting over creatively more than once, I learned that growth often asks us to sit with the unknown longer than we’d like. There were times I questioned whether I was doing enough or moving fast enough, especially while watching others follow more linear paths.

Over time, I began to understand that each step was quietly preparing me for the next. Every challenge sharpened my discernment, strengthened my self-trust, and clarified what alignment actually feels like. What once felt like detours revealed themselves as necessary groundwork.

Looking back, I see that none of it was wasted. The uncertainty, the pivots, the pauses—all of it served a purpose. The road may not have been smooth, but it was formative, and it shaped the clarity, resilience, and compassion I lead with today.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work lives at the intersection of storytelling, strategy, and human experience. I’m a multi-hyphenate creative who works across marketing, content creation, creative direction, and speaking, with a focus on helping brands and individuals communicate with clarity, intention, and emotional resonance. At the core of everything I do is storytelling—how we shape narratives, visually and verbally, in ways that feel honest and connected.

Professionally, I specialize in building brand identities and content strategies for lifestyle and wellness brands, helping them articulate who they are and why they matter. My background in journalism informs how I approach this work: with curiosity, structure, and a deep respect for truth. I’m known for my ability to translate ideas, emotions, and values into cohesive stories that people can actually feel.

What I’m most proud of is not any single title or project, but the trust people place in me—whether it’s a brand inviting me behind the scenes to help shape their vision, or individuals who tell me they feel seen, affirmed, or empowered through my words. I take that responsibility seriously.

What sets me apart is the way my lived experience informs my work. I don’t create from theory alone—I create from having navigated transition, reinvention, and growth firsthand. I bring both strategy and sensitivity, structure and intuition. I know how to build something thoughtfully, whether that’s a campaign, a space, or a message, while honoring the human element at the center of it all.

Ultimately, I’m proud of the fact that my work continues to evolve. I allow it to grow as I grow, staying rooted in alignment rather than limitation. That openness—to learn, refine, and expand—is what keeps my work honest, impactful, and deeply personal.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’ve come to see risk as an inevitable companion to growth. Any time you choose expansion over comfort, you’re stepping into the unknown, and that has been a consistent theme throughout my life. My path has required me to trust myself in moments where clarity wasn’t guaranteed and to move forward before I had all the answers.

I don’t necessarily see myself as a traditional risk-taker, but I do believe in betting on myself. That has meant taking risks that weren’t always visible on the surface—leaving familiar paths, starting over in new cities, pivoting creatively, and choosing alignment even when it felt uncertain. It’s also meant emotional risks: allowing myself to be seen, to be vulnerable, and to share my voice in ways that felt deeply personal.

Each of those moments carried the possibility of failure, judgment, or discomfort. But I’ve learned that avoiding risk often comes at a higher cost—the cost of staying small or outgrowing a life you no longer fit into. Over time, I’ve realized that every step into the unknown has prepared me for what came next, strengthening my resilience and deepening my self-trust.

My perspective on risk now is rooted in intention rather than fear. I ask myself whether a choice supports growth, integrity, and expansion, even if it feels uncomfortable. If it does, I’ve learned to take the step. Risk, for me, isn’t about proving anything—it’s about honoring who I’m becoming, and she will always be worth it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nyahk.abdala/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nyahabdala/