Class 35

Talha is a practiced marketing and communications professional with more than five years of experience in the non-profit and corporate sector. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from COMSATS Institute of Information Technology. Furthermore, he has 5 course certifications in Gamification, Screenwriting, Online Marketing Fundamentals, and English Composition from UPenn, Lahore University of Management Sciences, The Digital Garage and Duke University respectively. He is passionate about fighting social issues and ensuring the provision of education for the indigents. He is usually led by the purity of intent rather than the desirability of rewards which is why he got attached with social work at a very young age. Since 2012, he is a member of Message Welfare Trust which provides free education to destitute students and promotes safe blood donations. Professionally, he was recently working at one of the most notable educational networks in Pakistan, Beaconhouse Group, as the Head of New Media. He has previously worked for Ignite, an advertising agency, as Strategy Manager and a social enterprise, Artistan, as Marketing and Communications Specialist. Also, having worked at a number of companies in marketing and communication has enabled him to refine his skill set and become a seasoned resource in the field. Also, having worked at a number of companies in marketing and communication has enabled him to refine his skill set and become a seasoned resource in the field.

Host Organization: Building Excellent Schools

Role at Building Excellent Schools: At Building Excellent Schools (BES), Talha will be critical to the national rebrand of the organization. He will support the leadership team in gathering and analyzing industry trends to support strategic decisionmaking and liaise with leaders, funders, and key stakeholders to gain a greater understanding of the current landscape and future possibilities for BES.

Saket Mani is an entrepreneur, global youth activist, community mobilizer and a strategist focusing on advocacy, partnership, grassroots program implementation & communications. He is focused on driving advocacy and policy on sustainable development, skill development, education, youth & human rights, climate change, and gender justice. A natural leader and globally recognized activist, he is powerfully equipped with superior communication and interpersonal skills and has a refined understanding of multicultural & multilingual partnerships to maximize strategic benefit. Mindful of the need for inclusive advocacy, Saket’s outreach engages change makers from rural, semi-urban, and urban areas. A committed champion for gender rights, Saket currently serves as the UN Women’s Youth Planet 50/50 Champion for Gender Equality. Highlighting the power of volunteerism, he mobilized 200,000+ people to commit and pledge support for ‘HeForShe’, the UN Women’s Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality. Saket is the founding member of 1M1B (1 Million for 1 Billion) Foundation, which is a 501c3 leadership, entrepreneurship and an innovation initiative aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition to his work on gender rights, he served as the Global Youth Advocate for the UN Secretary General’s My World 2015 Global Citizen Survey, which crowdsourced approx. 7 million young people to voice their perspectives and concerns regarding the development of the SDGs. Additionally, he is the founder of the ‘Youth Love Development’ Facebook group (25,000+ Members) and is a wannabe tech enthusiast, a feminist, voracious reader, gastronome, and cultural explorer.

Host Organization: American India Foundation

Role at American India Foundation At the American India Foundation (AIF), Saket will support the CEO and strategically assess progress, evaluate opportunities and determine fit within the organization’s priorities. He will create and update organizational dashboards and annual business calendars to review KPI’s and manage a variety of long term projects.

Sahar Zafar completed her Hons. degree in Liberal Arts in 2011 and has since been working closely with the education, media and humanitarian sectors. She has also worked as a Producer for a national news channel covering local current affairs, culture, and economic issues. She has experience in working with parliamentarians and has developed an in-depth analysis of key public policy issues. In 2015, she started working for Community World Service Asia as a Media Consultant and has gained experience in initiatives for the protection of social and political rights of religious minority groups and their equality. She has also worked as a Visual Media Specialist for a USAID Program, aiming to create awareness and generate support for the socio-political identity of vulnerable youth in South Punjab, Pakistan.

Host Organization: PICO California

Role at PICO California: At PICO California, Sahar will serve as a Communications Coordinator Fellow, providing internal artistic design and creating branding and marketing collateral for the organization. In her role, she will materialize the mission and vision of the organization while focusing on elevating the stories and prophetic witness of California’s leaders and clergy.

Niccolò Martelli is a twenty-three-year-old who obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Florence last October. He has an excellent certified knowledge of the English language and a good knowledge of Spanish; qualities that allowed him to follow an Erasmus semester abroad in Sweden where he expanded his knowledge in the business field. Although his academic background is strongly aimed at a company, Niccolò has always been interested in the nonprofit sector, as shown by the two years he spent serving as a free volunteer at the UNITALSI Toscana Association. His role at the association is to cooperate in the production of theatrical performances where the actors are disabled people of all ages. The meetings for the staging of the show also have the role of sensitizing spectators on topics such as the removal of architectural barriers, the human rights to which disabled people are entitled and the preservation of the environment. Niccolò is also strongly interested in journalism and in his spare time he devotes himself to writing articles on current events and the environment, which he publishes on a blog created by himself so that it will become an integral part of his future work.

Host Organization: Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Role at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights: At Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Niccolò will further the Workplace Dignity Program, a new initiative building on Robert F. Kennedy’s legacy. He will have the unique opportunity to define and implement innovations to achieve more respectful and dignified corporate workplace cultures and will join a team responsible for strategy development, training development, and ongoing learning.

João Fernandes is a young Brazilian professional with three years of experience both in the nonprofit sector and in the internationalization of higher education. He actively collaborated on the implementation of a mailing office in a local community not reached by this public service, delivering dignity and equality throughout the neighborhood, more than just mail. With hands-on work, João is acting as a fundraiser for the “Happy Postman” project that aims to alleviate poverty in his city through donations of food, clothes, and toys. He increased his sense of solidarity, determination, and, above all, the certainty that this is his greatest personal achievement. João also has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and an MBA in Strategic Business Management. In the area of Higher Education, he has been responsible for the internationalization of the students’ experience, through mobility and non-mobility academic programs, and contributing on the improvement of the Continuing Education sub-areas such as Post-graduate, Research, Extension, Language, Student committees and Employability. Able to balance multiple competing priorities, demonstrating a natural aptitude for interacting with people and providing service with a smile.
João is passionate about democracy, multiculturalism and social development.

Host Organization: Laureate

Role at Laureate: At Laureate, João will reimagine and relaunch the organization’s Student Ambassador program, facilitating greater visibility for their 875,000 students. He will seek student input into policy and thought leadership initiatives, assist across a range of communications relate activities, and provide project management, event, and translation support.

Hafsah Sarfraz is a development communication professional and a freelance journalist from Islamabad, Pakistan. She has a seven-year experience of journalism has covered social issues, women’s and children issues, education, life & style, and art & culture extensively for leading English newspapers of Pakistan. Hafsah has also reported for The Express Tribune, partner of The International New York Times. As a communications professional, she has worked for USAID’s Public Outreach and Communication Activity for M&C Saatchi World Services, a global London based advertising firm. Through this experience, she developed strong communication skills, storytelling, and digital media skills. She was awarded for her continued resourcefulness, proactive teamwork to highlight USAID’s work through storytelling using print publications and digital media. She has also led the communications for USAID Advancing Girls’ Education and Skills at World Learning, an international nonprofit organization that focuses on international development, education, and exchange programs. Hafsah is a graduate of the Queen Mary University of London. She is a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum. Hafsah likes to travel, tell stories, photograph and indulge in delicious food.

Host Organization: Cultural Vistas

Role at Cultural Vistas At Cultural Vistas, Hafsah will execute integrated communications and PR initiatives that raise public awareness of the organization’s exchange programs. She will work with the Senior Director of External Affairs to implement publicity and thought leadership campaigns designed to highlight Cultural Vistas’ role in helping shape the future of work and promote the annual awards gala in New York.

George is a development aficionado with eight years’ experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Cell Biology and Genetics from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He possesses exceptional knowledge in project formulation, data management, and research assignments in various donor-funded health and education projects including those of the World Bank, USAID, and Global Fund. While working as a Programme Officer (Health and Education) with the International Institute for Local Development under the Literacy in Education project, he worked in collaboration with USAID’s Northern Education Initiative Plus (NEI+) to improve the literacy skills in public primary school pupils in focus states in Nigeria. Previously, George worked as an ENR (Enhancing Nigeria’s Response to HIV/AIDS) consultant with the Society for Family Health, where he helped improve institutional and resource capacity of both government and community actors and scaled up access to services and commodities related to health matters especially Malaria, Cervical Cancer, and HIV & AIDS. George believes in community volunteerism, which led him to join the Nigerian Red Cross Society as a Service Group Member. Through these experiences, he developed strong Monitoring and Evaluation skills in both education and health interventions. In addition to his multilingual skills in English, Igbo, and basic French, he is also very passionate about socioeconomic development strengthening and also fostering positive and sustainable change in his country and the world as a whole.

Host Organization: Sheltering Arms

Role at Sheltering Arms At Sheltering Arms, George will collect, compile and analyze programmatic data with a lens toward outcome study, development and implementation. He will work closely with the programs, quality improvement, and development teams and with senior leadership to identify and develop outcome measures to be utilized in designated programs.

Fidelis has a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy and a Masters Degree in Diplomacy and Strategic Studies. He has 4 years experience as a Human Capital Development Practitioner, Social Sector Leader and Project Manager. He is currently the C.E.O at Diploage Finishing Academy, and the Executive Director, Youth Aid Development Foundation, where he designs, coordinates and implements human capital and social development projects (including leadership development programs, employability and professional development trainings, advocacy, talent acceleration programs for graduates, startups, entrepreneurs as well as empowerment initiatives for Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria). Fidelis works with grassroots and community/faith-based organizations, educational institutions and international non-profit in promoting high-impact programs that enhance the capacity of unemployed youth, startups, entrepreneurs and Persons with Disabilities, in developing professional skills, access jobs, gain decent employment and become productive members of the society. Fidelis has volunteered as a leadership development consultant with many grassroots organizations, civic hubs, startup companies and Non-Government Organizations(NGOs). Through these experiences, he has developed apt competence in leadership development, programs design and management, capacity building, project management, social work, training and development, consulting for nonprofits, youth employability, and community mobilizing. He is committed to building high-impact ecosystems that provides leadership and economic opportunities for 100 million unemployed youth and Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria. Fidelis enjoys topics on Inclusive Development, Leadership, Employment and the Future of Work.

Host Organization: Barack Obama Foundation

Role at Barack Obama Foundation: At the Obama Foundation, Fidelis will serve as an International Program Fellow, playing an important role in the development and execution of programs that will empower the next generation of civic, business, and social sector leaders. Fidelis will help to design and evolve the organization’s Africa and Asia Leaders convenings and year-long training programs, their Scholars program, and their alumni engagement.

Ejaz has seven years’ experience of monitoring, evaluation, and research for diverse community development projects. He earned a Master’s degree in Management from IMSciences, Peshawar, Pakistan. He is currently working with the United Nations Development Program in a post-crisis situation in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on enhancing the capacities of justice and security sector institutions with particular focus on gender responsive and community policing on the supply side and access to justice for vulnerable groups including women and children on the demand side of the justice and security chain. In his current capacity, Ejaz develops and implements M&E systems, devises protocols for research and manages teams associated with program and research assignments. He has been instrumental in annual project planning and aligning of interventions with broader sectorial and national goals. He is an expert user of data analysis software’s and analyzes large pool of data for reporting and program and policy decisions. Previously, he worked with a rural development program focusing on pro-poor value chain development and management, climate change adaptation and rural livelihood for indigenous mountain communities in Northern Pakistan. He secured livelihoods for poor small farmers particularly women and produced an experimental evidence base combining capacity building interventions and action research. Ejaz also worked with model legal empowerment of the poor program contributing to methodology design and managing field teams on an innovative impact evaluation combining RCT’s with case tracking and ethnography. Ejaz takes pride in his work and contemplates ways to help his community in securing a better quality of life.

Host Organization: Worldreader

Role at Worldreader: At Worldreader, Ejaz will serve as an Impact & Evaluation (I&E) Fellow, assisting the I&E Department in building and streamlining measurement and evaluation processes. He will develop M&E strategies, conduct data analysis, ensure proper maintenance of data storage systems, and complete special projects.