Pakistan

Fasiha Sharif is a Media & Communication sector professional with 10 years of working experience in Pakistan. She remained associated with different international organizations designing communication and outreach strategies in the area of good governance, rule of law, youth engagement, and post-crisis communication. At the beginning of her career, she remained associated with different media organizations as a freelancer and has worked on youth and women issues in conflict-affected areas of northwestern Pakistan. She is an accomplished radio & television host and digital media influencer. Her freelance engagement with radio has enabled her establishing the first-ever audio recording setup owned and managed by any female in northwestern Pakistan. She has demonstrated skills in content writing, audio & video production, interviewing, and social media management. Having a solution-oriented approach, she is a great team leader and player. She is a multi-tasker and is flexible to adapt to any multi-cultural environment and challenging situation. With qualifications and experience in media and communication, she is enthusiastic to work for the promotion of the industry at all fronts. She is also an alumnus of the US-Pakistan Journalist Professional Exchange Program.

Ali Zafar is a program management professional with six years of experience in the nonprofit sector and he earned two Master’s degrees in Applied and Development Economics from Pakistan and Germany, respectively. He has worked with federal and provincial Governments in Pakistan, UN agencies and international development organizations. The focus of his work is establishing partnerships with stakeholders in government and non-government sectors, formulation of policies and programs, and developing knowledge and learning pathways for existing and future projects for portfolio development, specifically on areas of gender, innovation management, and sustainable development. Ali is currently working as a Planning and Coordination Analyst at UN Women Myanmar, where he supports the formulation of program strategies and implementation of action plans through the integration of systems and design thinking program management approaches. Prior to this assignment, Ali was working as a Social Policy Analyst with UNDP on design, localization, and implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Pakistan. During this time, he led and prepared SDGs’ Implementation Framework for Punjab, conceptualized and steered District Localization Plan for SDGs, wrote reports on data gaps and interlinkages, and built institutional structures with a diverse level of stakeholders. In recognition of his research work, Ali was selected to represent Pakistan as a Young Economist at the fifth Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting on Economic Sciences in 2014. For his achievements as a professional, he was selected by the U.S. Department of State to represent Pakistan as a Governance and Society Professional Fellow in 2018.

Zunaira Ali is a communications expert with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Graphics from the University of Engineering and Technology in Taxila. She has over three years of experience in the development and public sector of Pakistan. Under her recent role as a Digital Media Expert at Pakistan’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene unit with the Federal Ministry of Climate Change, she led the digital initiatives for community participation in the national level “Clean Green Pakistan” movement. Previously, Zunaira worked as a digital media assistant at Alif Ailaan – a DFID funded political advocacy campaign for education reforms in Pakistan, where she developed the campaign’s communication strategy for advocacy with politicians, communities, education department officials, and journalists on the post-elections education reform agenda.

Ishtiaq Hussain has four years of experience in the non-profit sector, government, and private sector. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering from Gomal University. He has diverse work experience as an Executive Director in sustainable development, ICT and innovation for development strategic partnerships. Ishtiaq’s skills relate to advocacy, strategic communications, capacity building, project management, and innovation for sustainable development. In 2018, Ishtiaq founded an information technology consultancy firm, the Social Entrepreneurial Consultants, which aims to increase civic engagement, encouraging young people, and creating and providing innovative solutions in the public domain. Previously, Ishtiaq worked as an IT & Communication officer at Aizan Development Foundation under the German embassy’s project Youth Development Programme. He also worked with the National Information Technology Board as well as with the National Telecommunication Corporation under the Prime Minister Internship Program. The Pyeongchang Memorial Foundation awarded Ishtiaq with the Youth SDGs Action Prize in 2021. He was a report writing finalists of the Earth Institute at Columbia University on ‘Education for Sustainable Development Report’ in 2018, and was the winner of the National SDGs Hackathon by the National Ignite Funds August in 2017. He represented Pakistan in many national and international platforms and is a member of the National Youth Parliament by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency.

Muhammad Ibrahim has five years of experience in the fields of media reporting and social issue documentaries. While recently working with BBC World Service, Muhhammad reported on difficulties faced by people with disabilities in Pakistan, including government and relevant stakeholders’ perspectives on limits to creating one sign language in Pakistan and access to basic facilities for persons with disabilities. He also reported on Hindu Minority community religious places in Sialkot, where a 1,000 year-old temple has been opened after almost 72 years. The report was shared by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on his official social media pages. Muhammad started working for BBC Pakistan in 2019, and in this short time, he was awarded the Agahi Award Journalist of The Year 2019 in the “Global Dignity” category and “Agahi Award Journalist of The Year 2020” in the “Inclusiveness” category for his work at BBC Pakistan.

Hira Jamshed has more than seven years of work experience in the tech industry. Hira earned a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Punjab University, in addition to completing five weeks of Entrepreneur Training Session at Draper University in San Mateo. Hira joined the tech industry in 2013 and is currently leading the Art and Design Teams at Tintash. Throughout her journey, she’s been part of famous IP projects like the BeatBugs Sing-Along App, Care Bears Care Karts, Stick Cricket, and Room Builder, among others. One of the projects she worked on, BeatBugs Sing-Along App, was selected for the “Made with Unity” showcase booth at Unite LA 2018, where she was invited to speak on panels such as “Developing Games Based on a TV Show” and “Unite Creator Career.” She volunteered with Girls Make Games, a nonprofit organization, and mentored 8 to 12 year-old girls in game creation. In March 2018, Girls Make Games invited her to attend the “Games Developers Conference.” Hira has been collaborating with local and international organizations to help young girls become part of the growing tech industry.

Fizza Siddiqui is pursuing a Master of Science in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship from Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan, focusing on Data Analysis and Python. Fizza has three years of experience in the nonprofit sector and research industry. She has served AC Nielsen as a Research Executive and researches several social issues, including the impact of sexism in Pakistan and the emergence of financial technology. Fizza gained experience in community engagement by working with the world’s largest interest-free microfinance institute, Akhuwat, as a Community Outreach & Government Affairs Executive. She helped improve the lives of people living below the poverty line by introducing several projects, including the Interest-Free Business Loans Program, to support SMEs led by underprivileged people. She launched the pilot phase of the project with a portfolio of $150,000 in total. With the help of the network that she had built, she initiated a financial literacy program for over 1,000 active loanees from across Pakistan to promote financial and money management for underprivileged communities. She was fortunate enough to receive support from the State Bank of Pakistan and built a partnership for the project’s funding and execution. Fizza was also selected as a cultural ambassador to represent Pakistan in the United States for four months. She aspires to launch a crowdfunding platform to deploy an ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs who otherwise struggle to secure funds, consequently boosting Pakistan’s economy.

Ambreen Kokab Shah is a technology and transformation consultant, futurist, and professional advisor. Ambreen brings 11 years of diversified corporate experience from across the telecom industry. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications from NED University of Engineering and Technology, she joined satellite company SUPARCO as an Assistant Manager in the Systems Engineering Department. In 2011, Ambreen entered the corporate world by joining Ericsson Pakistan, where she consulted local and international telecommunications giants in the design and optimization of wireless networks, deployment and performance management, presales, and service delivery. Her combined exposure to technical and management issues enabled her to build customer and inter-departmental relationships and develop conflict resolution skills. While earning her Executive MBA from the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi in 2017, she became passionate about social entrepreneurship, especially in the field of education and training. She volunteered as a Baghban Ambassador to transform underprivileged communities with the Citizen Foundation, judged tech projects at universities, mentored Smart City ideation at a hackathon competition, and served as an Innovation Mentor at the 2018 Ericsson Innovation Awards. Ambreen is also a Global Ambassador at WomenTech Network and Circle Chair of Lean In Pakistan Tech. She started her own consulting firm AKS Consulting Space in 2020, which aspires to transform youth, women and organizations through an emphasis on the Sustainable Development Goals. A gold medalist and NLP certified, Ambreen loves to travel and has explored 8 countries.

Awais Farooq is a marketing professional with an avid belief in the power of love and empathy to connect with people. Awais has 4 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector. After he earned his MBA, he worked at a Stanford-funded education and leadership startup called Amal Academy, helping fresh graduates be the best versions of themselves through soft skill development and self-discovery. Awais is passionate about and skilled in a wide range of areas, including outreach and marketing, tech management, professional development, curriculum design, program management, and counseling. He cares about working for a cause bigger than himself. Other than Amal Academy, Awais has taken part in Seth Godin’s Marketing Seminar and the altMBA programs to develop better empathy for his team and his approach to work. These experiences have helped him appreciate the exposure that humans can provide each other and have inspired him to become an Atlas Corps Fellow. He enjoys working in education, youth empowerment, and social awareness and has an overwhelming passion for social inclusion. Awais loves humans and hopes to connect with some amazing humans through his Atlas Corps fellowship.

Host Organization: American Red Cross

Role at Host Organization: At the American Red Cross, Awais will serve as the International Response Knowledge Management & Learning Fellow: supporting the Knowledge Management and Learning efforts for response operations and readiness activities to facilitate access to, utilization of, and learning from existing data, evidence, and knowledge generated from past operations both within the American Red Cross and with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Partners.

Huma Iqbal has over ten years of experience working in Pakistan’s nonprofit sector, and earned her MA from the University of Karachi with a major in Development Communications. Huma is a public health influencer and employs strategic communications to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on policy reforms for family planning services in Pakistan. Working with the Population Council as an Advocacy Manager, Huma lobbies with parliamentarians for stronger legislation on family planning programs, advocates with religious leaders on championing the cause, and leverages the media’s role to influence policy makers and the masses. In her current role, Huma has helped build a new narrative on population, focusing on the balance between population size and resources and breaking away from more traditional and coercive approaches of limiting family size in the past. Previously, Huma worked with Oxfam where she led public and digital campaigns to end child marriages and sexual violence against girls, boys, and the gender minorities of Pakistan. Huma has acquired influencing and leadership skills to influence high-level stakeholders for policy and programmatic action. She has also acquired campaigning skills for effective public and media engagement. Huma is passionate about empowering people and socially and politically equipping them to break structural inequality and live quality lives. Huma likes to explore digital spaces for innovation and freedom of speech.

Jillani has an extensive eight years of experience in the development sector in Pakistan. He earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He has excellent skills and competencies in the areas of project management, administration, logistics control, and monitoring & evaluation. Being a development practitioner, Jillani has undertaken several projects related to community development, public health, youth development, sexual reproductive health and rights, community health centers, and women’s empowerment. He is an active team player and proactively supports and facilitates teamwork in his daily life.

Host Organization: Venture Philanthropy Partners

Role at Venture Philanthropy PartnersAt Venture Philanthropy Partners, Jillani will serve as an Operations Analyst Fellow; designing and executing program management processes for both specific projects and for organization wide activities, along with ensuring organizational priorities and associated activities are moving by playing an integral role in monitoring work across the organization.

Kashmala has twelve years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She is an ACCA Finalist from ACCA, Pakistan. She also earned Masters in International Relations from the University of Peshawar, Pakistan. As Finance & Administration Manager with different organizations including Medecins Du Monde – France, Rural Development Policy Institute, Community World Service Asia, and Oxfam Novib she worked on budgeting, financial management, general accounting, and administrative tasks. During her tenure with Rural Development Policy Institute, she had the opportunity of working as a coordinating partner with Asia Peace Film Festival. Asia Peace Film Festival is a multi-country consortium aimed at promoting peace through cinema by curating film festivals. Two festivals have been organized so far in Pakistan, with more than 70 international delegates invited to participate in the festivals. Kashmala was the focal person for the finances, and the logistics of the event. While working with Medecins Du Monde she worked on a project funded by Operations Smile for acid survivors in Pakistan. During her work experience with different organizations, she worked on projects funded by USAID, ECHO, European Union, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, ACT Alliance, and British High Commission. She has extensive experience in budgeting, financial reporting to donors, and making variances analysis. One of her greatest strengths is her ability to work in accordance with Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) and Sphere. CWS nominated her to attend the training of financial management for nonprofit organizations organized by a British organization, MANGO. Through these experiences, she developed strong project financial management and implementation skills. Kashmala also enjoys focusing on the financial resource planning for organizations and she has strong passion for youth development.

Host Organization: Feedback Labs

Role at Feedback Labs At Feedback Labs, Kashmala will serve as the Finance & HR Fellow: supporting the growing organization’s management by developing long-term financial systems and processes.