Muppies is introducing the world’s largest Muslim leadership development conference on September 21, 2019, in Chicago.
Muppies is pleased to announce Sayyeda Jafri as a speaker for this year’s conference:
Sayyeda Jafri
Independent Strategic Philanthropy Consultant
Communication Strategy | Civic Engagement | Business Development
Sayyeda Jafri is an independent strategic philanthropy consultant who works with foundations, individual philanthropists and NGO’s nationally and globally. Currently, she is consults for a tech start up focusing on business development, strategic partnerships and investment fundraising. Prior to this Sayyeda was the Project Manager for a philanthropic collaborative, One Nation, whose vision was to reframe perceptions of Islam and Muslims in America. This project was
housed at the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and concentrated on multimedia, strategic communications, policy and civic engagement
initiatives. Prior to One Nation, Sayyeda developed a Middle East and North African leadership program for the EastWest Institute, a global security policy think tank. Sayyeda also served as Program Associate for the Bridging Leadership Program at the Synergos Institute managing a global network of partner organizations, co-facilitated and organized global leadership trainings in Southern Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. She created a communication strategy, engaged in research initiatives of conflict resolution, leadership development and systems thinking. Additional endeavors include foreign policy work at the Council on Foreign Relations where she worked on a project ‘Pluralism in Muslim Societies’, sponsored by the Ford Foundation. At the Center for Strategic and International Studies she focused on the Middle East and North Africa. Furthermore, her background in international economic
development, specifically microfinance, working for the Grameen Bank/Trust in Bangladesh and India are also to be noted. Sayyeda Jafri obtained a Masters degree in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics with a concentration in economic development, investment and political barriers to growth in developing countries with case studies from the Middle East and North Africa. She was born and raised in the United States and graduated with honors from New York University with a BA in International Politics and Middle East Studies and significant coursework in existential
philosophy. Her language skills at various levels include: Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Persian, Spanish, and Urdu. Her interests include poverty alleviation, microfinance, environmental sustainability, US foreign policy, leadership studies, Islamic reform, technology. She is also a mother of three children and resides in New York.
