Our Team
Mohamed Abdel-Kader
Principal & Founder
With over two decades of experience, Mohamed Abdel-Kader is a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies, leading NGOs and multi-lateral organizations, foundations and educational institutions, and government agencies in addressing their most pressing challenges. He served in the administration of President Barack Obama as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education at the US Department of Education and the administration of President Biden as Chief Innovation Officer & Executive Director of the Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub at the US Agency for International Development.
Earlier in his career, Mohamed led the Aspen Institute’s Stevens Initiative, a global ed-tech program and has also served several postsecondary institutions in international strategy and major gift fundraising roles.
He speaks fluent Arabic and basic Spanish, is an Eisenhower Fellow, a Truman National Security Fellow, and is the author of a children’s book about stereotypes. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Clemson University, a Master’s degree in Higher Education from Vanderbilt University, and an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Mohamed is a trustee of the Longview Foundation for International Education & World Affairs.
Sarah Hassaine
Advisor
Sarah Hassaine is the Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility & Culture at the digital sleep health company ResMed. She has ten years of experience in the culture strategy space, starting at Amazon where she helped with recruiting and retention in Applied Sciences, and then at Qualcomm where she led their conference engagement, affinity group expansion, and designed learnings and inclusion building solutions. Her experience in CSR was woven through, especially the last few years ensuring equitable access and engagement across all communities.
Sarah started her career as a government contractor with Deloitte, and then in international development supporting democracy building projects, mainly across the Middle East and North Africa. As a San Diego native, she is very devoted to the growth and direction of the city and serves on five organizational boards championing STEM, equity in the workplace, access, and economic inclusion. She also volunteers with inter-faith, refugee assimilation, orphanage support, and health organizations. She obtained her BA in International Relations from UCSD, her MA in Public Policy from George Washington University and her MBA from the Wharton Business School.