Sarah - America

If Sarah isn't a patriot, I'm not sure what a patriot is! Sarah was born in New York, and for over 10 years, she's worked on US-government programs overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, Syria/Turkey, and now Libya/Tunisia.  Clearly, she goes to the toughest places, where others are unwilling to go and where she's needed most, to help others and advance US foreign policy. I met Sarah when we worked together in Turkey, and quickly came to respect her efficient, no-nonsense management style, and to trust her implicitly to oversee so many moving parts that I didn't even know what all the parts were (and I still don't - you usually don't realize what the parts are until they STOP moving, which they rarely do under Sarah's watchful eye). Sarah also helped me to see how critical operations staff are to the functioning of a program, a lesson that stays with me. Sarah is an effective and hard-working manager, but is also kind and thoughtful. She is calm and steady in the most high-stress situations, demonstrating a maturity that I admire and aspire to. 

"I was born in New York - a true Yankee who primarily eats bagels and pizza in New York because they suck everywhere else! I think people are always surprised to find that I am a practicing Muslim who prays five times a day, doesn't drink, observes all of the other major pillars of faith, but is also very left leaning in my political, social, and economic views. For some reason, people have a hard time seeing that the two aren't mutually exclusive :). I'm very lucky to have been brought up by immigrant parents who believed in taking the best values of their Muslim South Asian heritage and blending it with the best of American culture to create  a strong sense of identity within their children, based first and foremost on being good human beings and always making time to serve our community, wherever and however that may be ."