2018 YPFP GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AWARD

Hazami Barmada
Managing Partner, The Barmada Group
Founder & CEO, Humanity Lab
Hazami is a thought leader, catalyst, social innovator, and impact strategist who is recognized by Forbes as an “inspirational agent of change.” She has consulted for dozens of leading global organizations including the United Nations, is a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and a serial Founder.
A passionate humanist, Hazami’s interests lie at the intersection of change management, global governance, diplomacy, innovation, social good and development. Her innovative work has received funding and support from institutions including Cisco, Turkish Airlines, World Food Programme, United Nations Foundation, HSBC, Silatech, Booz Allen Hamilton, UNHCR, Qatar Foundation International, The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, among many others.
Hazami is the Managing Partner of The Barmada Group, LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in working with governments, companies and people to help excel, harness innovation, become fit-for-purpose and contribute positively to their communities and the world. The Barmada Group works with clients to design and implement effective social impact strategy, programming, public-private partnerships, public affairs strategy, and build leadership capacity needed to better tackle challenges, identify opportunities for sustainable impact, and develop the agility to thrive in today's complex and rapidly changing climate. For 13+ years, Hazami has consulted for brands including the United Nations, United Nations Foundation, Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman, Aspen Institute, DirecTV, Save the Children, Saudi Aramco, TechGirls, and The Washington Diplomat.
Through her bold initiatives and deep-rooted belief in systems change, Hazami’s passion to disrupt the status quo to create a more equitable and sustainable world led her to hold several key positions at the United Nations Secretariat at the UN Headquarters. She served as Strategy and Communications Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, as a member of the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda “Strategy Hub”, co-chair of the Communications Working Group for the United Nations Interagency Network on Youth Development, and a member of the organizing team of the UN Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security hosted by the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan which led to the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 (UNSCR 2250) adopted by the UN Security Council in 2015. She also served as Senior Advisor for Strategic Partnerships and Communications for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) leveraging innovation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.
In 2015, Hazami was appointed as the Coordinator for United Nations World Humanitarian Summit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon under the patronage President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The Summit was organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and brought together 9,000 participants representing 180 Member States, including 55 Heads of State and Government, hundreds of civil society and non-governmental organizations, and partners including the private sector and academia.
Her focus on creating solutions to address complex global challenges was recognized by President William J. Clinton and President George W. Bush, who selected her as a 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar. Under the mentorship of Presidents Clinton and Bush, members of their administrations, and the Presidential Foundations of President George H.W. Bush, and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Hazami furthered her vision to create an “empathy revolution” for social change resulting in the founding of the Humanity Lab Foundation and its flagship program, the Global People’s Summit.
As the Founder and Chairperson of the Humanity Lab Foundation-- founded in partnership with the United Nations Office for Partnerships and with support from the President of the United Nations General Assembly-- Hazami worked to develop the technology and programming to facilitate the first ever 100% online conference, mobilizing millions of global changemakers during the United Nations General Assembly to help solve some of the most complex issues facing the world. In 2017, Forbes listed the Global People’s Summit among the top 5 social impact conferences guaranteed to “inspire”.
Hazami is a Citizen Diplomat with the US Department of State, and travels extensively to host workshops and facilitate discussions on entrepreneurship, change management, behavioral economics, systems dynamics, and human-centered design. She has addressed audiences including the United Nations, Aspen Institute, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, SXSW, Social Innovation Summit, Coca-Cola Scholarship Program, and Harvard Social Enterprise Conference.
Her experience as Course Coach and Teaching Fellow for Harvard University’s flagship Adaptive Leadership class, coupled with her diverse expertise and passion, led Hazami to found a signature masterclass and training From Passion to Purpose: Designing Your Impact Journey. To date, the training has helped 250+ social entrepreneurs and forward-thinking brands embrace leadership and build the capacity to successfully contribute to solving complex challenges.
Hazami’s opinions and work have been featured on media including CNN, BBC, VICE, Forbes, Nasdaq, International Business Times, Huffington Post and Washington Post. She serves as an advisor to philanthropic and NGO initiatives focusing on humanitarian advocacy, women and youth empowerment, diversity/inclusion, and diaspora engagement.
Hazami has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government where she was an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management, served as Vice President of Professional Development at the Kennedy School Student Government, and was recipient of the 'Eric Yankah Award' and the 'Diversity and Inclusion Award for Excellence in Service'. She studied social and public policy at Georgetown University and has a BA from Rhodes College in Anthropology and Sociology.
This award was generously sponsored by: