Sarmed Rashid has demonstrated a diverse and impressive career spanning humanitarian aid in foreign countries like Afghanistan to working on the opioid crisis at the White House. Before Sarmed was traveling the world and working on some of the most prevalent global crises, he started his life as a humble first-generation Pakistani-American in Houston, Texas. In this interview, he shares his journey from rodeos and Texan life to working in conflict zones, highlighting the importance of embracing variety and being open to the unknown.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Boston, but was raised in Houston, Texas.
Can you talk about the culture or community in Houston?
Houston is very diverse. There was a large South Asian, Pakistani, Muslim community that my parents stepped into. The school I went to was not that diverse, it was majority Asian. It was all first generation Asians so there was a very strong work ethic culture since everyone’s parents hustled to get to where they were. It was generally an upper-middle class community so, socioeconomically and racially, it wasn’t that diverse. I think I learned the most when I left school. In many ways, it’s a typical suburb. It’s quiet, it’s safe, it’s not that exciting which I think is what my parents wanted. They knew it was going to be safe which was especially important because of what my parents had to deal with when they were in Pakistan.
Can you talk about some traditions or favorite memories growing up in Houston?
Being in Houston, the rodeo is a big deal and it’s a lot of fun. You can experience it in so many different ways, but you get to see a part of the country that I guess a first generation in the suburbs wouldn’t get exposed to like truck wagon racing and all of that. Other than that, we would celebrate the big Muslim holidays. My parents weren’t religious, but it was more of a cultural thing the same way a lot of Americans celebrate Christmas. That was always fun because we had big house parties and a bunch of folks came.
Did you know from a young age that you wanted to go into international development or did you have other ambitions?
My grandmother worked for a number of agencies in the UN and then Save the Children, focusing on family planning and reproductive health. So from her, I saw what she did and the service aspect of it. There was a sexiness of being able to travel, so I think that was always in the back of my mind. I was actually a mathematics major when I first came to school because since I was a kid, I had been advanced in mathematics. I was doing calculus when I was in the fifth grade and although I have a gift, I quickly realized that I didn’t have enough of a gift to get my PhD. International development was always in the back of my mind. I will also say that I was 14 when 9/11 happened and so with the conversations around the invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq, I was drawn to international issues. I wasn’t surprised that I ended up doing something in the international sphere.
Who would you say inspired the person you are today the most?
I always had a very close relationship with my grandmother and I have taken some parts from both of my parents. My dad is very quiet, but stoic and professional. He shows up for his family, and for his family back in Pakistan. He knows what’s right and wrong and knows what he is going to do. My mom is super empathetic, very much a people person who can talk to anyone. She gives off an energy where people approach her and talk to her which I think I’ve picked up a lot of as well. My grandmother was a fearless person. I think she was the second person in Pakistan to go to college and she spoke six languages. She was very educated and did a lot as a single mom after my grandfather passed. I’ve tried to remember a lot of her sacrifice and pass it forward.
Can you talk about your career path?
I originally came into UT Austin wanting to do mathematics. Then, as I started going through the math classes, I realized it was not coming as easily to me. I still did fine, but it wasn’t like I understood some of the more complex mathematical theorems and concepts. I spoke with one of my advisors and he said it might be tough for me to get into a good math PhD program, et cetera. At the time, I also added a government minor since I had become interested in it. Slowly, I added the government major and an English major. I ended up doing all three of these, but all of my internships in undergrad were internationally focused. I was with USAID and the Danish human rights commission. I did a summer program in Tunisia, speaking Arabic, and so it was very focused on international development, even my extracurriculars.
My first job was working for a company called Stratfor, which is a geopolitical intelligence consulting firm. For example, helping companies understand how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affects global fertilizer production. So in general, it was esoteric geopolitical topics. I got laid off during the financial crisis, but had started applying to organizations like the army intelligence communities, Peace Corps, and for various reasons they didn’t work out. I got an opportunity to work at Chemonics, which is an international development consulting firm. I was specifically staffed on a project in Afghanistan focused on conflict mitigation and using development money. As part of a broader counter-insurgency strategy, I got an opportunity to do something similar in Libya, humanitarian work with the Syrian crisis, and I was also in Turkey and Burma as the country started to implement democratic and economic reforms.
I did a bunch of short assignments in other countries, but was very focused on how to use development as a more immediate tool of US foreign policy as opposed to something that in 30 years will build goodwill. Eventually, for many reasons, I decided not to continue and applied to grad school and I got into business and policy schools. I was kind of all over the place- I wanted to do consulting, but then also tech, and also something in wellness. After I graduated, I had a few offers from big tech firms, but had gotten a Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) to join the government in a kind of management consulting role. I was at the US Small Business Administration for a moment, but then jumped over to the White House for a team that oversaw all of the public health work related to the opioid epidemic. We created the administration strategy and I was tasked with overseeing the implementation of that across 30 different government agencies. I ultimately left that and a friend of mine from my time in Afghanistan was looking to build a company in the health insurance space. So we started this tech company and I was in a sales and customer success role. I have jumped around quite a bit in different industries, but I have always been open to trying new things which makes for an interesting career.
What would you say were the biggest accomplishments in your career?
Professionally, a lot of the work on the opioid crisis I thought was super meaningful. To broaden it, a bunch of my Afghan colleagues had applied to get a visa to come to the United States for a program extended to translators and other folks who’ve helped the US mission to get them out of Afghanistan because they were targets of the Taliban. A couple of my coworkers applied but were stuck in bureaucratic limbo. I helped make the calls to clear the path for them and now they’re settled and thriving in the US. I think personally, that was my biggest accomplishment.
What is the greatest lesson you have learned?
I would say that variety is super important. Also, things will work out alright, just on their own timeline. I am someone who is prone to being nervous when I’m dealing with uncertainty, but everything always pans out. I am not trying to be Pollyannaish- I am blessed. There is a time for everything.
Do you have specific advice for people interested in building a career in international development?
The first thing is that experience in the field is invaluable and especially if you’re young and don’t have any responsibilities or partnerships, it’s very important to get out there. One, to understand what life is like outside of the United States and two, for personal enrichment. I always tell folks to apply to the Peace Corps, apply to some tech startup in Nairobi- try to challenge yourself to get out of DC or New York.
It is also very much a networking game. There’s a sexiness to international development so those jobs, even at the associate level, are in high demand. My advice is always to network, just cold reach out to people on LinkedIn and spend some time going to events. If there is a professor you know, they are great because thye love talking about their work. If there’s a professor who has an interesting take on development or another topic, go after that and send a cold email. I feel like 90% of the time I’ve done it, it’s worked for me and I’ve gotten a phone call out of it.
The last thing I would say is that international development is very two-piece, it’s a catch-all for a lot of things. For example, agriculture is international development, so I would say try to build an interest and specialty in one of those places. You can sell yourself as being able to speak Spanish and having interned at the WHO, for example. I say as much as you can, try to build specific expertise because that allows you to position yourself better. Oftentimes, however, it’s just about getting your foot in the door and then going on to something else. If you’re applying for a comms role, but you really want to work in project management, do your year in comms and use that to find an internal role to transfer to.
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