Ayesha Raza

Ayesha Raza is a non-profit manager and social entrepreneur who focuses on projects for the empowerment of the deaf and hard of hearing community. Born into a family where she is a child of a deaf adult, sign language was the first language she learned. She earned a bachelor's degree in biological sciences in 2016 and later obtained a degree in project management. Early in her career, she helped establish Pakistan's first newborn screening lab and served for seven years in roles progressing from program manager to director. In 2021, with her siblings, she launched Pakistan's first mobile food vehicle social enterprise, which was featured by Reuters International and aimed to encourage hearing customers to order in sign language while providing economic opportunities for the deaf community. She has completed multiple projects in this area and is now in the United States developing an ed-tech startup modeled after Khan Academy but with all materials in sign language. She is a Pakistan U.S. alumni member and a former Rotary member in Pakistan. Raza attributes her success to achieving real social impact, such as serving large numbers of beneficiaries, and she follows career advice to pursue goals without doubting her limitations.