Rania Sohail

I think a lot of my success comes from the support from my family and my parents. I was never asked to do something particular - I was always told, you find your way, and we're here to support you. I think that opened up doors and helped me think about what I really wanted to do early on and experiment. So there was trial and error, but I knew I had a very solid backup and very solid support that helped. I would also say finding good mentors and finding people who care, who help me guide through the different opportunities that lie ahead, has been crucial to my success.

The best career advice I ever received was from my father, who said, don't go after money, go after what you're really passionate about and really enjoy doing, and the money will come - it'll follow. So just think about what you like to do and what you're really good at, and stay focused on that.

I think it's really important to be confident, curious, and know that you will figure it out. Oftentimes, we're told so many things, and we let people and opinions get under our skin, but I think the single most important thing is to just know that your opinion matters, and leaning into your instincts, your intuition, and your skills is really what gets you through things. Be confident and make sure your voice is heard wherever you are. Don't try to sit back just because somebody else will get upset or does not give you that space initially.

One of the biggest challenges right now is just the changing political environment and how that's affecting funding cuts and changing tax laws. These things are affecting folks who want to do good work and NGOs out there that we try to support and do grantmaking for. That's becoming a real challenge, specifically on the environmental side of things and climate change, as well as female rights and well-being, maternal and infant well-being - those kinds of areas are really being hit because of that. On the opportunities side, there's no better time for folks to step up in this field, specifically the funders. We're so encouraged by how a lot of them are showing up and trying to fill the gaps that are popping up because of all the political environment and all the changes that are happening right now. So while there's that hit, there's also folks trying to fill the gaps in very real ways.

I think sharing knowledge and wealth in whatever capacity you can is really important to me. Collaboration is another key value, as well as having fun and doing whatever you're doing with joy.