Safeena, a London School of Economics graduate, has worked extensively with rural and urban under-served communities in South America, Africa and Asia. As a girl in Delhi, Safeena Husain found refuge and opportunity in her education. She went on to study in the UK before building a career in community-based global development, including seven years as executive director of Child Family Health International, an NGO based in the US. Her work in development spans more than 15 years, working on projects to serve rural and urban communities in Ecuador, Mexico, Bolivia and South Africa. In 2004, she returned to India to satisfy her commitment to girls’ education and accepted an acquaintance’s invitation to assist a struggling girls’ education program, quickly turning it around. In 2007, she founded Educate Girls to further develop her model and scale its impact. Educate Girl’s funders and board members describe her as “incredibly bright,” determined, and clever, with a “big heart” and “illuminating authenticity” that draws people to her and Educate Girls. She is “always up for a challenge,” as shown in decisions for Educate Girls to work in the most off-track geographies first and to implement the first education Development Impact Bond (DIB).
As part of the Audacious Project, Safeena gave a talk on Educate Girls’ program and her vision to enroll 1.5 million out-of-school-girls back in school by 2024 at TED 2019.
Over the last decade, Safeena’s work through Educate Girls has been recognized on numerous national and international platforms. In 2019, Safeena was awarded with Beyond the Business Award at the Economic Times Prime Women Leadership Awards. Previously, Safeena has won the 2017 Niti Aayog Women Transforming India Award and the 2016 NDTV-L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth Award in the Education Category. Under her leadership, Educate Girls has also won the 2014 WISE Award, the 2014 USAID Millennium Alliance Award, the 2014 Stars Impact Award, and the British Asian Trust’s Special Recognition Award from Prince Charles for outstanding contribution in education.