Career

Raaheela has a record of professional leadership in the non-profit, government and finance sectors. She is currently the Deputy Director of Campus Vote Project, a nonprofit where she manages the national team of state organizers that focus on institutionalizing voting on college campuses and help students vote. She is also a trainer with the Progressive Governance Academy, where she trains elected leaders across the country on community leadership, good governance and legislative action.

Before these roles, Raaheela served as the Manager of Leadership Programs for NewAmericanLeaders, where she created and maintained a 500+ national network of elected officials of immigrant background that are committed to an inclusive democracy. Through her work, she programmed national conferences and policy-minded excursions, and spoke at numerous national conferences about the importance of representative government, immigration reform, and service-based leadership.

Raaheela was also an Advisory Associate with the Global Public Sector at Grant Thornton LLP. She provided financial management services to federal clients; the largest being the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service, who work with a $2 billion+ national budget. From that role, she has developed proficiency in obligation management, purchase card management, audit services and automation transformation.

College

Raaheela graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park as an honors student with a B.S. in Finance and a B.A. in Economics. As a student, Raaheela has worked a number of campus jobs, including being a Fellows Ambassador for the business school and a teaching a Teaching Assistant for an online engineering/entrepreneurship class entitled ENES140: Discovering New Ventures.

In the 2013 legislative session, Raaheela interned for a Maryland State Senator in Annapolis, MD. There, she researched proposed bills and created drafts for constituents concerns on such legislation, met with legislators to gauge support for certain pieces of legislation and learned about policy-making through conversations with the Senator, committee meetings, lobbyists online literature, and floor proceedings.

Raaheela was the 2014-2015 Student Regent on the Board of Regents for the entire University System of Maryland (USM). The USM consists of 12 institutions and 2 regional centers. Raaheela was the student voice for over 120,000 college students on this policy-making, budget analyzing Board.

Raaheela also participated in a number of campus and community-based programs:

• America Reads*America Countsis a mentoring program that allows undergraduate students from the University of Maryland to go into 18 local elementary schools and work with children to help improve reading and math skills. Raaheela was a Partners in Print presenter and Office Staff Member within the program. While in Partners in Print, Raaheela went to conduct literacy workshops to parents and students 2 evenings a week. She also became an America Reads mentor and worked with students at Woodridge Elementary School 2 mornings a week in improving their reading skills.
• Health Leadsis an organization that help families find resources that they need like food, clothing, employment, etc. Raaheela held three positions with this organization: Program Coordinator, Campus Coordinator and Family Help Desk Advocate. Her responsibility in the Program Coordinator position revolved around aiding advocates in helping their clients. Since her entrance into that position, she led in efforts towards improvement of data quality through implementation of report cards, providing sustained individual feedback and check-ins, reforming reflection sessions and bringing new projects to the table. Raaheela’s responsibilities for the Campus Coordinator position involved recruitment, team-building and organizational presence on campus. In this position, she had the opportunity to collaborate with faculty and student groups to make direct change for Health Leads clientele.
• The Peer Leadership Councilis a student group that focuses on engaging students to become positive social change agents in their communities. Being a part of this group has allowed Raaheela to facilitate multi-day conferences like Maryland Leadership Conference and Turtle Camp, programs that empower students to be the best leaders they can be. Being a part of this organization has given her a better understanding of what it means to be a great, effective leader.
• Consult Your Communityis a pro-bono student-run consulting organization. Raaheela was a Business Analyst with this organization at the University of Maryland. She worked with a local business to help them improve different aspects of their business, ranging from marketing to efficiency to profitability.
• As aSunday School Teacher for girls aged 7-15 at Mosque Bait-ur-Rahman in Silver Spring, MD, Raaheela has taught a number of subjects, including religion basics, historical figures and comparative religions. She has currently shifted her focus to teach both boys and girls every week, headquartered out of a household in District 5.
• The Alternative Breaksprogram at the University of Maryland, College Park allows students the opportunity to spend their breaks (summer, spring or winter) in an environment where they learn about a social issue while simultaneously doing community service. Through this program, Raaheela went to Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to visit the Oglala Lakota Native American tribe in March 2014. There, she worked with students from across the nation with the non-profit Re-Member in skirting trailers, building ramps and bunk beds and delivering these goods to the local residents. This transformative experience prompted her to apply to be an Experience Leader. She co-led a Domestic Violence based trip to Knoxville, TN in March 2015.
• LeaderShape at UMDis a club that Raaheela co-founded at the University of Maryland, College Park. After coming back from the 6-day leadership retreat hosted by the LeaderShape Institute in January 2014, she gathered a group of fellow participants to establish a registered student organization on campus seeking to empower students to become better leaders. She was the Vice President of Engagements for the club. As a working professional, Raaheela has gone back to facilitate the LeaderShape Institute in 2016 to assist in the growth and development of current students at the university.
• Moneythink Marylandis a chapter of a national program that wishes to activate college youth to teach financial literacy to local high school students, creating a more aware millennial population. Raaheela is a co-founder and former President of the organization at the University of Maryland, which currently operates in classrooms at Northwestern High and Eleanor Roosevelt High in Prince George’s County.
• The Court Appointed Special Advocate program in Prince George’s County allows citizens to work with neglected and abused children in the foster care system. Raaheela has been trained and appointed by the court system of Prince George’s County as a CASA. She currently works with a youth from Upper Marlboro, MD.

Raaheela was a part of a number of academic-based programs on campus:

1. Omicron Delta Kappa, National Co-Ed Leadership Fraternity
2. Hinman CEOs Technology Entrepreneurship Program
3. Emerging CFOs Fellows Program
4. Byrd Undergraduate Initiative on Leadership Development (BUILD)
5. Rawlings Undergraduate Leadership Fellows Program
6. Maryland Internship Program

She has also attended and/or facilitated a number of conferences during her time at the University of Maryland, held at locations across the United States:

1. The LeaderShape Institute
2. MOSAIC Diversity and Leadership Retreat
3. ACC Leadership Conference
4. CIBER Case Challenge
5. Maryland Leadership Conference
6. Turtle Camp

High School

Raaheela Ahmed attended Prince George’s County Public Schools from K-12, including High Bridge Elementary and Samuel Ogle Middle School in District 5. She graduated from the Science and technology Program at Eleanor Roosevelt High School with a 4.0+cumulative GPA.

Throughout her schooling at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Raaheela involved herself in several activities: the Recording Technology Program (2 years), the Science and Technology Mentoring Society (1 year) and the Girl’s Rugby Team (3 years). In her senior year however, she exhibited her passion for service through leading three organizations as President: the National Honor Society (1 year), Students Against Destructive Decisions (3 years), and the Do Something Club (2 years), a community service organization which she founded. She interned at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research during her senior year as well.

During the summer after graduation, Raaheela spent her time mentoring fellow peers in calculus and physics at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. She also launched a business venture with a group of other students called SendwithMe. In previous summers, Raaheela volunteered with the Ayesha & Ali Padder Foundation at a free medical clinic in Laurel, MD. From each organization Raaheela has been a part of, she has learned valuable lessons about leadership, people, and the community.

Awards and Honors

Raaheela has received a number of awards and recognitions for her academic, leadership, and community service work:

• Young Elected Officials Network 35 Under 35 Honoree
• Prince George’s County Forty Under 40 Awardee
• The Daily Record’s Leading Women Award
• Prince George’s County Young Democrat of the Year
• #3 “Young Gun” of Prince George’s County
• UMCPCommencement Speaker
• Youth Civic Spirit Award Recipient
• Youth Excellence in Leadership Award
• Sally Sterling Byrd Citizenship Award
• Martin Moskowitz Public Service Award
• Maryland Medallion Society
• UMCP Homecoming Court
• One of Omicron Delta Kappa’s Top Ten Freshman at the University of Maryland
• Governor O’Malley’s Citation for “Outstanding Service”
• Primannum Honor Society
• Dean’s List
• The Moskowitz Family Scholarship
• BDO Seidman Scholarship
• David Craig Memorial Scholarship Fund Award
• Marguerite DeRosa Memorial Award
• Eda T. Bloom Memorial Scholarship
• National Honor Society Scholarship
• AP Scholar