Sheila Saremzadeh

Sheila founded Basta in 2016 to bridge the employment gap for first-generation college students of color. Since its launch, Basta has become a national leader in transforming the education-to-career landscape, supporting thousands of students, predominantly Black and Latinx, in securing strong first jobs and long-term economic mobility. Prior to Basta, Sheila served as the Director of National Recruitment for the KIPP network and at DC Public schools where she started in Principal Human Capital and was then tapped to build a Recruitment & Selection team from the ground up. Her team managed all recruitment and selection across the district and rolled out a cutting edge teacher selection model that was recognized nationwide. Prior to education, she worked on political campaigns including the 2008 presidential and 2009 gubernatorial races. She started her career working in the tech industry across Paris, Amsterdam, and London. Sheila calls Bedstuy Brooklyn home where she and her partner are raising their family.