Ahmed Sirleaf

Program Officer,  Pathways Home

Inspiration: “My humanity is caught up and bound up inextricably with yours. I am because you are.” — Desmond Tutu

What working in this community means to me: “As Archbishop Tutu put it when he spoke about the African concept of Ubuntu, ‘I am who I am because other human beings are who they are.’ I am therefore because others are, as we humans are community beings — we belong together in community with one another. As a result, I have consistently worked to help others be the best versions of themselves, so that I can be the best version of myself, every day.”

Ahmed is the program officer for Pathways Home, Greater Twin Cities United Way’s innovation initiative that will transform our region’s homeless response system and prevent homelessness in two key populations: youth existing foster care and adults involved with the justice system. Prior to United Way, Ahmed worked for Hennepin County and was responsible for county-wide homeless prevention through the Family Homeless Prevention Assistance and federal Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance programs. Previously, Ahmed worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development Overseas Missions in Liberia.

Ahmed is currently a doctoral student in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota, where he previously earned a master’s in public affairs from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. His doctoral research focuses on collective actions in addressing complex social problems, particularly in international development. Previously, Ahmed earned a master’s in Public International Law and the Settlement of Disputes from the United Nations mandated University for Peace in San Jose, Costa Rica. As an educator, Ahmed has taught courses at the University of Liberia’s Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation, and he regularly gives lectures in both Liberia and the United States.

Ahmed lives with his wife, Venus, and their three children, Hawah Jasmine, Koja and Kabineh, in New Brighton, where he enjoys biking with Kabineh, listening to podcasts, travelling internationally (when he can) and volunteering for different causes, particularly in the African immigrant and refugee communities.