Sheila Sarem

Sheila is the founder of Basta – an organization bridging the employment gap for first-generation college students of color. She launched the organization in 2016 and they have since become a trailblazer in transforming the education to career landscape for first-gen college students. Prior to Basta, Sheila served as Director of the National Leadership Recruitment Team for the KIPP network. Sheila started her career in HR at DC Public Schools, initially working in Principal Human Capital and was later 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. Before entering the field of education, Sheila worked on political campaigns, including the 2008 presidential and 2009 gubernatorial races. She spent the early stages of her career working in the tech industry across Paris, Amsterdam, and London. Sheila now calls Brooklyn home and is living her best life with Justin (partner), Azad (daughter), Dove (son), and Tahdig (cockapoo).