Sharmi Surianarain serves as the Chief Impact Officer for Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator in South Africa. Sharmi is a fierce advocate for opportunity and social justice for young people and women across the African continent, and is a keen analyst and thinker on the future of work. Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator develops African solutions for the global challenge of youth unemployment. Sharmi leads on Harambee’s impact and systems change agendas, and also oversees Harambee’s work in new markets. Sharmi brings extensive experience in human capital management, education, and facilitating links to employment across Africa, India and the United States. Sharmi is an Aspen African Leadership Initiative Fellow, Class of 2020, and sits on the boards of Emerging Public Leaders, Ongoza, Metis and Instill Education. She is on the Advisory Council for the NextGen Ecosystem Builders Africa 2020. Sharmi holds a BA from Harvard University, a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.