Governance Team Leader
Abdirashid S. Ahmed
Master of Public Policy University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Minneapolis, MN, 2013 (Concentration: Public and Nonprofit Leadership & Management and International Development)
Bachelor of Science Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN, 2010 Abdirashid earned his Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and Bachelor’s degree in Human Services Administration from the Metropolitan State University. Prior to joining Asal, Abdirashid worked for the Federal Government of Somalia as a senior governance and public sector reform advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister. He led the government’s civil service and oversaw the governance and public sector reform portfolio; providing strategic leadership, guidance and policy options to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Outside of Somalia, Abdirashid worked for the City of Minneapolis as a senior policy advisor/East Africa specialist. In this role he provided strategic advice, analysis and counsel to the Mayor, Council and departmental directors on policies that affect the city of Minneapolis residents, workers, and businesses. In addition, Abdirashid has consulted and collaborated on multiple occasions with the U.S Department of State, USAID, United States Mission to Somalia, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and International Organization for Migrating (IOM) in their efforts to engage the Somali Diaspora.
Abdirashid brings critical experience in the areas of Governance, Public Policy and International Development. He has a proven track record in programmatic, strategic and financial management with in-depth knowledge of international development policies and extensive understanding in implementing legislative and bureaucratic reforms. At Asal, Abdirashid is Governance team lead on the Somalia Security and Justice Program (SSJP). He coordinates the SSJP project team, provides strategic direction and leads the delivery of a comprehensive Political Economy Analysis Report. Crucially, he builds and maintains trusted relationships with government leadership and develops strategies to enhance organizational capacities to improve service delivery, transparency and accountability.
Abdirashid is committed to support ASAL in its efforts to provide innovative solutions to the public sector (government institutions), private sector and nonprofit sector to improve organizations structures and enhance accountability, efficiency and effectiveness. He is passionate about the intersection between the political and administrative governance, currently focusing on governance in the areas of security and the justice sector. He is a frequent speaker at local, national and international conferences including Minnesota/Sweden integration conference, UNHCR Global Initiative for Somali Refugees (GISR), Diasporas in Development conference hosted by USAID, and the London Somalia Conference hosted by the UK government and the United Nations.