Sheila sarem: 100 Responsible Citizens

New York is facing myriad challenges including the economic anxiety spurred by rising inflation or resurging Covid-19 rates. Yet, there remain reasons for optimism, as plenty of New Yorkers are tackling these challenges head-on and creating a better city for all New Yorkers. Each year, City & State puts a spotlight on 100 of these exceptional individuals. Among these, Sheila Sarem, Basta founder and CEO, was recognized for her work to build first-gen students' generational wealth and shared this insight:

“You are enough.”

As a first-generation woman of color, I spent much of my life not only preparing for meetings and presentations, I also put a whole lot of effort into preparing for the performance. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make sure the person or group of people on the other side of the table were getting value from our interaction, instead of recognizing that my preparedness would shine through in the content of our conversation. In other words, I needed to trust that I was enough."

#womenofcolor #womenleaders #youareenough #firstgenmagic #socialimpact #Generationalwealth