Zahrah Abdulrauf is using her knowledge of language, technology, business, and behavior to expand economic opportunity and innovation.
EXPERIENCE
The Hoover Institution, Stanford University
April 2021 - Present
POLICY FELLOW
Work with the Alabama Innovation Commission and the Hoover Institution to conduct research relating to advancing economic development, technology, business, and innovation in the State of Alabama. This project will culminate in policy recommendations to Governor Kay Ivey.
City of Birmingham, Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity
Aug 2019 - Present
COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
Crafted and conducted research for pitch decks and visual and written communications materials for donor meetings, City Council meetings, and public outreach efforts for all 4 of the department’s operational lanes.
Designed the pitch deck for the Birmingham Promise workforce development initiative, raising over $10 million USD.
The Birmingham Connection Project
May 2020 - Sept 2020
PROJECT MANAGER AND RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Identified, screened, and selected 70+ residents and 10+ interviewers for a three-month City of Birmingham-supported research project on the community effects of COVID-19 to inform economic recovery strategy and policy.
Drafted 5 policy recommendations and created executive summary for City of Birmingham’s executive leadership team.
Identified key themes of transcripts from ~60 hours of interviews.
EGK Starters
Nov 2020 - Present
PROJECT AND RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Recruit and coordinate community partners for 18-week commercialization accelerator for early-stage BIPOC startup founders.
Facilitated four-hour-long design-thinking workshops to help businesses identify innovation opportunities.
Assist in the design, execution, and evaluation of research projects, including literature reviews, surveys, workshops, community engagement, and data analysis in partnership with the IIE, Cornell, and Northumbria University.
PROJECTS
HOW DO I MANAGE MY EVENT ONSITE?
REMEMBER WHEN you had to wait until you received event tickets in the mail? Ticket Manager aims to help alleviate the digital age pains of scanning and validating guests, selling tickets on the spot and managing payment transactions.
HOW DO I TRACK HOW MY EVENTS ARE DOING?
CREATED AT Google Startup Weekend, Infinity Dashboard's main claim to fame was its reliability in setting up events quickly and selling tickets. But what happens as soon as an event has launched or concluded?
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ON A DATE?
BEFORE HANGING OUT with my friends, I often end up in indecisive conversations over ‘where to meet’, ‘where to eat’ or ‘what to do’. How can we make this process better?