People in Fundraising, ep. 114: Ambareen Naqvi, RAND Corporation

Thank you to season 1 guest Ron Bembry for connecting me with today's outstanding guest, Ambareen Naqvi. Since her childhood in Pakistan, she has wanted to help people. Her original career ambition was to become a doctor, before she discovered non-profit fundraising. "Education has been a huge part of my life," Ambareen added, which was the main reason her parents immigrated to the U.S. with her when Ambareen was six.

Ambareen currently is a Senior Director of Development at RAND Corporation. I am a Cold War-era history geek, and knew of RAND from its post-WWII origin as a defense contractor. It has expanded to become a research and policy think tank, focusing on an array of military, civilian, and humanitarian challenges across the globe.

In our conversation, Ambareen discusses:

* After graduating from Columbia, her early fundraising roles at UCLA, which was a great fit with her longstanding emphasis on education.

* Pakistani cultural norms around not discussing money, and how Ambareen had to adapt that mindset for her work in fundraising.

* Ambareen's response to a spring 2024 New York Times op-ed by Frank Bruni: "We all carry wounds, and some carry wounds much graver than others...We mustn’t lose sight of the struggle, imperfection, and randomness of life. We mustn’t overstate our vulnerability and exaggerate our due. While grievance blows our concerns out of proportion, humility puts them in perspective. While grievance reduces the people with whom we disagree to caricature, humility acknowledges they’re every bit as complex as we are — with as much of a stake in creating a more perfect union."

* Our interview was the same day as the closing of RAND's $400M "Tomorrow Demands Today" campaign. Ambareen shares insights on RAND's impact at the local and state levels on issues like gun safety education and policy.

Please tune in for these fascinating insights and more in Ambareen's conversation. Thank you for a terrific interview, Ambareen!