Sara Salahaddin Mustafa is the Founder of CONNECTED MENA, pioneering the integration of AI into Iraq’s K-12 system while building solutions for the wider Middle East. A graduate of Harvard Kennedy School and the first Kurdish recipient of the Middle East and North Africa Fellowship, she has over a decade of leadership experience in education, governance, and social impact.

Previously, she was CEO of Vision Education, where she led system-wide infrastructure reform initiatives and public- private partnerships that expanded access to quality learning in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. She has also held governance roles on the boards of the University of
Kurdistan Hewlêr, Catholic University in Erbil, and Newroz University.

Through CONNECTED MENA’s initiatives, Sara is developing AI literacy, designing futureready learning tools, and empowering both educators and learners. She is recognized as a regional pioneer advancing inclusive, knowledge-based communities across the Kurdistan Region.