KARINA: Sahar, welcome to Cityfi. We are so happy to have you join us. A lot of folks know you, but I want to start with who you really are. Your personal story is so fundamental to the passionate, committed person you are. Briefly, can you talk a little bit about your life story and how it shapes your professional work?
SAHAR: Absolutely, but probably not briefly! I was actually born here in the Bay Area just about the same time the revolution in Iran broke out. When all the people were fleeing Iran, my family decided to go back. We realized pretty quickly that was not the best move. My dad escaped, but my mom, sister and I were stuck there for almost six years, during the war. My family are from the villages, so not exactly among the educated, connected elite. It was a rough journey getting back to the US — a long battle with many painful stops along the way. When we finally got here, we were pretty poor. Like many immigrants, we moved to where there was a bit of a diaspora, and for us that was outside of Sacramento, CA. We moved around a lot and didn’t have a lot. We lived for years in poor white neighborhoods, where my family faced a lot of racism. And then in middle class white neighborhoods, where my family faced a lot of racism. We were impacted by poverty, impacted by international issues, impacted by culture-clashes and gendered expectations.. We struggled for access to economic opportunity. Those experiences really made me dedicated to understanding intersectionality and to increasing access and opportunity for others. When I moved to Oakland, it was the first time I really felt at home because it was the first place where there was real diversity and real intermingling. The first time someone knew I was Persian in my life, that was really exciting. All of that has led me to really value diversity and push for big changes, even if they’re done in small ways.
KARINA: Wow, that’s powerful. Then you came to us from Nelson/Nygaard. Now this is a company where you and I shared the distinct pleasure and honor to work, although we did not overlap. This is an amazing company populated by some of the smartest, most inventive transportation people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. I know it was difficult for you to leave that. Can you talk a little bit about what drew you to Cityfi and what kind of change you hope to influence here?
SAHAR: Yes, you’re right. I also love Nelson\Nygaard and the people there and the work that they do. They are really aligned with the values I have. The truth is I’ve always been curious about Cityfi, since its inception. So many really smart people that I like working with and respect a lot have come here. So, there were a few things that really appealed to me. One is how Cityfi makes connections and collaborates for big moves in spaces where there isn’t necessarily often the power or the opportunity to push forward. The professional space that Cityfi occupies allows and actually encourages that, and it’s unique, especially when working with the private sector.. I did not intend on being a transportation person. I sort of fell into it because it was where a lot of things I care about — land use, housing sustainability — all connect. I love how Cityfi connects those pieces and works across both public and private sectors toward outcomes that we really want. Another appeal was Cityfi as a woman-led business. That drew me to Nelson/Nygaard too, that history and culture. ButI I feel like Cityfi is meeting a critical moment in a really positive way. Being led by strong, powerful, insightful women — and strong, powerful, insightful men — and having a view that we can do things that are impactful and important, and also take care of each other and ourselves and be collaborative. We don’t have to come to this work from an ego perspective. We can do this from a place of love and care and have even more of an impact. That is huge to me. I think that we have a real opportunity to set an example and that we have the right team to get it right. So that is incredibly exciting to me.
KARINA: I appreciate that. One of the fundamental capacities Cityfi brings is market growth. The market is bigger than the slim slice of affluent, working age men that are so often the focus, and cities want to see that bigger market served. So by bringing a broader user-centered perspective, by really leaning into inclusivity, we can dramatically expand market penetration and customer base for our clients and better the outcomes for their users. Triple bottom line. So I’m really looking forward to what you’re bringing to that.
SAHAR: Oh yes. Along those lines, I’m really excited about building out the existing equity work here at Cityfi. And I think that is where there’s a huge opportunity in what you just said. There is not enough representation of women and people of color and different abilities in the systems where decision making exists. We, as a people, are getting slightly better at that, but there are areas where Cityfi could be such a help. To me that includes the private sector and tech sector where it is still very male, and still very white. We have an opportunity to help them incorporate better representation and more inclusive benefits.. That also is really exciting.
KARINA: Cityfi is an extraordinarily unique company. Our portfolio is fairly evenly split between public sector clients and private enterprises — particularly in sectors where the two need to work together but often fail to connect on a common level. Your background is extensive and diverse. You served the federal government in the Obama administration. You’ve been in the state house with Governor Brown’s office. You’re active at the local level sitting on the Oakland Planning Commission. You’ve sort of covered the whole governance transect. That’s great, but it’s all been on the public sector side. Tell me, what you can do for private businesses?
SAHAR: I think it’s exactly what you said earlier. I think we can help make private businesses better players in serving the public needs while simultaneously expanding their market capabilities. We’re not trying to just make everyone a bunch of money, though we do make them money, but we are also trying to make the system work and make it better for more people. We can’t ignore the importance of private industry in that. We CAN make communities better and make businesses that work, It’s a win win. I think of it as the Venn diagram of public and private. We want to exist in that inter-interconnected space where there are benefits to both the public sector and the private sector. That’s where there’s a real opportunity with Cityfi because we are value driven. We want to help companies put values into practice and through that increase their market capabilities. That’s huge. A lot of private companies, especially in the transportation space, are just not accustomed to traditional transportation planning and policies, to working with cities or the people in them.. They need some navigation to both help their bottom line and serve the interests of the communities that they’re working in. That is a unique space at Cityfi and that’s really exciting.
KARINA: O.k., last serious question. You talk a lot about intersectionality. Like me, you’ve traversed a lot of areas — economic development, community empowerment, democracy building, policy, finance, land use, transportation. Can you talk a little bit about that intersectionality? How do we bring all these multicolored threads together? How do 1 + 1 equal more than 2 in the way that you and Cityfi tackle the issues and challenges that are placed before us?
SAHAR: I’m going to do a high level and then dig down. On the high level, I think that there’s a unique perspective that people with the backgrounds that everyone at Cityfi has — folks that have worked across the different areas and understand that the silos we’ve created are not real. For example, transportation is land use. We are putting things in the ground, using and shaping land. But we don’t talk about transportation and land use together — like, they’re the same thing. But we don’t make decisions about them together. That’s highly problematic because it creates cumulative impacts — historically really negative ones. If we can start to see solutions together — for example a mobility solution that is also a housing solution and an environmental solution and a market solution — then we’ve really hit the jackpot. I don’t want to oversell. We’re not going to solve the world’s problems. But there are solutions that can hit multiple facets. That’s the space I like to be in. My background is in policy and policy is all about problem solving with a variety of perspectives. It is the thoughtfulness that gets us both the outcomes that are wanted by the market, but more importantly the outcomes that are wanted and needed by communities. That’s the jam. That’s the secret sauce.
KARINA: Last question, speaking of special sauce. You are widely recognized among friends and colleagues and throughout the industry as being an amazing cook. I can’t personally attest to this (I’m waiting!), but I understand that that’s the case. I am a Top Chef junkie. A frequent final challenge is ‘last meal on Earth.” So, Sahar, what would you make for your last meal on Earth? Make it good. Make me drool.
SAHAR: I mean, I don’t know if it’ll make you drool because it is very specific to the foods of my childhood. There’s an herbal stew that we make in Persian culture. It’s called Ghormeh sabzi. It literally translates to herb stew and it’s made with a ridiculous amount of fresh herbs- for example, in one pot that serves two people, you’re going to use something like eight bunches of herbs — parsley, cilantro, leeks and fenugreek — with dried sour limes, red beans and sometimes beef or lamb. And it’s really hearty and super healthy. It’s my favorite thing in the world. So I think that would absolutely be my last meal.
KARINA: Wow. Except for the beef part. I’m down with that.
Sahar, we are just so happy to have you join us. I know that you’ve already made an impact in the way that we think about things, the way that we approach our diversity, equity, inclusion, and culture. We are so eager to bring those skills and lenses to the enterprises we work with. You are just such a wonderful, super smart person. You are a bright light. Welcome to Cityfi!
SAHAR: I am so excited to be here, thank you!
