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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA posted thisOne of the easiest things to underestimate is the difference between observing a decision and having to live with it. Theodore Roosevelt captured part of this in his 1910 “Man in the Arena” speech. He was speaking about the person who actually enters the arena—the person who risks failure, gets things wrong, gets criticized, and keeps going—rather than the person who stands outside and evaluates the performance. I think there is another dimension to this that matters in everyday life. The observer and the decision-maker do not occupy the same position. An observer can evaluate your career, your relationship, your risk, your choices, your mistakes. They may even see something you cannot see. Their perspective can be valuable. But they do not bear the consequences. You do. If you leave, you live with leaving. If you stay, you live with staying. If you take the risk and it fails, you live with the failure. If you don't take it, you may eventually have to live with the question of what might have happened if you had. This doesn't mean we should reject criticism or assume that being “in the arena” automatically makes us right. It means we should be careful about the weight we give to perspectives that come without corresponding responsibility. There is a difference between having an opinion about someone's life and having to inhabit the consequences of that opinion. Perhaps that is part of what it means to have agency: To listen deeply. To remain willing to be wrong. To change course when necessary. And ultimately, to recognize that the responsibility for the life being lived remains yours. The critic can see the arena, but only you can live inside it.
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA posted thisWhat if the greatest challenge facing humanity isn't technological, economic, or political......but our inability to expand our definition of "us"? If every human being is made of the same elements, shaped by the same laws of physics, and shares the same evolutionary history, why does our sense of belonging often stop where our identity begins? Why do we instinctively divide the world into us and them? Evolution offers an important part of the story. Cooperation within families and groups increased our chances of survival, helping shape many of the instincts we still carry today. But as our understanding has grown, so has our capacity for cooperation. We care for people who aren't biologically related to us. We build communities with strangers. We create institutions that depend on trust among millions of people we'll never meet. Yet many of our political systems, social narratives, and even our everyday conversations continue to reinforce separation rather than interdependence. What happens if our technological progress continues to outpace our capacity to expand our circle of belonging? Maybe one of the most meaningful forms of progress isn't just what we build. Maybe it's who we learn to include within our definition of "us."
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA posted thisWhat is life? After returning from a breathwork retreat in Sedona and a six-day silent meditation retreat in North Carolina, I found myself revisiting a question that has fascinated me for years. Science can tell us a great deal about the universe. We can map the elements, describe chemical bonds, and trace the evolution of stars. Yet I find myself drawn to a different question. How did a universe governed by physical laws produce beings capable of grief, wonder, longing, and love? The more I read across chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, and philosophy, the more I realize that each discipline illuminates part of the story. But none seems to capture the whole. Perhaps that's why the question of life continues to fascinate me. Not because we lack answers. But because every answer seems to reveal a deeper question.
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA shared thisA fascinating perspective that challenges some of our assumptions about trauma, resilience, and what it means to adapt across generations. Perhaps one of the most important questions is whether we have been too quick to frame inherited responses solely through the language of damage and pathology. What if endurance, meaning-making, social connection, and even resistance are also part of the story? This piece introduces the concept of sumoud—steadfastness—as something deeper than resilience: not merely surviving adversity, but confronting and living through it while preserving agency, dignity, and community. An important reminder that science itself is enriched when it engages with diverse cultural frameworks and lived experiences.
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA shared thisGreat piece Firas MaksadYagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA shared thisThe Iran war is over. But the US-led order in the Middle East is now in question. In this Foreign Affairs Magazine essay, Ian Bremmer and I argue: • Erratic & unpredictable American conduct, along with an inability to achieve a decisive victory, convinced US partners that deep dependence on Washington is a liability, not just an asset. •Their response will be to accelerate effort to diversify away from the US, including by forming new coalitions that afford them greater agency. • “We are no longer interested in being an American satellite state,” one senior GCC official put it bluntly. • Middle powers like the UK, France, Turkey, India & Pakistan will be the primary beneficiaries in a more diversified Middle East. • China, while unable & unwilling to take on the burdens of running the region, is well positioned as a predictable low-cost alternative to over reliance on the US. • Post #Iran war- the Middle East may just be the leading edge. From Europe’s push for defense autonomy to Asia’s growing nuclear hedging, the same diagnosis is spreading globally: betting less on the US is a strategic imperative. Eurasia Group Read & share the full essay at: https://lnkd.in/ex3iZNJj
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA shared thisConsciousness remains one of the most fascinating and least understood phenomena in science. Emerging research on plant signaling, adaptation, and memory-like responses raises profound questions about how we define awareness and intelligence. While these findings do not demonstrate human-like consciousness, they challenge us to think more deeply about cognition, information processing, and the possibility that consciousness exists along a spectrum rather than as an all-or-nothing phenomenon. Whether one approaches these questions from neuroscience, philosophy, complexity science, or spirituality, they invite humility about humanity’s place within the broader web of life. What do you think: Is consciousness something we possess, or something we participate in?Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA shared thisRethinking Consciousness: Are Humans Just One Part of a Vast Living Intelligence Network? For centuries, humans have assumed they occupy the highest position in the hierarchy of consciousness. However, emerging research is challenging this deeply rooted belief by suggesting that consciousness may not be exclusive to humans or even animals. Instead, it may exist across a much broader spectrum of life, potentially encompassing trillions of living organisms that share our planet. The article explores growing scientific interest in plant intelligence and alternative forms of awareness. Researchers studying plant biology have discovered that plants exhibit sophisticated behaviors, including communication, environmental sensing, memory-like responses, adaptation, and coordinated reactions to threats. These capabilities raise important questions about whether consciousness should be defined solely by the presence of a brain or nervous system. One of the most intriguing observations is that plants respond to anesthesia in ways that resemble animals and humans, becoming temporarily unresponsive before returning to normal function. Scientists have also documented complex signaling networks within plants, allowing them to exchange information, react to environmental changes, and alter behavior based on past experiences. While these findings do not prove that plants possess human-like consciousness, they challenge traditional assumptions about what awareness may look like in biological systems. The debate extends beyond plants. Increasing evidence suggests that intelligence and awareness may emerge in many forms throughout nature. Rather than existing as a simple binary state—conscious or unconscious—consciousness may exist along a continuum, expressed differently across species and biological structures. This perspective encourages a broader understanding of cognition, one that recognizes diverse forms of information processing and environmental interaction. Key Takeaways Recent research is prompting scientists to reconsider long-held assumptions about consciousness. Plants demonstrate behaviors that resemble learning, adaptation, communication, and responsiveness, suggesting that awareness may not require a brain as traditionally understood. If consciousness exists on a spectrum, humanity may be only one expression of a far larger network of living intelligence present throughout the natural world. Former White House Lead Communications Engineer | Strategic Advisor My content creates 20+ million views annually and growing across defense, AI, quantum, energy, infrastructure, and policy communities. Open to select advisory board and strategic advisory opportunities featuring monthly retainers and meaningful equity participation. Keith King https://lnkd.in/gHPvUttw
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA shared thisBehind every institution are people, families, and communities whose lives and livelihoods are deeply intertwined with the work of global development. Regardless of one’s views on policy, these findings are a reminder that the consequences of institutional change are experienced by real people who have dedicated their careers to advancing health, education, humanitarian response, and economic opportunity around the world. As someone committed to strengthening the future of the global development sector, I believe these conversations deserve thoughtful attention. The people behind the mission matter. #GlobalDevelopment #InternationalDevelopment
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA posted thisToo often, discussions about Afghan women focus exclusively on deprivation, exclusion, and victimhood. While these realities are undeniable, such framings can unintentionally obscure the many ways women continue to exercise agency through education, caregiving, mutual aid, informal networks, cultural transmission, and acts of everyday resistance. Agency does not disappear when formal institutions collapse. Nor does it always take the form of overt political participation. Sometimes it is quieter. Sometimes it resides in relationships, memory, and the social practices that communities sustain even under conditions of profound uncertainty. Perhaps one of the challenges before us is to develop frameworks capable of recognizing these less visible forms of agency rather than mistaking invisibility for absence. #Afghanistan #AfghanWomen #Displacement #CivilSoceity #StateFragility #GlobalDevelopment #Education
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA posted thisOne concept that has shaped my thinking as a researcher is hermeneutical injustice—the gap between lived experience and society's ability to understand it. While researching civil society in contexts of state fragility and political transition, I repeatedly encountered a similar challenge: communities often possessed rich networks of relationships, norms, and informal institutions, yet these forms of social organization were frequently overlooked because they did not fit dominant definitions of civil society. In many cases, what appeared absent or weak was not actually missing. We simply lacked the concepts to recognize it. This raises an important question: How much of what we describe as "failure," "absence," or "collapse" is actually a failure of our interpretive frameworks rather than a failure of society itself? Sometimes the challenge is not only giving people a voice. It is also developing the language and frameworks necessary to understand what they are already telling us. #civilsociety #livedexperience #displacement #statefragility
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisYagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisAfter ten years, and more than 30 country assessment visits conducted on behalf of the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, I’ve decided to move on from the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) Many thanks to all the great colleagues I’ve had the pleasure to work with - within CTED, with Member States across multiple regions, and with our many IRO and NGO partners. It’s been a fantastic journey. More soon.
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisYagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisIt was a privilege to run in this past Saturday’s Iraqi Children Foundation 5k. It’s always a beautiful event, a chance to see old friends and colleagues, and meet new ones, all for a great cause. Always a really cool t shirt too. My friend Sam and son joined this year - and so glad they did as his son won first place for the youth cohort! Cindy Fogleman Shameem Rassam Doug Silliman Omar Al-Nidawi Patricia El Khoury Stakem Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF)
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisYagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisBill Gates' recent essay on navigating the AI transition has been getting a lot of attention — especially his warnings about job losses and what he sees as a dangerous lack of a plan. But one thing that stood out to me was his lack of any substantial vision (in the piece at least) of universities as major actors and leaders in ensuring a vibrant AI future. I write about this in this week's Substack: Do universities have a place in Bill Gates’ AI Transition Plan? Gates believes the transition to the AI era will be one of the most turbulent in human history. But in a recent call to action he didn’t directly mention universities once. Are they still relevant? https://lnkd.in/gHjb2Bm7Do universities have a place in Bill Gates’ AI Transition Plan?Do universities have a place in Bill Gates’ AI Transition Plan?
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisYagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisSending heartfelt thoughts and prayers to everyone in Nepal affected by the devastating floods. From natural disasters to man-made crises, our world is facing unprecedented challenges right now. I hope compassion, unity, and humanity will prevail once again. https://lnkd.in/epjhwnPMMore than 1,300 missing in Nepal and China after deadly Himalayan floodMore than 1,300 missing in Nepal and China after deadly Himalayan flood
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisYagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisI just completed my first full week at Thunderbird School of Global Management and I could not be more confident that I am exactly where I need to be. Every person I connect with here has some kind of incredible work or life experience from different locations all around the world. I already feel like I’m learning so much just from being around my colleagues and taking advantage of the natural networking opportunities built into the foundation of Thunderbird. I am certainly bought in at this point and proud to be a T-Bird!
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA reacted on thisYagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA reacted on thisAmerican politics has become remarkably good at telling us what, and who, to fear. Elections seem to come with a longer list of threats, villains, and reasons why the other side must be stopped. Voters are implored to reject rather than embrace. That may be an effective way to energize your core supporters, but it rarely inspires a nation. History suggests that the leaders who leave the deepest mark give people something to believe in. Public disenchantment with politics stems largely from the fact that too few of today's choices offer people reasons to be optimistic. Some of our most memorable leaders built their messages around hope and possibility. John F. Kennedy spoke of "A New Frontier." Bill Clinton declared, "I still believe in a place called Hope." It was more than a campaign line. It reflected a belief that tomorrow could be better than today, and that Americans could help make it happen. Sixteen years later, Barack Obama distilled that same idea into three simple words: "Yes We Can." It wasn't built around grievance or warnings. It was an invitation. It asked people to imagine themselves as participants in building a better future rather than spectators watching a country in decline. Whether you agreed with their policies is almost beside the point. Their most enduring messages were fundamentally about possibility. Ronald Reagan understood this as well. His 1984 "Morning in America" campaign wasn't simply a critique of the country's recent struggles. It painted a picture of renewal. Americans were told that the nation was recovering, that confidence was returning, and that the future could be brighter than the past. His political genius lay in recognizing that optimism can be persuasive. Rather than asking voters to dwell on decline, he asked them to imagine what success could look like. Contrast that with much of today's political discourse. Modern campaigns are often fueled by outrage. Fundraising emails warn of catastrophe. Television ads paint dystopian futures. Social media rewards anger more readily than aspiration because outrage spreads faster than optimism. Politicians across the political spectrum have learned that fear is a powerful motivator. The problem is that fear is difficult to sustain. People eventually want more than a list of enemies. They want to know what comes next. They want to believe there is something worth building. As we head into another important election, voters are looking for a compelling answer to a simple question: What future are you asking us to build and how? The leaders we remember most aren't those who merely cataloged problems or identified enemies. They're the ones who convinced people that the future was worth embracing and within their reach. People may react to fear, but they follow vision. Views expressed represent personal opinions and do not reflect those of employers, partners, contractors, or affiliates.
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisYagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisExcited about my father's latest role in Florida banking as the Chairman of the Florida Bankers Association Board of Directors. Banking is a dynamic, regulated business that is a foundational component of our state economy. I am excited to see how the FBA leadership will impact policy and help businesses of all sizes access opportunities in our communities. My father's career has spanned virtually all facets of banking and public service. Starting as a janitor for Mellon Bank N.A. in 1969, to founding and leading one of Florida's largest banks from 1989 to 2005, to being two-time President Pro Tempore of the Florida Senate, back to community banking to support businesses in Florida, and now in another meaningful leadership position. Congrats Dad! Our State is glad to have you at the helm! Sunflower Bank, N.A. Liz Richter Psota Melissa Richter Bartolini Brian Psota Alessandro Bartolini
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Yagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisYagana Hafed, PhD, MGM, MBA liked thisIf you've ever sat down to work and felt like you were thinking through wet concrete �� that's not laziness. That's your prefrontal cortex going offline. Brain fog is one of the most common complaints among high-performers, and one of the least understood. It's not a diagnosis. It's a signal — your nervous system telling you that something in the foundation is off. Three things consistently drive it: Sleep deprivation. Even one poor night reduces blood flow to the prefrontal cortex and spikes cortisol. Cognitive function measurably drops — and most people don't realize how impaired they are because impaired judgment is part of the impairment. Chronic stress. When your nervous system is running in low-grade fight-or-flight, your body deprioritizes the thinking brain in favor of the survival brain. Cortisol stays elevated. Clarity disappears. Information overload. The average person processes 74 gigabytes of data every day. Your brain was not built for that volume — and the cognitive tax of constant input leaves little bandwidth for clear, sustained thought. The fix isn't more caffeine. It's nervous system regulation — actively guiding the brain out of sympathetic overdrive and into the parasympathetic state where the prefrontal cortex can reset. That's exactly what BrainTap sessions are designed to do. Twenty minutes. Measurable difference. Don't let brain fog cost you a productive day! Read more : https://hubs.la/Q04rsZc60 #BrainFog #MentalClarity #BrainHealth #Neuroscience #BrainTapGet Rid Of Brain Fog: Five Best Practices For Improving Focus - BrainTapGet Rid Of Brain Fog: Five Best Practices For Improving Focus - BrainTap
Experience & Education
Licenses & Certifications
Publications
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Operationalizing the Pluriverse: Tools for a New Paradigm in Global Development
Oxford Development Studies
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Innovation is the Answer! But is Development the Question? Assessing Innovation Against the Capabilities Approach to Development
The Journal of Development Studies
Honors & Awards
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American Ingenuity Award
POPVOX Foundation and #AfghanEvac
The American Ingenuity Award. This award recognizes the outstanding service of Congressional caseworkers, federal agency staff, NGO workers, volunteers, and folks from every part of the American experience who provided crucial support to American allies seeking safety from the Taliban following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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Member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor's Society
Phi Kappa Phi Honor's Society
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Member of the Athenian Honor's Society
Athenian Honor's Society
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Honor's Student
Russell Sage College
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