ZAHRAA DAHGER

Consultant ● Leadership Development Specialist ● Adjunct Lecturer

WORK EXPERIENCE

Founder & Director of Leadership Development | Third Thunder •• Launching a creative leadership development portfolio and training high-potential leaders through workshops, 1-to-1, semi-structured dialogue and multi-day masterminds.

Manama, Bahrain • 2023 – Present

Assistant Director | New York University Abu Dhabi •• Leading a full portfolio of innovation and startup education.

Abu Dhabi, UAE • 2022

Independent Consultant | Bain & Co •• Advising on a country-scale Education strategy.

Cairo, Egypt • 2021

Consultant | SYPartners •• Leading consulting project teams to advise C-suite executives of Fortune100 companies on organization-wide human-centered business transformations.

Chicago, IL • 2020

Adjunct Lecturer | Vanderbilt University •• Delivering classes on systems thinking & strategy.

Chicago, IL • 2020

Adjunct Lecturer | Johns Hopkins University •• Delivering classes on design thinking and project management.

Chicago, IL • 2020

Consultant | Confidential seed-funded startup •• Conducting market research to support the expansion of a female STEM education institute.

Hong Kong, China • 2019

Independent Consultant | Ashoka •• Conducting an analysis of Ashoka’s network of 10,000+ global social startup founders.

Washington, DC • 2019

Graduate Assistant | Center for Entrepreneurship at the Owen Graduate School of Management •• Assisting the center’s director on operations, programming development, delivery, and benchmarking.

Nashville, TN • 2019

Board Member & Summit Chair | Turner Family Center for Social Enterprise •• Leading a team of 4 in designing and delivering the 5th annual social ventures summit under the theme of Ecosystem Development: Growing Together. Developing a Social Network Analysis (SNA) of the connections sparked at the summit.

Nashville, TN • 2019

Consultant | Confidential pre-seed startup •• Leading a team of 3 in revamping the social impact initiatives and learning experiences of a refugee-focused venture.

Athens, Greece • 2018

Enterprise Analyst | Tamkeen, Bahrain’s National Labour Fund •• Piloting customized learning experiences to advance the Kingdom’s startup community and providing support and advisory to key business partners.

Bahrain • 2017 – 2018

Community Liaison | Bahrain Authority of Culture and Antiquities (BACA) •• Enacting a city-scale communication strategy to raise public cultural awareness about the Pearling Path project, a UNESCO Heritage Site, in liaison with the UNESCO.

Bahrain • 2017

Communication Consultant | Berlitz Bahrain •• Driving business development for language and leadership training solutions.

Startup Consultant | WAVE México •• Supporting the growth of startups across Latin America through business modeling & marketing strategies.

Mexico City, Mexico • 2016

Board Member & Program Director | AIESEC •• Leading a nearly 400 member organization and heading a >20 member team of the Global Talent program operating in +150 countries.

EDUCATION & FELLOWSHIP

Vanderbilt University • Master’s | Leadership & Organizational Performance
- Select classes: Strategy & Analytics, Consulting, Executive Coaching, Social Ventures.
Stanford University • Fellowship | University Innovation
- Analyzed the university’s startup ecosystem landscape using Stanford’s Design Thinking approach.
Owen Graduate School of Management • Fellowship | Emerging Impact Leaders Program for Social Change
- Nominated for a multidisciplinary dialogue at the intersection of business and social impact.
University of Bahrain • Bachelor’s | Architecture (Engineering)
- Ministry of Education Scholar, Dean’s Honor Roll.

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATES

Project Management Professional (PMP)
Gender-lens Investing, American University of Beirut

AWARDS

Alumni Innovation Engagement Grantee, US Department of State (BAHRAIN) – 2023
Global Finalist, Oxford University’s Map the System competition (OXFORD) – 2020
One Young World Leading Scholar, first MENA awardee, selected out of +20,000 global candidates (LONDON)– 2019
Eship Ecosystem Development Summit Scholarship Awardee, the Kauffman Foundation (KANSAS) – 2019
Consulting Fellowship Finalist, Columbia University (NEW YORK) – 2019 (not enacted)
Fulbright Scholarship Grantee, U.S. Department of State (NASHVILLE) – 2018
First Prize Winner, Techstars Startup Weekend Bahrain Competition (BAHRAIN) – 2015
Finalist, Mashroo3i Startup Competition, Tamkeen (BAHRAIN) – 2015