Yumna Rathore '12

Generally, what have you been doing since graduating from Knox?

After a summer internship at the United Nations Pakistan Mission in New York, I pursued my master’s in public administration on a scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh. Right after graduation, I joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China as an international communications consultant on the Communication and Innovations team and became engaged in multiple innovative, public-private partnership projects. After China, I became a project coordinator at the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (a partner of Innovations for Poverty Action in the United States), helping launch one of the largest evaluation projects on mobile money.

After Pakistan, I left for the United States and joined UNDP's Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) in New York as a multi-stakeholder engagement analyst. I was responsible for organizing and delivering on the first senior-level meeting of the global partnership around effective development. Then, I joined UNDP's Human Development Report Office as a production coordinator: I helped produce and launch the 2019 Report on Inequalities—a flagship report of the UNDP system—in coordination with 100+ country offices. 

In sum, I have been working with the UNDP for close to six-and-a-half years in various roles and capacities.

What do you currently do for the United Nations?

I am the focal point for strategic communications and knowledge management at the UNDP's Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) for a team called the Global Partnership. The initiative monitors how well countries are doing in building effective partnerships at the national level—a UN sustainable development goal for all countries. I am responsible for promoting not just development, but also the idea of effective development by way of partnerships between governments, donors, civil society organizations, and the private sector at the country level.

Why did you want to pursue this career?

For me, there's no such thing as "a career" but more "a career path." I see life as a long road with many roles and opportunities—you can be a development enthusiast one day, an entrepreneur the next, a writer or an advocate another. I have played all these roles in my own personal journey and hope to play many more in the years to come.

In terms of how I landed where I am today, I could say that it was because of a combination of things. When I was studying for my master's, I was intrigued by classes that would take a development idea and put it into action by working with multiple partners. I knew the UN, World Bank, or International Monetary Fund was the direction I wanted to go. I also loved writing and communicating. It was through my love for project management and communications that I ended up in the roles I did. 

In 2012, while a student at Knox, you created a short film about a school in Pakistan. Did the film have any lasting effects for you?

The short film made me realize that if you put your mind to something, you can really teach yourself just about anything. My sister (my co-producer) and I wanted to tell a story about education in Pakistan but didn't have all the technical skills at that time. This didn't stop us from applying for the independent study, securing the funding, and going to Pakistan to record. We then spent countless hours learning video editing software from scratch. Since then, I have taken up so many hobbies and roles that I thought seemed impossible—one being learning Chinese! 

Creating the short film also taught me that the reasons for a development problem are not always what the media makes it out to be. The reason why many of the girls were not going to school was not that the parents were not willing to send them, it was because there were so few job opportunities that it was often difficult to rationalize the need for education. It opened my ideas to the power of misinformation and how one really needs to dissect a development problem and apply a clear theory of change to understand what the right policy response needs to be. 

Are there any people or experiences from Knox that were particularly impactful for you?

Daniel Beers, former Knox assistant professor of political science, was my first professor, first term, first class. He introduced me to the idea of all things involving international development. I am truly indebted to him for igniting my love for development. 

Sue Hulett, Richard P. and Sophia D. Henke Distinguished Professor Emerita of Political Science, was another one of those professors that I will never forget. She taught me how to write (quite literally!) I remember my first paper in her class and I got a C-. I couldn't believe it. I always thought I was a good writer. She was one professor who took the time to go line by line and mark all your mistakes. In my last paper for her class, I got an outstanding A+. This is the only way to learn how to be a better writer. If I had gone to a bigger school, I would have never received the one-on-one attention I did. Writing is now one of my strongest skills.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

You have to be modest, have an open mind and the willingness to learn from others—and most importantly remember that no situation is permanent. My greatest learnings today have come from my failures. 

I pride myself to be an extremely career- and family-oriented person. The world makes it out to be a choice, and I really don't think it needs to be that way. I want to inspire women the same way my mother has inspired me, by always taking her career and family forward. I am also a big believer in being financially independent before settling down with a partner. I want to show women in Pakistan and around the world that you need to build your own dreams and identity, and continuously work on a better version of yourself.

(Photo by Fatimah Haroon)