Meet the People: Saha Salahi
We the people alumni Saha Salahi (West Career & Technical Academy, Clark County) is truly a changemaker, advocating for others through civic engagement. Nevada’s first recipient of the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award, Saha is an example for all of us as she exemplifies “a young person’s inspirational empowerment gained through an intensive high school curriculum course that exposed her to the founding principles of this country, the history of changes through laws enacted as well as study of Supreme Court cases, and examples people who used civic engagement to change and shape our country. She now applies that to her personal commitments of time and energy to inspire and train others.“ (Secretary of State Barbara K. Cegavske, 2021)
"Civic engagement is where knowledge meets the potential for success.”
Saha Salahi is a first generation Afghan-American muslim woman whose sense of responsibility for creating community has bolstered her into a leader. As the first IGNITE Las Vegas fellow, Saha has hosted a variety of events to help other young women learn about political leadership skills, policy analysis, and training on how to run for office. Saha formed the first UNLV chapter for IGNITE National, an organization that promotes young women’s political participation, and the sister chapter at NSC. It doesn’t stop there because Saha is also the District 4 Coordinator for the Nevada Center for Civic Engagement. This is where she helps cultivate the civic education courses in K-12 schools in the region through coaching and training for the classes for the “We the People,” district and state competitions. Research is another addition to Saha’s day to day schedule. As a Student Research for Brookings Mountain West and the Lincy Institute. From creating fact sheets to brainstorming new policy solutions, this work impacts the efficiency of the greater Mountain West community. In all the work that she does, Saha hopes to be an advocate for minority groups and use her voice to bring forward equitable reform at a local and national level.
Saha was recently given another title “changemaker” by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/changemaker-her-core) and continues to celebrate the honor of being the first ever recipient of the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award through her advocacy and work with students.
What brought you to NVCCE?
I am an alumni of the We The People program, and this is the first place I was able witness confidence grow within myself. It was for that reason, that I can't get enough of the program. It is an honor to be able to hold a position with the organization and grow alongside the brilliant students.
What do you love most about the work you do with our civic engagement programs?
Being able to instill confidence in students is one of the most rewarding feelings ever. I remember when I was in their position, giving speeches with sweaty palms and a racing heartbeat. I see so much of myself in them and it is such a joy to be able to guide and collaborate with their bright minds.
What is your vision of NVCCE in the future?
There are always new ways we can reach out to the community in order to inform them about NVCCE. I think that starting at a younger age, elementary schools, would be a great way to expand our organization. If young minds can be more prepared and knowledgeable about their rights and capacity within our local and federal government, then ultimately we would be able to reach higher horizons as a participatory body.