We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Khalek and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, what are you inspired by?

My parents immigrated to the United States from Lebanon during a war. In addition to the innumerable challenges they faced, they had to learn how to navigate a new world, new language, and new culture. I am forever inspired by my parents. Their perseverance, grit, and community-oriented mindset have been cornerstones of how I too navigate through life’s challenges. And their struggle and courage laid the foundation of my life.

Influenced by my upbringing, the opportunity to understand two cultures as a Lebanese-American also serves as a constant source of inspiration. With the ability to speak Arabic and English, I credit growing up in two different cultures as one of my superpowers. It afforded me the opportunity to appreciate cultural diversity, build empathy for people of all backgrounds, and see experience the world with an open mind.

There is so much I can share about my parents and my upbringing. This small tidbit does little justice to their story and their influence on me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

My work centers around enabling individual and community well-being.

From the lens of community well-being: In partnership with various organizations including BIG Ideas, Citris Foundry, COVID Solution Accelerator, & Microsoft Reactor, friends and I designed and led business development, design thinking, and product development workshops centered around social impact. We united professionals from all backgrounds including entrepreneurs, designers, engineers, and artists. We created environments focused on the values of empathetic feedback, playful co-creation, and emotional safety. Our sessions covered topics ranging from hypothesis-based prototyping, United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, social identity and equitable product development, empathy mapping, climate resilience, among other topics. I have been incredibly proud to create social impact-focused communities in collaboration with friends (shout out to Adriana, Ksenia, Azine, Clarice, and many others).

From the lens of individual well-being: I have contributed to medical device product development from early ideation and design testing to commercialization and manufacturing. The roles I’ve held include an independent consultant in health technology wearables and MedTech Innovation Centers as well as a product manager and engineer for implantable medical devices. Examples of implantable products I have worked on include pacemakers, neurostimulators, and endovascular stent grafts. I entered into the health industry, because the social impact of medical technology is clear; these products improve and extend a patient’s life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I was born and raised near Atlanta as well as attended Georgia Tech (go Yellow Jackets!). I recommend two spots to eat – (1) a small cafe called ‘Cafe Rivkah’ in Marietta, Georgia and (2) a pizza spot called ‘Antico Pizza Napoletana’ in Atlanta, Georgia near GT. For the cafe, the food is absolutely delicious! For the pizza spot, I enjoyed the casual atmosphere and the tasty pizza.

Currently, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I recommend a 70s-themed roller skating spot called ‘Church of 8 Wheels.’ It is a funky and fun night out – where you can skate and dance to ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA among other 70s music. I also recommend checking out Dolores Park in San Francisco on a sunny day or Nido’s Backyard in Oakland for a evening with friends.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I shout out a mentor I met in my early 20s. She offered her time, wisdom, and emotional safety. In our conversations, she gave me room to explore my curiosity and answered my questions with book recommendations to build my knowledge tool kit. When I asked how I could repay her kindness, she told me that it brought her great joy to talk, she did not seek anything from me, and the time will come for me to pay it forward to the next person. Her care has been a wonderful, unexpected gift.

I also shout out creators whose works have transformed me and friends who referred me to the following papers, talks, and books: “The Art of Loving,” “It’s Not Fair Having 12 Pairs of Legs,” “Age of Entanglement,” and “Virus of the Mind.” I see my life in segments of “before” and “after” these works entered my view.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarakhalek

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