Dr. Farah Usmani is an international health, gender & development expert based in New York. She has 25 years of experience working with the United Nations International Civil Service with UNFPA, focusing on women and girls and their reproductive health and rights. She has worked in several countries across all regions of the world providing in policy, planning, programming and technical leadership and at Director level at UNFPA Headquarters in New York where she coordinated the agency's country program quality assurance from across the world. Prior to joining the United Nations, UNFPA, in 1997, Dr. Usmani worked with the public health sector and also bilateral donor programming in India. Dr. Usmani leads the overall organizational strategy as Global Vice President of SAFAR Foundation, a philanthropic development organization focusing on advancement and rights of women and girls from marginalized and minority communities in India. She is the Founder of "Rising Beyond The Ceiling", a global initiative supported by SAFAR to shine a spotlight on Muslim women of India and contribute towards changing their stereotypical narrative. Farah has received several awards and recognitions including the British Council and the Joint-Japan World Bank Merit Fellowships. Breaking many gender barriers at different stages in her life, she has the distinction of being the first woman student to top the merit list in the pre-medical examination of the Aligarh Muslim University, where she completed her medical training. Dr. Usmani is also the first woman from her home state of Uttar Pradesh, as well as the first Muslim woman from India, to work with the United Nations International Civil Service at Director level and in New York. She is the recipient of the 2021 Mahatma Award for Social Impact for her work with women, girls and minorities.Dr. Usmani holds a Master’s in Health Policy, Planning & Financing given by the London School of Economics & London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine & a M.D. in Obstetrics & Gynecology from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh India. She has certifications in leadership and organizational management from Cornell University, Cranfield School of Management, Stanford University & the American Management Association, New York.Farah is married to Jawed Usmani and has two children Faraz Usmani and Sabah Usmani.