Meet Zohra Zori

We were lucky to catch up with Zohra Zori recently and have shared our conversation below.

Zohra , so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I’d love to say that my confidence and self esteem came from having great bosses in my career or taking some interesting courses (yes, to both of those), but the real root of my confidence is my grandmother.

I remember being around 4- or 5-years-old, living in Kabul, Afghanistan. Many of the households in Afghanistan were set up as “compounds,” meaning there was a main house and several smaller homes. Inter-generational families lived together in one compound. I had the great privilege of spending my early childhood years in a compound with my grandparents. My grandmother had fiery red hair, always wore iconic jewelry, and was recognized in the neighborhood as one of the strongest.

My grandmother had fiery red hair, always wore iconic jewelry, and was recognized in the neighborhood as one of the strongest women and a trusted elder. While she was bold in her demeanor and never held back her opinions, she was soft, endearing, and incredibly motivational to the people she loved the most.

In the summer months, she’d have a bed set up on her large balcony under the starlit skies of Kabul. I used to fall asleep in her arms, mesmerized by her storytelling and more importantly, her fierce, inspiring words, “You are guided, you are protected, you will do great things in life. I will always be alongside you.”

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My story begins in Afghanistan during the Soviet War, a time of intense upheaval and danger for my family. My father’s role as a general in the military and my mother’s prominent position as the president of all pharmacies in Afghanistan meant that our lives were under constant threat. This reality was the catalyst for a 12-day trek that took my family from our home to the relative safety of our neighboring country, Pakistan, in 1987. It was there that our path to political asylum began, eventually leading us to a new life in the United States. The challenges of being displaced from my home country deeply influenced my personal and professional aspirations. I found myself drawn to the nonprofit sector, driven by a desire to be a part of something that transcended individual gains, and instead, focused on collective well-being. My career thus far has been in nonprofit leadership, developing philanthropic infrastructures to measure success by lives touched and communities transformed.
In a search to be more directly connected to the impact of my work, I was led to the role of Chief Marketing and Engagement Officer at Alight. Through this work, I leverage my own narrative of displacement to cultivate an environment of understanding and empathy, both for our team and for the people we serve. Alight represents a harmonious blend of my lived experience and my professional objectives, extending its impact across 20 countries and serving more than 4 million people each year. Whether it’s navigating families to safety amidst the conflict in Ukraine, providing aid after an earthquake in Turkey and Syria, or welcoming Afghan refugees to the United States, Alight is there.
My role at Alight is more than a job; it’s a personal mission. I find pieces of my own story in the individuals we help, and every day, I’m reminded that this is where I am needed and can make a genuine difference in the world.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that have been most impactful in my journey are optimism, partnership, and an experiential mindset. Optimism – I’ve always approached life with a firm belief that things will always work out the way the world needs it to. When you believe in good intentions and know that you’ll land exactly where you’re meant to be, optimism will lead you to opportunity and growth beyond your imagination.
Partnership – Whether personally or professionally, building a network of allies from diverse backgrounds can enrich your life and add so much color to your work. I regularly reach out to peers and friends from different industries and across the globe to help inform my own work.
An experiential mindset – Taking risks and stretching boundaries have paved the way for new thinking and thus, innovation.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Partnership is core to what we do at Alight. Through financial support, time, expertise, and access to networks, our partners are an extension of our teams. If you are interested in helping us support communities affected by displacement due to issues like climate change or conflict, we would be excited to hear from you. Email us at partnerships@wearealight.org.

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