Sarah Syed

Sarah Syed is a native Houstonian, the daughter of immigrants and granddaughter of refugee war survivors and nomadic expatriates. In her role at Woori Juntos, she is committed to advancing the full agency, participation, vitality, and safety for people of Asian descent — and all im/migrants in Texas. Her non-profit advocacy focuses on inclusive capacity building, and she continues organizing efforts to redress systemic health disparities, particularly within im/migrant and refugee populations.

Through her work, voter engagement in Harris County has turned out more than 30,000+ Pan-Asian and Latine voters in less than two years. Sarah has co-developed and expanded civic and community engagement within disenfranchised voter blocs across the Greater Houston area. Woori Juntos was named the Top AAPI Civic & Community Engagement Performing Non-Profit by the Houston Endowment in 2023.

At the local, state and federal levels, Sarah Syed is actively engaged in policy areas of language accessibility, emergency disaster preparedness, and health equity. Since 2022, Syed has served as the youngest visibly Muslim woman registered as a Texas lobbyist. Sarah and Woori Juntos have continued to co-lead delegations of im/migrants to provide public comments and share their personal testimonies at the City of Houston, Harris County Commissioners Court, and State of Texas Capitol. They helped co-create the first Texas Language Justice Collective, a one-of-a-kind coalition of 15+ organizations across Texas, addressing language accessibility and accommodation through peer-to-peer support, direct action, a network of organizers, social workers, community health workers, advocacy groups, and more. Through their advocacy and coalition building, the Office of Harris County Administration approved a language access plan in 2024 with a commitment to initially invest $500,000 for a Language Access Office. The City of Houston approved an initial $30,000 for a part-time Language Access Coordinator in 2024. At the next Legislative Session at the Texas Capitol, Syed and her team at Woori Juntos will be re-introducing legislation to address language accessibility within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Sarah Syed’s international aid work with refugee women, children, and infants has been highlighted in the TIME: Finding Home Series. More recently, she has helped co-lead and created powerful toolkits to take action supporting impacted community members who call Occupied Palestine, Syrian Golan Heights, Southern Lebanon, and Egypt – their home. She has continued to work with local attorneys and advocates to directly help Gazans and new im/migrants find safety, especially those who are arriving in Houston.

Since 2023, Sarah Syed has actively served as an Advisory Board Member for the City of Houston Office of the Mayor Asian American Pacific Islander Board, a Board Member for the League of Women Voters Houston (LWVH), and a Board Member for New Leaders Council Houston (NLC). She additionally serves as the Organizing Manager for the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) Action Fund of Texas and the Asian Americans for Change Fund (AAFC).

Sarah Syed has continued to break barriers for increased accessibility through meaningful advocacy and intentional coalition building.