“I had the pleasure of working alongside Riya on the No Kid Hungry campaign, and I can confidently say she is a force to be reckoned with in the fight to end childhood hunger.

Riya's passion for her work is contagious. As the Senior Manager of Youth Engagement, she brought unparalleled energy and dedication to the team. What truly sets Riya apart though is her genuine ability to connect with people and build meaningful relationships. Whether it was engaging with students, community partners, or team members like myself, she always made everyone feel valued and heard.

Our most recent collaboration focused on student engagement in Southwest and Southside Virginia, and I was consistently impressed by Riya's commitment to equity. She tirelessly advocates for the needs of underserved communities, ensuring that every decision and action are centered around providing equal food access to nutritious food for historically marginalized communities.

Riya is not only a talented and passionate leader, but also a wonderful human being. Her warmth, humor, and unwavering belief in the power of collective action make her an invaluable asset to any team lucky enough to have her. I wholeheartedly recommend Riya to anyone seeking a dedicated, results-oriented professional who is truly committed to making a positive impact on the world.”

“Riya is a uniquely skilled employee who brings both heart and smarts to all that she does. She is strategic and visionary, as evidenced by the quality of Share Our Strength’s Youth Engagement program which she led and has left a lasting legacy at the organization. She is creative and empathetic, and a naturally skilled storyteller. She is also bold and unafraid to say the hard things that make us all better. She would be a tremendous asset to any organization.”

“Riya is genuine—not just in her skills, knowledge, and passion, but also a human being. Since the beginning, I was amazed with the positive energy and enthusiasm she brought to collaborations, projects, and meetings that she facilitated well. Her hard work and passion exceeded beyond the office space, in which Riya traveled around the country helping young individuals tell their stories of empowerment and the ongoing positive impact happening. This was not just because of her role in the organization, but the community she has cultivated throughout the years.

The progress and results she has brought to the organization and others around her were rewarding to hear about—and it’s more gratifying to know both senior leadership and the next generation were eager to learn more. Even if you’re not familiar with youth engagement, food security, and/or EDI, Riya’s breadth of work and presentation really shows her expertise and how much she cares–honestly, an invaluable rarity.”

“Riya Rahman is a force. She brings tremendous strengths related to EDI, people management, program execution, and budget stewardship. Working closely with Riya as she led Share Our Strength's youth engagement program was invaluable. She always put youth at the forefront of the programming, which is fitting for a campaign named No Kid Hungry. She is a quick problem-solver, an intelligent teammate, and an effective decision-maker.

Riya's incredible leadership should not go unmentioned. In addition to her hard skills, Riya is the epitome of positivity. Every day was better because of Riya. She lights up a room and drives colleagues to be as passionate about the work as she is. No Kid Hungry's programming would not be as effective or renowned without Riya's work building a world-class youth engagement program that centers on empathy and equity. She is the best kind of colleague and leader you could ask for.”

“I've had the pleasure of knowing Riya for the 7 years I've been at Share Our Strength. Riya has always been a fierce advocate in the anti-hunger space, especially in engaging youth in this work. Riya has the ability to do what it takes to bring a vision to life, to engage the right people, and to develop strong brands that engage its targeted audience. There are two projects where Riya's leadership brought the Generation No Kid Hungry brand (now the Youth Engagement work) to different levels (a brand focused on building a community of anti-hunger heroes in the youth engagement space).

With Riya's leadership, perseverance, and passion, she grew the Youth Engagement (Generation No Kid Hungry) program to its peak of placing youth advocates in 29 states. Riya's expertise is not just in organizing, cultivating and connecting long lasting relationships with our next generation of hunger heroes, she also has worked across teams to build and manage websites, social media channels and regularly write for nokidhungry.org's blog. Some of our photos and many of our videos contain the very relationships Riya has cultivated.

Riya has an all-around talent for anything she puts her mind to - but she is an incredible communications professional who excels in creating engaging campaigns that she is passionate about. One such campaign was instituting the first United States of America's National Youth Day where Riya organized and rallied partner organizations, youth ambassadors, supporters and more to lift up stories of youth making a difference in our communities on our National Youth Day.

Riya created the campaign strategy and content to support not only No Kid Hungry's channels but also those of all the partners and individuals participating. She even had some corporate partners and celebrities highlight a youth ambassador who has been going above and beyond to make a difference in their communities to end child hunger. Riya only makes the team and the campaign stronger with her passion, leadership, and knack for telling great stories that drive action.”

“I began working with Riya almost 5 years ago, and both of our roles looked entirely different then. My job was to amplify her work and the work of our youth ambassadors + advocates on social media for as much of the world to see as possible, and it didn't take long for me to realize what an honor that was. Since then, that work has evolved, expanded and ultimately empowered hundreds of students to fight hunger and make lasting differences in communities across the country - all almost entirely thanks to Riya's empathetic leadership and stalwart commitment to centering youth voices, insights and experiences in every facet of Share Our Strength's work to end childhood hunger. She has not only inspired a large cohort of young leaders to pursue careers in the anti-hunger + poverty spaces, but her expertise in ethical storytelling and DEI work has allowed their stories and the stories of the organizations and families they've served to be told and shared with the respect and reverence they deserve.”