Skip navigation Jump to main navigation

Applications for 2024 Columbia Summer Session programs are now open!

Close alert

Anees Hasnain

Speaker; Chief of Staff - Americas Sales Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Google

Growing up in a multicultural, multiracial household led to many questions and conversations around privilege, race relations, and equity early on in Anees’ life. As the white-passing daughter of a Pakistani, Muslim father and an American, Catholic mother, her childhood existed at the intersections of Eid and Christmas, of biryani and beef stew. She witnessed how differently family members experienced life in the US due to the color of their skin or the specifics of their faith, and became passionate about diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Anees takes pride in partnering with senior business leaders to tackle organizational change and development, at one point earning the nickname “Master of Disaster.” As the Chief of Staff for Google’s Americas Large Customer Sales team, she drives executives towards developing a more accessible, equitable, and inclusive organization. Throughout her time in the tech industry, she’s focused on addressing stereotype bias in the workplace, creating spaces for women to connect with business leaders, and advocating for military veterans. Prior to Google, Anees planned fundraising events for an education nonprofit, improved donor engagement for a LGBT film festival, and oversaw a community service organization of ~2,000 undergraduate students, amongst a few other adventures.

Outside of the office, she writes poetry, searches for street art around the world, and dances with abandon to live music. She earned her B.A. in Sociology from UCLA (with minors in Education, LGBT Studies, and Political Science), and her Master’s in Organizational Leadership and Learning from George Washington University. Fun fact? She was an alternate on the USA taekwondo team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.